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Low interest rates signal rail debt help

Mark Leftly
Saturday 06 April 2013 14:02 BST
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Network Rail, the Government-backed body that runs and maintains Britain's tracks and busiest train stations, is looking to take advantage of record low interest rates to keep a grip on its rising debt burden.

At £28bn, Network Rail has more debt than all the water utilities combined, though this will increase to nearly £50bn by 2019.

Finance director Patrick Butcher is looking to lock-in a fixed-rate of low interest on about £3.8bn that is due to be refinanced from 2014, the start of its fifth five-year control period.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "We are currently doing analysis as to whether to lock in current interest rates now for some of the debt that needs to be raised during CP5."

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