Arriva could break the domination of UK train-leasing companies with a proposal to become the first train operating company to buy its own rolling stock (link below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/04/arriva_proposal_seeks_to_end_t.html#moreThe Sunday Telegraph has learned that Arriva has submitted proposals to the Welsh Assembly which include buying 50 carriages estimated to be worth more than £50m.
Under Arriva's proposals to the Welsh Assembly , the company will look at a range of options on funding for new rolling stock , including using its own balance sheet to buy the carriages.
The company thinks it can overcome the main hurdle to investing in rolling stock , the short length of rail franchises , by either selling on the trains if they are no longer required or using them elsewhere in its Europe-wide rail business.
One of the reasons Arriva is considering buying its own rolling stock is to tackle low levels of central Government investment in the Wales and Borders network.
When the company was awarded the business by the now-defunct Strategic Rail Authority in 2003 it was told there would be no money available for significant investment.
Arriva said: "As part of the bidding process, all bidders were requested to bid against a basic specification which was effectively an unchanged franchise. It did not include scope for growth and asked bidders to look for opportunities to reduce subsidy levels."
However , according to Arriva , since the Welsh Assembly Government took responsibility for the franchise last year , investment has started to flow.
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