§ Ms ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 5 March,Official Report, column 26, if he will make a statement on the arrangements made to write off Railtrack debt prior to flotation. [25528]
§ Mr. WattsRailtrack's debt to the national loans fund—£1,299,418,952.48—was extinguished by means of the Railways Act 1993 (Extinguishment of Relevant Loans) (Railtrack plc) Order 1996, which came into effect on 29 March 1996. Railtrack's remaining debt to passenger transport executives—£230.5 million—was transferred to the British Railways Board on the same date. Finally, on the same date, Railtrack issued two debentures to Her Majesty's Treasury totalling £585 million, also on the same date.