Network Rail is a British non-profit organisation that owns the British railway system: the railway tracks themselves, signalss, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and stations. It took over ownership by buying Railtrack plc, which was in "Railway Administration", for £500 million from Railtrack Group plc.

In October 2003, Network Rail announced that it would take over all track maintenance work from private contractors, following concerns about the quality of work carried out by certain private firms, and spiralling costs. While the company maintained that this was not a step towards renationalisation of the entire network, many commentators saw the move as a sign that the privatisation of the railways was unraveling.

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