British railway bosses 'leech' taxpayers of £1.5billion in dividends in just seven years

Firms that own Britain’s trains have been accused of “leeching” taxpayers after dishing out £1.5billion worth of dividends over the past seven years.

Rolling stock companies were created with the Tories’ controversial privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s. They own the coaches, locomotives and freight wagons used on the railways, which they lease to train operators.

Analysis shows more than a fifth of everything operators have spent since 2017 – more than £22billion – has gone to those leasing companies. The Office for Rail and Road (ORR) says these companies have, in turn, paid £1.5billion in dividends during that time.

Yet passengers have seen fares soar and the taxpayers has pumped billions into supporting the railways. Labour recently pledged to renationalise the railways if it came to power.

But rolling stock companies are not part of its plans because of the huge cost of bringing them back into state ownership. According to the ORR, firms paid £413milliion in dividends last year alone, during which time profit margins trebled. Three big owners of passenger trains are Porterbrook, Angel Trains and Eversholt.

Accounts shows Eversholt, owned by Hong Kong based billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison empire, paid another £33.7million in dividends in 2023. Eversholt chief executive Mary Kenny is on almost £1.1million a year.

Porterbrook, whose owners include a Canadian pension fund and insurer Allianz, has handed out £400million in dividends since 2018 alone. Its boss, Mary Grant, was paid £1.2million last year. Angel Trains, whose owners include another big Canadian pension fund, declared a near £125million dividend in 2022, while boss Malcolm Brown is on £900,000 a year.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef

Mick Whelan, general secretary train drivers union Aslef, said: “You’d like to see some of that money coming back. There is talk of reform but there are all these other people leeching and pillaging our industry. There is no talk of reform of them and taxes on them for excessive profits.”

Mr Whelan accepted that renationalising rolling stock companies now would be too expensive for the taxpayer. But he added: “I think it should happen some time in the future. Once you have a nationalised the railways, when we secure trains in the future, and we pay for them, hopefully they will stay with the public.”

Angel Train’s Malcolm Brown

An Angel Trains spokesperson said: “Angel Trains plays a crucial role in modernising the UK’s rail infrastructure, investing more than £1.5billion in over the past decade.

“In the last year alone, in excess of £250million was spent on rolling stock. This includes investment in new rolling stock and the refurbishment of existing stock, making trains more comfortable, reliable and accessible for passengers today – as well as supporting the government to achieve its overarching net zero ambitions by 2050.”

Porterbrook’s Mary Grant

It said the 2022 dividend was the first paid in three years. A Porterbrook spokesperson said it was “able to invest and innovate for the future of the railway because of the funding that our shareholders provide, and in the normal course of business, when appropriate, dividends are paid.”

The ORR’s figure of £413million in dividends last year includes £285m attributed to Porterbrook. However, Porterbrook’s spokesman said this went from to its parent company. The amount then paid to shareholders last year was £80million last year, he said. Eversholt was contacted for comment.