UK train procurement moves onto a different track

Direct state intervention to procure rolling stock is changing the model of how the rail industry orders new passenger trains. Local Transport Today reviews how the market has evolved since privatisation to date

John W E Helm

03 October 2014

TOCs pay almost as much in leasing rentals to rolling stock companies as they do in track access charges to Network Rail

Breakdown by vehicle type: now and in the future

Breakdown by age and ownership:At the end of Control Period 4 (March 2014), the total passenger fleet consisted of 12,647 vehicles

Two decades ago the railways were privatised. However, unlike other important milestones in rail history, this event was not marked by a one-off ‘big bang’ – there was no overnight transformation from an old order to a newer one – as was the case with the 1948 nationalisation of the railways or the 1923 grouping of the railways into four major companies. Instead, rail privatisation was characterised by a steady succession of smaller bangs of varying sizes, which were...