John Laing Infrastructure Fund completes investment in high speed rail project

John Laing Infrastructure Fund has completed the acquisition of a 6% stake in a high-speed rail project, its first investment in rail rolling stock, from John Laing Investments, for £42.4m.

The investment in the first phase of Great Western mainline's Intercity Express programme is the FTSE 250 company’s eighth acquisition of the year and brings its new investments for 2016 to about £300m.

The rail project involves 57 new high speed intercity trains on the Great Western mainline, which runs from London's Paddington station to the west of England and south Wales, and its contract with the Department for Transport has a 27.5-year concession from acceptance of the first train, which is scheduled for next year.

Revenues are received in return for the trains being made available for use and for certain performance and reliability criteria being met.

Japanese conglomerate Hitachi is contracted as both manufacturer and maintainer of the trains for the duration of the concession period, and is also a 70% shareholder in Agility Trains West, the project company which will retain ownership of the trains at the end of the concession period.