Rock Rail, a new rolling stock company, today reached financial close with Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) on a deal worth more than £200 million to finance a replacement suburban train fleet on the Great Northern route. The equity for the project is provided by SL Capital Infrastructure fund (part of Standard Life Investments) and the senior debt is provided by Aviva Investors.
The new fleet will consist of 25 climate-controlled six-carriage units to be built by Siemens. The trains will enter service before the end of 2018 and replace the old Class 313s which have been running on the line since the 1970s. They will run between Moorgate in the City of London and Welwyn and Hertford, Stevenage and Letchworth.
Operis acted as financial advisor to Rock Rail on the project. An independent Operis team also acted as the model auditor on behalf of Aviva, Rock Rail and GTR.
