The amount of ill-feeling towards Network Rail is reaching new proportions this week, after licence breaches and poor performance, prosecution for the deaths of two teenage girls, and now extravagant bonuses to reward all this failure.

Although the bonuses were originally meant to be 100% of the annual salary, even 60% of this is a huge amount of money.

At a time when the railway is more expensive than ever before, with delays and disruptions left, right and centre, it is no wonder that the public is incensed.

But these bonuses have always been paid and the most senior directors receive staggering sums every year, in many different industries.

What is new this year is the amount of media focus on the topic, combined with an atmosphere of financial austerity for everyone else, and poor performance. It makes bonuses even more difficult to swallow when there really is nothing to warrant such a prize.

Of course many would be unhappy about the gross inequality these bonuses represent regardless of performance, but for many it is a valid reason to support their anger. They are not opposed to rewarding success, but for what many perceive as failure, it is too much.