Network Rail considers the privatisation of 18 major stations

Network Rail is considering the privatisation of 18 of its major train stations, including London Waterloo, Reading, Leeds and Edinburgh Waverley.

The move is aimed at streamlining Network Rail and making a significant reduction to the organisation’s debt, which is predicted to reach as much as £50 billion by 2020.

It would stand as the first major act of privatisation since Network Rail moved from a semi-autonomous body to a formal part of government in September 2014, on the recommendation of the Office for National Statistics, to meet European accounting rules.

A source told the Independent that bankers at Citigroup have been hired to examine options for these 18 major stations, which includes outright sales, grouping several stations together for sales, bringing firms in to run just the retail spaces and offering individual concessions.

The source said: “It could be just the retail; it could be a concession option like St Pancras. It could be some, could be all. It might be same answer for all or treating them individually.

“The point is there are lots of possibilities. Citi is testing the market so there will be lots of opinions out there and none of them right, as our board will make that decision some months down the line from now.”