The cost of purchasing and leasing new trains has fallen dramatically over the last three years, due to factors including lower manufacturer prices and the availability of cheap, long-term financing. A number of train operators are taking advantage of this attractive combination. One side-effect has been that the leases of some relatively young fleets have been allowed to expire as a new fleet may be materially cheaper to lease. Extraordinarily, in March 2017 it was announced that a fleet ordered in September 2014 – and which is so new that it is still being built – will be pushed off-lease in around 2019. Graeme McLellan, Head partner of the rail team, examines this trend, featured in Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law.

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