Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 11:15 28 Mar 2024
- Man suffers life-threatening injuries after train stabbing
- How do I renew my UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?
* Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Mar (1917)
Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore closed (link)

Train RunningCancelled
09:29 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
10:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
10:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
10:41 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
11:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington
11:05 Swindon to Westbury
11:16 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
11:23 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
11:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads
11:50 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
12:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
12:17 Westbury to Swindon
12:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
13:15 Swindon to Westbury
14:19 Westbury to Swindon
15:14 Swindon to Westbury
Short Run
06:00 London Paddington to Penzance
06:05 Penzance to London Paddington
07:33 Weymouth to Gloucester
08:03 London Paddington to Penzance
09:50 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
10:35 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids
10:55 Paignton to London Paddington
11:12 Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads
11:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
12:03 London Paddington to Penzance
Delayed
07:10 Penzance to London Paddington
08:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
08:35 Plymouth to London Paddington
08:48 London Paddington to Swansea
09:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
09:30 Weymouth to Gloucester
09:37 London Paddington to Paignton
09:51 Warminster to Gloucester
10:04 London Paddington to Penzance
13:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 28, 2024, 11:31:01 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[161] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[91] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[62] Return of the BRUTE?
[53] If not HS2 to Manchester, how will traffic be carried?
[49] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[38] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Network Rail sells all its railway arches for £1.5bn  (Read 1044 times)
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« on: September 11, 2018, 11:17:41 »

Quoting from The Independent but widely covered elsewhere

Quote
Network Rail sells all its railway arches for £1.5bn

Funds from sale will be used for planned upgrades, but tenants fear rents will rise under new ownership

Network Rail has sold its commercial property portfolio, mainly comprised of converted railway arches, for £1.46bn.

The rail operator said the proceeds will be used to fund its railway upgrade plan, “bringing major improvements for passengers and reducing the need for taxpayers to fund the railway”.

The property has been sold to investment groups Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners, on a leasehold basis, and Network Rail will retain access rights.


I think of railway arches on the lines out of Blackfriars and London Bridge ... and Victoria on the South Eastern side. Probably because of my childhood in those parts.  Are there many arches and other similar properiues in the GWR (Great Western Railway) territory?
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Red Squirrel
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 5190


There are some who call me... Tim


View Profile
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2018, 11:32:25 »

Can someone with a better grasp than I of financial matters explain to me how this makes sense? To my mind these were a valuable wholly-owned asset which, presumably, NR» (Network Rail - home page) could have borrowed against at favourable rates. Why sell (well, lease) them?
Logged

Things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 12334


View Profile Email
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2018, 11:36:18 »

Government requirement?
Logged
Bmblbzzz
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4256


View Profile
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2018, 12:19:14 »

I've no idea how many there are in GWR (Great Western Railway) territory but back in the 90s I briefly worked in one in Bath, just across the river from the station. There were about half a dozen in the row.
Logged

Waiting at Pilning for the midnight sleeper to Prague.
Sixty3Closure
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 501


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2018, 12:24:09 »

Can someone with a better grasp than I of financial matters explain to me how this makes sense? To my mind these were a valuable wholly-owned asset which, presumably, NR» (Network Rail - home page) could have borrowed against at favourable rates. Why sell (well, lease) them?

Focussing on core business supposedly but  I agree the finance doesn't really stack up.
Logged
Lee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7519


GBR - The Emperor's New Rail Network


View Profile WWW
« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2018, 14:19:38 »

In my opinion, this needs to be seen not through the prism of whether it makes financial sense, but more as a step in the transitional journey towards the politically-driven vision of what Network Rail is likely to become.

Basically, this move echoes what the Shaw Report called for. The Shaw Report also floated the possibility of reclassifying the entire body as private by way of accessing the equity capital markets or selling an equity stake to investors, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's where we were heading next.
Logged

Vous devez être impitoyable, parce que ces gens sont des salauds - https://looka.com/s/78722877
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2019, 04:08:07 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Quote
Railway arches sale overlooked tenants, says spending watchdog

Network Rail only considered tenants of its arches "late in the process" when it sold its commercial property portfolio, the spending watchdog says.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said the £1.46bn generated by the deal in September was "more than expected".

But it said that tenants got no legal guarantees on the amount of rent they pay from the new owners.

The government says all tenants' rights have been protected - but campaigners warned firms could be priced out.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page