The European Investment Bank, the European Union's long-term financing institution, is lending Railtrack PLC £400 million (EUR 635 million)(1) towards modernising and upgrading of the UK's West Coast Mainline railway between London and Glasgow. The loan is to support the works within the first phase of Railtrack's major investment programme for the mainline.
EIB President and Chairman, Sir Brian Unwin said: "As one of the fourteen priority Trans-European Networks identified by the Essen European Council in December 1994, tThe West Coast Mainline forms is a crucial element in the communications arteries of Europe. and is one of the fourteen key Trans European Networks identified by the Essen European Council in December 1994. As such its improvement and development is an EIB priority. The West Coast line It is the most heavily used line in the UK and the work the EIB will now help to finance will not onlyas well as helping to reduce travel times and to improve service reliability but will also, the line will provide high quality rail access to important economic development areas, such as Merseyside and Strathclyde. The EIB is very glad to be able to make such a major contribution to this much needed railway improvement project."
Railtrack is the owner-operator of the UK's national rail network. The phase 1 investment will improve access between the North of the UK and the rest of Europe through the Channel Tunnel. The works, to be completed by mid 2002, will increase reliability and allow the operation of the new tilt trains at speeds of up to 200 km-hour.
The loan contract was signed in London today by Sir Brian Unwin and Norman Broadhurst , Executive Director for Railtrack.
The European Investment Bank, the European Union's long-term lending institution, finances capital investment furthering EU integration, in particular: regional development; trans-European networks in transport, telecoms and energy; industrial competitiveness and integration; SMEs; environmental protection; and energy security. It also operates outside the EU within the framework of the EU's co-operation external policy. Owned by the Member States, the EIB raises its funds on capital markets (AAA issuer). Sir Brian Unwin is the first British President of the institution and assumed office in 1993. In 1998, the EIB lent some EUR 30 billion, of which £2 billion in the UK.
(1) 1 EUR = 0.647500 GBP.