Britain’s Railtrack, parent of Britain's insolvent rail network operator, has accused the British government of renationalising the business "by the back door".
Railtrack chief executive Mr Steve Marshall, who called the government's move to put the operating subsidiary into administration as "shoddy", told BBC radio this morning the state needed to compensate Railtrack shareholders.
Railtrack has demanded its shareholders be given 360 pence per share cash for surrendering ownership of the network - comprising 23,000 miles of track and 2,500 stations.
The British government, which rejects Railtrack's demand for a bailout, has plans to replace Railtrack with a new not-for-profit firm.
A law firm for leading Railtrack shareholders said its clients were "extremely angry" and were determined to have value to its shares restored.
The clients hold more than 20 per cent of Railtrack Group. The clients are Deutsche Asset Management, Fidelity Investments, INVESCO Perpetual, Legg Mason Investors, Marathon Asset Management, Morley Fund Management and Odey Asset Management.
The law firm also said it clients believed that the government's action had "serious implications" for private-sector spending in government projects.