The government has unveiled its Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy, which signals a fundamental shift in how future trains will be brought into commission. This strategy, introduced by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander at the Labour party conference last week, builds on plans previously introduced under Keir Starmer.
Great British Railways (GBR), a new publicly owned body, will now assess direct public ownership for new train orders on a case-by-case basis. This move is expected to bring about the end of rolling stock companies' (ROSCOs) near total-control on the leasing operation of trains.
ROSCOs, which are private firms that lease trains for British railways, gained control and ownership of the UK’s passenger train fleets in the mid-1990s following the privatisation of British Rail. The 'big three' ROSCOs are Porterbrook, Angel Trains, and Eversholt.
In the 2024/25 financial year, franchised passenger operators paid £2.7bn in leasing costs to ROSCOs, according to the Office of Rail and Road. This figure represented 66.3 per cent of the total rolling stock expenditure, which amounted to approximately £4.1bn.
The process to bring all Department for Transport contracted train ownerships into state hands is expected to be completed in 2027. However, the broader overhaul of the railway under Labour’s rolling stock strategy is anticipated to take 35 to 40 years.