Media centre

Wednesday 11 Jun 2014

Rail investment in South East soars as Network Rail publishes its full year results

Region & Route:

| Southern

Almost £1.2bn was invested in the railway connecting Kent and Sussex with London last year, Network Rail revealed today in its full year results for the 2013/14 financial year.

That represents a 37 per cent increase on the previous year and more than £3m a day.

Passenger growth across the entire London and the South East region over the same period hit 7.3 per cent, with a total rise of 31.5 per cent over the last four years. More than one billion passenger journeys are made on trains into London every year, equating to roughly three million passenger journeys each day.

Dave Ward, Network Rail route managing director, said: “This record level of investment is matched by record passenger numbers. While we continue to build for the future, we are also absolutely focussed on improving day to day performance through continual upgrades of existing infrastructure and equipment.

“More than 4,500 trains run every day between London and Kent and Sussex and over the next five years we will be is investing more than £2.3bn in the rail network in those areas. This forms part of a wider programme to deliver an extra 115,000 seats a day into the capital by 2019 – an increase of 20 per cent.”

Nationally, Network Rail invested around £7bn in 2013/14 in improving and expanding the network, which equates to almost £20m a day.

Investment highlights from Network Rail in Kent and Sussex

• Platform lengthening at more than 50 stations across Kent and Sussex, to improve capacity and allow for longer trains
• £80m investment in the Brighton Main Line, including an additional platform at Gatwick Airport, plus a remodelled Stoat’s Nest Junction in Purley and signalling improvements at Victoria
• Completion of the first phases of the new London Bridge station, part of the Thameslink programme to transform north-south travel between the south coast and destinations in Bedforshire, Hertforsdhire and Cambridgeshire
• New and longer platforms at Gravesend, plus lifts and a new bridge
• Start of work at Rochester for new station and extra platform at Rainham
• £21m Arun Valley resignalling scheme
• New station building at Dartford
• Access for All work at Denmark Hill, Hassocks and Thornton Heath
• New fully accessible footbridge and concourse improvements at East Croydon
• New state-of-the-art route operating centre at Three Bridges, which opened in January and will eventually control the majority of the rail network in the region

National financial highlights

• Capital expenditure was £6,884m (2012/13: £5,050m) contributing to an increased asset value of £51,641m (£46,411m last year)
• Revenue was £6,333m (£6,197m in 2012/13)
• Profit after tax was £943m (up 22% from £775m) with all profits reinvested
• Operating profit was £1,908m (£2,217m last year)
• Net debt at year end was £32,988m (£30,358m) with a gearing ratio of 65%, comfortably within the regulator’s 75% limit

Nationally, more than over 5,000 projects have been completed over the course of the last five years (control period 4 – CP4 – 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2014). These smaller, but just as important projects aimed at making incremental improvements to the railway for the benefit of passengers, and have seen:

• Over 2,000 miles of track renewed
• Improvements at over 500 stations across the country
• Almost 200 lifts installed at stations
• Over 140 platforms lengthened across London and the South East

ENDS