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Wednesday 13 Jul 2005

NETWORK RAIL LAUNCHES A$850 MILLION BOND AND ANNOUNCES NEW STERLING ISSUE

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National

Network Rail is pleased to announce that it has launched an A$850 million bond as part of its Debt Issuance Programme (DIP) to fund the rebuilding of Britain’s railway. In response to strong investor interest, the transaction was priced today at 34 basis points over the 5.25% August 2010 Australian Commonwealth Government Bond.  Network Rail’s inaugural July 2010 bond will have a fixed rate five year maturity. The debt issue has been assigned credit ratings of AAA by Standard & Poors, Aaa by Moody’s and AAA by Fitch IBCA.  Network Rail mandated Royal Bank of Canada and UBS on this transaction. Network Rail has also mandated DresdnerKleinwortWasserstein (DrKW), HSBC and UBS for a 15-year sterling benchmark issue, which will be launched in the near future, subject to market conditions. This will constitute the latest sterling tranche of the £20 billion DIP. Samantha Pitt, Network Rail’s Head of Corporate Finance, said: “These transactions represent important further steps in implementing Network Rail’s proven strategy to fund the renewal of Britain’s railway. We were delighted by the high level of interest in the Australian issue, which represents the first time that we have accessed the Australian capital market. The issue was significantly over-subscribed. Page 1 of 2 NETWORK RAIL LAUNCHES A$850 MILLION BOND AND ANNOUNCES NEW STERLING ISSUE “The success of this issue again highlights how the DIP is delivering access to the widest possible sources of funding at the lowest possible cost. “ The DIP benefits from a Financial Indemnity from the Secretary of State for Transport. In the United Kingdom this press release is directed only at persons (a) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(1)(a) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2001 (the "Order") and (b) whose ordinary activities involve them in acquiring or disposing of investments (as principal or agent) for the purposes of their business within Article 7(2)(a) of the Public Offers of Securities Regulations 1995 (all such persons together  referred to as "relevant persons"). The investments to which this press release relates are available only to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such investments will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this press release or any of its contents. This press release is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States.  This press release is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities referred to herein may not be offered or sold in the United States unless they are registered or exempt from registration. There will be no public offer of the securities in the United States.