European Investment Bank backing for UK’s East Coast Main Line trains

Europe’s long-term lending institution, the European Investment Bank has, as part of a consortium of international banks, agreed to finance the deployment of 65 new Hitachi super express trains to be used on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland. This new fleet will replace the Intercity 125 and 225 trains currently in use on the line. The new East Coast Main Line trains will be financed under the Department for Transport’s Intercity Express Programme, which includes the financing, desig
April 17, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Europe’s long-term lending institution, the 4270 European Investment Bank has, as part of a consortium of international banks, agreed to finance the deployment of 65 new 2213 Hitachi super express trains to be used on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland. This new fleet will replace the Intercity 125 and 225 trains currently in use on the line.
 
The new East Coast Main Line trains will be financed under the 1837 Department for Transport’s Intercity Express Programme, which includes the financing, design, manufacture and maintenance of trains over a 27.5 year operating period. The order for the East Coast Main Line is for 497 new train carriages and the total contract value is US$4.5 billion, which is the total value of lease payments train operators will make over the life of the contracts.
 
New trains on the line will include both bi-mode trains, electric trains that can also operate at line speed using diesel engines, and electric trains. The programme will also include the construction of a new maintenance deport in Doncaster.
 
The first new trains are expected to enter service in September 2018, with the remainder being delivered progressively until February, 2020. The trains will be manufactured in Britain by 7427 Hitachi Rail Europe at a new purpose-built factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham where 730 new jobs will be created.

The European Investment Bank is financing the new East Coast Main Line trains alongside Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Bank of Tokyo 4962 Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), HSBC, Lloyds, Mitsubishi Trust, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Société Générale and Crédit Agricole.

Related Content

  • Mexican government unveils infrastructure plan
    April 30, 2014
    The Mexican government has unveiled a US$587 billion national infrastructure plan for 2014-18. "The national infrastructure plan includes 743 programs," said finance and public credit minister Luis Videgaray during the plan's presentation.
    Read More
  • Volvo warns EU on its approach to electric vehicles and its transport white paper
    March 22, 2012
    Volvo Car Corporation warns that EU targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions are being jeopardised by the absence of harmonised incentives to consumers. Another key issue is the urge for continuous support to automotive research and development, including electromobility. Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation, told an industry seminar in Brussels yesterday that jobs, investment and competitiveness in the European car industry could be threatened by the European Commission's approach
    Read More
  • Associations news: TTS Italia wins project trio
    August 21, 2018
    Strong links with Italian municipalities have won TTS Italia key roles in three major projects which are supported by the European Union. The three-year SocialCar, ending in May 2018, has researched a dedicated ‘intelligent mobility’ communications network for integrating carpooling offers with existing urban public transit to enable more effective transport demand management. Key elements include crowd-sourced information, GNSS-based location, use of social media and the creation of powerful planning algo
    Read More
  • Sweden's Gothenburg introduces congestion charging
    January 2, 2013
    Sweden's second city Gothenburg will is to introduce a road toll for all motorists entering or leaving the city, similar to one already in place in the capital Stockholm. The system, aimed at financing infrastructure investments, reducing greenhouse gases and cutting traffic in Gothenburg's city centre by around 15 percent, will include some forty toll stations around the city. According to Eva Rosman of the Swedish Transport Agency, the system introduced in Stockholm in 2007 has led to a 15-18 percent redu
    Read More

Highlighted Content