Skip to main content

EIB agrees funding for new East Anglia trains

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide US$76 million (£60 million) for the purchase of new trains that will improve passenger services in East Anglia on key London, intercity, airport and local services in the UK. The 378 new train carriages will be used by franchise operator Abellio and replace outdated existing electric and diesel trains currently used on the routes. The EIB loan is guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) under the Investment Plan for Europe, and
October 6, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

The 4270 European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide US$76 million (£60 million) for the purchase of new trains that will improve passenger services in East Anglia on key London, intercity, airport and local services in the UK.

The 378 new train carriages will be used by franchise operator Abellio and replace outdated existing electric and diesel trains currently used on the routes. The EIB loan is guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) under the Investment Plan for Europe, and this is the first EFSI transport loan in the United Kingdom.

The 28 year European Investment Bank loan will finance purchase of new rolling stock by Rock Rail East Anglia PLC for use by Abellio East Anglia Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dutch national rail company Nederlandse Spoorwegen.

Funding of these new trains was led by Rock Rail and SL Capital with additional co-investment equity being provided by GLIL, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and London Pensions Fund Authority infrastructure investment joint venture.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Infrastructure spending is an investment in economic recovery
    January 20, 2012
    Transportation funding is caught in the crossfire as the President calls for infrastructure investment and a reinvigorated Republican majority in the House pushes back on federal spending. Andrew Bardin Williams reports. Every few months some politician or pundit declares that the country is on the verge of making the most important political decision in a generation. The 2006 mid-term election; the 2008 Presidential election; the passing of the stimulus bill; healthcare reform; the mania surrounding Tea Pa
  • New York approves transit toll hikes
    October 15, 2019
    The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has approved a package of toll and fare hikes to raise funds for large-scale improvements. Executive director Rick Cotton says: "We don't want to impose increases. But we must, on the other hand, support investment in our ageing, legacy facilities. Our infrastructure facilities are, simply, sub-par." A report in CTPost suggests the major projects include upgrades of LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Liberty airports, a new AirTrain serving LaGuardia and a new mono
  • Iteris to acquire Meridian Environmental Technologies
    January 26, 2012
    Iteris has signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire Meridian Environmental Technology, a privately-held company based in North Dakota.
  • UK city pilots I2V technology
    April 27, 2015
    New technology which communicates between traffic signals and motorists to help the way they drive is being rolled out across Newcastle as part of a joint cooperative project with Siemens. In the first pilot of its kind in the UK, the system links an in-vehicle communication system directly with the city’s urban traffic management centre (UTMC), the infrastructure will ‘communicate’ directly with motorists, giving certain vehicles priority at junctions. Initially, the system has been fitted to non-emerge