Network Rail has hived off its property arm into a standalone business with instructions to generate £1.8bn for network improvements.

Network Rail Property now has its own board which will approve investments and disposals without reverting back to the main group board.

Network Rail said that the new structure and governance arrangement would “provide greater focus on plans to deliver land for housing, while continuing to generate income from Network Rail’s other property assets to reinvest into the railway”.

Meanwhile, Network Rail itself will be free to focus on its core business of running the railways.

This new organisation went live on 1st April 2016 under managing director David Biggs and non-executive chairman Chris Gibb. A search has begun to identify two further non-executive directors with appropriate property experience.

David Biggs, managing director of Network Rail Property, said: “A bigger and better railway requires significant investment and Network Rail is generating an extra £1.8bn to help fund the Railway Upgrade Plan, mostly through the sale of property assets where continued Network Rail ownership is not essential to running the railway. This means Network Rail can focus on its core business of running a safe, reliable and growing railway that is vital to Britain’s economic health.

“Our new property company will have greater powers to unlock land for homes, drive economic growth in towns and cities and reinvest money into the rail network to help fund the Railway Upgrade Plan. It will mean that investment or asset disposal decisions can be made at the right level within the organisation in a timely way while ensuring appropriate oversight is in place.”