to issue £3.7bn of private bonds, which the government pledged to guarantee. In return the government gained a percentage of future profits from the operation of the CTRL once completed, as well as a golden share in LCR. As part of the deal LCR was forced to appoint a management contract for EUKL. This was won by Inter-Capital and Regional Rail (ICRR), a consortium of National Express (40%), SNCF (35%), SNCB (15%) and British Airways (10%). The contract was to run from 1998 until 2010. Following the access to finance, LCR was able to begin the CTRL project. Rail Link Engineering (RLE) was appointed to design and engineer the CTRL. RLE was a group made up of the four engineering companies involved in LCR; Bechtel (50%), Arup (19%), Halcrow (17%) and Systra (14%). In addition, Railtrack was brought into the project by the government and agreed to purchase the CTRL from LCR once completed. To reduce the risks surrounding the project, the construction was split into two phases. Section 1, from the Channel Tunnel to Fawkham Junction in Kent, was to be managed by Union Railways (South) under the control of Railtrack, who committed to purchase Section 1 from LCR once complete for the cost of its construction. The more complex part, Section 2 running from Fawkham Junction to London St Pancras was to be managed by Union Railways (North). Railtrack also purchased an option, to be exercised by 2003, to control Union Railways (North) during construction and acquire Section 2 once complete. It was intended that with the completed full-length CTRL then in Railtrack's future ownership, EUKL would then pay track access charges to use the line. Railtrack crisis Following a series of rail accidents and a subsequent share price collapse, Railtrack announced in April 2001 that it would not take up its option to project manage and then purchase Section 2. Instead, Section 2 would be owned on completion by LCR, with Railtrack owning Section 1 as well as being responsible for operating both sections. In October 2001, Railtrack was placed into "railway administration" with debts of £7.1bn and in October 2002 Railtrack's assets were transferred to a newly created "not for dividend" company called Network Rail, whose debts would be guaranteed by the government. LCR re-purchased Railtrack's interest in Section 1 for £295m, meaning that both sections would once again be in LCR's ownership upon subsequent competition.