Marshall turns up the heat on Byers

THE slanging match between Stephen Byers and Railtrack chief executive Steve Marshall has resumed with Marshall taking up the fight for shareholders' rights in a hostile letter to the embattled Transport Secretary. Marshall has demanded details about any Government plan to issue interest-bearing bonds to Railtrack shareholders, including how they would be financed.

He has also sought an assurance that the Government would fully consider a cash offer for the business from a third party, such as that being proposed by German bank WestLB.

The letter, sent on Monday night, was aimed at turning up the heat on Byers as he prepared for the announcement due today concerning Railtrack's future. Rail industry members believe Byers will come under heavy attack over the plan, which is expected to reveal taxpayers will be no better off, at least in the short term, from his controversial decision to put Railtrack into administration.

He is also likely to be questioned about how much taxpayers' money will have to be injected into the public private partnerships that will undertake major rail enhancements. Marshall on Monday claimed Byers' proposals for upgrading the rail network could delay rail renewal by at least two or three years.

Marshall has asked Byers for assurances that the industry will get the extra public funding it needs and that there will be no job losses as a result of the restructure. 'The five-year regulatory review is clearly an insufficient starting point, not least in the light of Hatfield,' Marshall wrote.

WestLB's bid for Railtrack's assets, excluding the safety and signals systems, is now with Byers. It is confident of beating the 140p-180p shareholders look like getting at present.