£35m to be reinvested into the railway as Network Rail sells national logistics centre

Network Rail has generated £35m from the sale of its National Logistics Centre in Ryton, Coventry to the West Midlands Pension Fund, following a competitive sales process.

Funds generated from the sale will be reinvested into the railway to contribute to delivering the Railway Upgrade Plan. As part of the sale agreement, the National Logistics Centre will be leased back to Network Rail with a 15-year term.

The sale follows external analysis which suggested introducing a new inventory and order system, meaning the site will eventually no longer be needed by Network Rail.

"Network Rail has decided to raise funds from asset disposals to support our ongoing rail enhancement programme.

"Investment is crucial to improving the railway in Britain. Improvements lead to longer, faster more frequent trains; a better, more reliable infrastructure; and better facilities for passengers, especially at stations.

"The sale of the National Logistics Centre in Ryton is part of this plan to build a bigger, better and more reliable railway which benefits all rail users, and delivers the best value for money for taxpayers."

David Biggs, managing director of Network Rail Property

About Network Rail

Network Rail owns, manages and develops Britain’s railway – the 20,000 miles of track, 40,000 bridges and viaducts, and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations (the largest of which we also run). In partnership with train operators we help people take more than 1.6bn journeys by rail every year - double the number of 1996 - and move hundreds of millions of tonnes of freight, saving almost 8m lorry journeys. We’re investing £38bn in the railway by 2019 to deliver more frequent, more reliable, safer services and brighter and better stations.