High Speed Rail Finance (1) PLC

(a company incorporated in England with its registered office at 5th Floor, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, England, N1 9AG and company number 08346271)

24^th April 2026

Application to the Office of Rail and Road to enter into a track access agreement with VTE Holdings Limited ("Virgin")

High Speed Rail Finance (1) PLC (the "Company") provides an update regarding the operating company of the Company's group, HS1 Limited, trading as London St. Pancras Highspeed ("LSPH").

Today, LSPH and Virgin  have jointly submitted an application ("Form P") to the Office of Rail and Road ("ORR") to enter into a Framework Track Access Agreement ("FTAA") in respect of Virgin being granted access to the HS1 high-speed line. In addition, LSPH has published an industry consultation on an FTAA with Virgin.

These steps follow a robust assessment undertaken by LSPH of both operational integrity and financial viability of Virgin, designed to ensure that any operator using the HS1 line can do so safely and reliably. This assessment has concluded that Virgin has met the relevant criteria to proceed to the capacity allocation process.

Subject to approval of the application by the ORR, it is envisaged that LSPH and Virgin will enter into the FTAA. The FTAA will be subject to certain conditions precedent, including the acquisition by Virgin of compatible rolling stock and ongoing compliance with operational integrity and financial viability tests. Should these conditions precedent not be satisfied, the FTAA will lapse.

If Virgin is granted track access and commences services in 2030, as currently envisaged, this is expected to generate material additional revenue for LSPH, resulting in an improved debt service coverage ratio for the bonds issued by the Company.

LSPH welcomes the interest of an additional operator in accessing the HS1 line. Increased competition on the routes served by HS1 is expected to lead to greater choice for customers and an expansion of services. This is particularly welcome given strong demand for international rail services, with passenger numbers forecast to triple by 2040.

In addition, the use of the HS1 line by additional operators will allow the system's fixed costs to be spread across a greater number of services and operators, reducing costs and improving overall efficiency for all operators.

The industry consultation will run for a period of 30 days, after which LSPH will respond to consultees and will submit the responses to the ORR for final approval of the FTAA.

Enquiries:

For further information, please contact: 

[email protected]

The Rail Business Development Team

High Speed Rail Finance (1) PLC 

5TH FLOOR 

KINGS PLACE 

90 YORK WAY 

LONDON 

N1 9AG 

The information contained in this announcement constitutes inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Caroline Gould, General Counsel and Company Secretary.

Date and time of this notification:

24^th April 2026, 6.15pm