THE rail maintenance company that was working at Hatfield when a GNER express was derailed was last night stripped of its East Coast Main Line contract.

Rather than renew Balfour Beatty's contract, Railtrack has named rival company Jarvis Facilities as the preferred bidder for maintenance of the main line - the fastest track in Britain.

However, Balfour Beatty has been named preferred bidder for the maintenance of Railtrack's Kent and Great Eastern areas, in which it is already operating.

Balfour Beatty's work at Hatfield has been under the spotlight ever since it was quickly established that a broken rail had caused last October's derailment in which four lives were lost.

Immediately after the accident, Railtrack said that the condition of the rail at Hatfield was "wholly unacceptable".

The East Coast contract was one of a number announced yesterday by Railtrack, which is carrying out a review of maintenance. Each contract is flexible to allow any changes that might arise from the review.

Railtrack said last night: "These new contracts are a significant step forward from previous arrangements in that they provide for greater visibility of maintenance activity, resources and costs, allowing Railtrack more control over maintenance and an improved working relationship with our contractors."

The company's chief operating officer Jonson Cox said: ''The maintenance of the railway is of crucial importance. I am confident the new arrangements will put us in a position to deliver better service to our passenger and freight customers."

White collar transport union TSSA said it believed the decision to take the East Coast contract away from Balfour Beatty was based "solely on cost and will do nothing to improve safety or reliability".

The union's deputy general secretary Jon Allen said: ''Railtrack are just moving the deckchairs on a very unstable ship. No doubt it suits them for people to think this is a response to the Hatfield tragedy, but far from it.

"This decision shows Railtrack's account-led culture has learned nothing from the disaster. That's bad news for everyone who cares about a safe and reliable railway network.