International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised the Department for Transport on the Thameslink Rolling Stock Procurement Project (TRSP) the largest, most ambitious and complex rail procurement to date.
The circa £1.6 billion TRSP project, which reached financial close today, involves the procurement of 1,140 rolling stock vehicles to be used on the Thameslink rail line and two maintenance depots as part of a £6 billion upgrade to radically increase capacity and reliability on one of Europe’s busiest stretches of railway. The TRSP comprises an innovative hybrid contractual structure involving both traditional rolling stock leasing as well as PPP/PFI elements.
The contract to design, build, finance and maintain the carriages was awarded to the Cross London Trains consortium led by train manufacturer Siemens. Siemens Project Ventures is partnered by infrastructure funds 3i and Innisfree in the consortium.
The transaction includes agreements for asset protection, works and the grant of leases in respect of maintenance depots at Three Bridges and Hornsey. Once constructed and introduced into operational use, the depots will be subject to a tiered lease and licence structure with Siemens plc as head tenant granting an underlease to the depot facility owner operating the maintenance depots under a franchise agreement with the Secretary of State.
Commenting on the transaction, Alex Carver, a partner within Freshfields’ international transport group said: ‘Thameslink rolling stock is by far the most complex rail procurement to date and one that could act as a pathfinder for future transport infrastructure projects, these having just been boosted in the government’s spending review by what is expected to be a significant slice of a £50bn capital investment’.
Freshfields’ International Transportation Group which has been advising the Department for Transport on all legal matters concerning the contractual structure of the TRSP since 2008, was led by partners Alex Carver, Simon Hall and Sally Roe with support from senior associates Martin Goodwin and Alistair Curzon.
