GORDON Prentice has urged Tony Blair to buy more shares in Railtrack.

The East Lancashire MP has discovered that this year the government will receive £300,000 in dividend payments from its ownership of 0.2 per cent of the company which operates Britain's train tracks.

At Prime Minister's questions he asked Mr Blair to use the money to buy more shares in the firm.

The Premier refused but did pledge that the government was committed to investing more of its money, wherever it came from, in public serivces such as transport, education and health.

But Pendle Labour backbencher Mr Prentice is undeterred and will continue to press the government to increase its stake in Railtrack.

He said: "We could use the share dividend to invest in more Railtrack shares progressively increasing the government's stake.

"The company's former chief executive Gerald Corbet has actually asked the government to do this. This is not renationalisation but responding to the request of the company for the company to increase its equity stake.

"If the government owned more of Railtrack it would have a greater say in its operations and key issues like timetabling and safety.

"I don't want to go back to the old British Rail days of slam door trains and curly sandwiches, but I do want the government to have a bigger say in Railtrack.

"It is absurd that we still have the west coast main line from London to the North West in such a dreadful state and in need of massive investment. One way to achieve what the Prime Minister wants is to increase the amount of Railtrack shares the government owns."