Network Rail has seen its debt rise by nearly £1 billion within 6 months, raising the railway giant’s total debt to over £28 billion.

Borrowing for the company increased from a £2.06 billion station and line investment programme including the modernisation of Reading station.

Network Rail's finance director, Patrick Butcher, said that such debt levels were fairly typical for a utility company of such size: “Providing our asset values keep going up – and they are, because they are driven by growing income streams from more passengers – then high debt levels are perfectly acceptable."