A deal to hand beleaguered rail infrastructure firm Railtrack over to a new not-for-profit company is set to be signed next week.

Railtrack Group is expected to announce the terms of the deal to sell its operating arm, which went into administration in October, for �500m.

Shares in the company, which were suspended at the time, are likely to begin trading again on the London Stock Exchange next week.

Network Rail is in the final stages of negotiating with a syndicate of banks for a �9bn bridging loan, and will take on �6.5bn of Railtrack debt.

Investors vote

Railtrack is also expected to announce a separate sale of section one of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, to London & Continental Railways - which will be run and maintained by Network Rail.

That deal is likely to raise another �375m for shareholders.

The board of the Railtrack Group will spell out the terms and conditions of the sale contracts, with a recommendation to the company's 250,000 shareholders that they should accept.

Investors will be asked to vote at an extraordinary general meeting before the end of July.

It is thought that big institutional shareholders, who hold around 70% of the shares, will agree.

But small investors, who have already rejected the likely value of the deal of �2.50 a share, have announced plans for legal action against the government over former transport secretary Stephen Byers' decision to put Railtrack into administration.