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Railtrack CEO jumps off
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November 17, 2000: 9:54 a.m. ET
Corbett out as chief of UK rail operator in wake of fatal crash at Hatfield
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Gerald Corbett resigned Friday as chief executive of embattled U.K. train track operator Railtrack PLC just a month after a train crash north of London left four people dead.
Corbett, who has led Railtrack for three years, first offered to resign on the day of the Oct. 18 disaster at Hatfield but was asked by the board to stay on. Now he will leave immediately, replaced by finance chief Steven Marshall.
Since last month's accident, Railtrack has embarked on an emergency program of track repairs that has led to widespread service delays across its U.K. rail network. Britain's rail industry is divided between, on the one hand, several regional companies that operate trains, and Railtrack on the other hand, the owner of rail lines, stations, and infrastructure such as signals. 
"When I tendered my resignation after the crash, the board asked me to stay on to see the company through the difficult period straight after Hatfield, and put in place the recovery programme, which we have now done," Corbett said. He said he had presented the plan to Prime Minister Tony Blair Thursday.
"It's an ambitious plan, but I'm confident Railtrack will deliver it. The network will get considerably better in the next two to three weeks," he added.
Last week, as the company announced a 31 percent decline in pretax earnings in the first half of the year, Railtrack said it would take a one-time charge of £250 million ($356 million) in the second half of the year. The sum will cover penalty payments related to the train wreck, such as compensation to train operating companies that have lost revenue because of the disruption.
"The time is now right for someone fresh to lead the company forward," Chairman Philip Beck said in a statement. He later told reporters Corbett is "one of the outstanding leaders of the railway industry."
An analyst said Corbett's departure at this point "was certainly a surprise ... it came a lot sooner than we would have expected. There has been an extraordinary amount of public and political pressure."
Shares of Railtrack (RTK) fell 14 pence, or 1.4 percent, to 1,023.25 on the London Stock Exchange shortly after the announcement.
Railtrack said Sebastian Bull, its corporate finance director, will replace Marshall as finance director. 
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Railtrack
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