Railtrack hits out at regulator

Railtrack hits out at regulator

RAILTRACK YESTERDAY fired the first shot in its battle with the Rail Regulator over the forthcoming review of its charges to train operating companies. Railtrack said the regulated asset base on which it is allowed to make a return should be valued at pounds 4bn, not the pounds 2.5bn suggested by the regulator.

It has also commissioned a study from an Oxford academic, Dr Tim Jenkinson of Keble College, which calculates that its cost of capital is at the upper end of a range from 6.1 per cent to 8.3 per cent. This is because it will need to fund more of its pounds 17bn investment programme from revenues which rely on risk-sharing deals with train operators.