Railtrack chairman John Robinson today urged the company to adopt a "zero tolerance" attitude towards rail safety.

Speaking at the company's AGM in York, he said rail safety was "absolutely fundamental" and that Railtrack was "deeply sorry" for the recent train disasters.

Mr Robinson said: "I am committed to ensuring that we continue to move towards a culture of zero tolerance of unsafe acts."

He spoke out as furious families hit by the recent rail tragedies staged a protest outside the meeting.

Survivors of disasters and relatives of victims were demonstrating against big payouts to Railtrack chiefs.

Carol Bell, co-chairman of Safe Trains Action Group, said: "We want to raise questions about the huge payouts to executives and ask about the company's commitment to rail safety."

Fury erupted when former chief executive Gerald Corbett was given a £1 million 'golden goodbye' earlier this month.

Updated: 13.30 Tuesday, July 24