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Reproduced from Daily Express 1 December, 1995
Waterman owes BR £1m
THE MAN behind the singing careers of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and
Rick Astley has taken on Railtrack.
BR boilersmith turned pop impresario Pete Waterman, formerly of Stock,
Aitken and Waterman, now owns a private railway company and is refusing
to pay nearly £1 million in invoices yesterday.
Last year, Waterman took over the BR Special Trains division to run
soccer specials and special charters. It includes the famous Flying
Scotsman steam locomotive.
But the 48-year-old train spotter, whose personal wealth is estimated to
be around £60 million, is disputing Railtrack's track access
charges.
A leaked letter from David Redfern, the British Rail board's director of
finance, shows Waterman Railways has refused to pay almost
£1 million to Rail Express Systems.
It now has to pay cash in advance to run services. RES supplies
Waterman with locomotives, maintenance and route planning services.
Labour transport spokesman Brian Wilson said the crises was an
"astonishing indictment of the rail privatisation".
"It is clear that all the services provided by the Special Trains
Division are now hanging by a hair," he said.
Waterman was in France last night, and was unavailable for comment.
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