Jan 25 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times
* The Italian state rail company has opened the bidding to operate the trains on the High Speed Two line in what is likely to be the most hotly contested competition in the history of the railways. Trenitalia has said that it will put in a bid to run both HS2 and the west coast main line currently operated by Virgin Trains. http://bit.ly/2juLY8g
* The British government is on track to beat its borrowing target this year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that public sector net borrowing, excluding taxpayer-backed banks, was 6.9 billion pounds ($8.65 billion) in December. http://bit.ly/2juNHua
The Guardian
* Citigroup has set out 25 criteria to weigh up which financial centre in the European Union will house the new operation it expects to set up as a result of Brexit. http://bit.ly/2juMB1m
* British Gas has been ordered to pay 9.5 mln pounds by Energy regulator Ofgem for IT failures that landed business customers with incorrect and late bills. http://bit.ly/2juHgag
The Telegraph
* Businesses across the EU are reeling from the "shockwaves" sent by Theresa May when she announced the UK will leave the single market, the CBI's director general has warned. http://bit.ly/2juHoXz
* HSBC plans to slash almost 400 jobs after it announced more branch closures around the country as well as further cuts to its IT division to help bring down its costs. http://bit.ly/2juxhSI
Sky News
* British engineering group Doncasters will separate its defence operations ahead of a sale to a Chinese company, according to Sky News. http://bit.ly/2juwKjG
* The new boss of Formula One, Chase Carey, has insisted that Bernie Ecclestone was not "deposed" after 40 years running the sport. http://bit.ly/2juVurN
The Independent
* The Chief operating officer of aircraft giant Airbus , Tom Williams, has warned that his company would be "entering a dangerous phase" if the UK's vote to leave the European Union disrupts the movement of people and products. http://ind.pn/2juIcLO
* The UK aviation industry could "fall off a cliff" in two years' time because of the decision to leave the European Union, Ryanair CEO, Michael O'Leary has warned. http://ind.pn/2juMZgA
($1 = 0.7981 pounds) (Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
