A FORMER East Lancashire schoolboy who has become one of the most powerful men in transport history today spoke of his determination to put Britain's beleaguered rail industry back on track.

But former Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School pupil Richard Bowker said he was not daunted by the task and was already working on new ideas.

The 35 year old has just been named as the new chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority -- the government body charged with pulling the rail industry out if its current mire.

The government put Railtrack into administration after a catalogue of rail disasters and poor performances. It is due to re-emerge as a non-profit-making operation.

Mr Bowker, who will take over from current chairman Sir Alastair Morton when he steps down in December, said: "It's had a very bad 12 to15 months which everybody recognises and it has been in crisis but my job is to get the confidence back. There are a lot of things that can be done and I am looking forward to the challenge.

"It's a great honour. It's very scary but it's also very exciting."

Mr Bowker's track record stands him in more than good stead for the long route ahead. Up until Wednesday, when his appointment was announced, Mr Bowker was co-chairman of Virgin Trains. He is currently commercial director of the Virgin Group but will sever all links completely with the company when he takes up his role with the SRA. A fanatical Rovers supporter and Ewood Park season ticket holder, Mr Bowker travels up from his London base -- by train -- to take in as many games as possible, citing the job Graeme Souness has done as "awesome."

But it his own job which occupies his foremost thoughts including getting the defunct Railtrack back on the rails -- which he exclusively told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph could be called Newtrack

He said: "The administrators will be working up their proposals to make Railtrack a new company. The government has new ideas but the most important thing is that it will involve shareholders and not be profit-making. Any surplus profits will go back into the railways as we try and undo some of the mistakes made by privatisation."

It is all a far cry from East Lancashire where he spent his formative years.

From 1979 to 1985 he attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, travelling in from his Leyland home -- where his mother still lives -- by bus. After successfully studying Maths, Physics, Economics and General Studies at A Level, he went to Leicester University where he took an Economics Degree before moving on to London where he has been based since.

Mr Bowker said: "I can honestly say that my memories of that school are absolutely fantastic. I loved every minute of it. I was the house captain of Howard House, in Upper Sixth Form and had a fantastic time.

"Although I lived in Leyland, I had mates in Blackburn, Great Harwood and Rishton and I grew up in Blackburn. That's what I regard as home."