Rolling stock

Description

First MTR South Western Trains Limited (SWR) entered into an agreement with Rock Rail South Western PLC (Rock) in June 2017 for the lease of a new fleet of 60 x 10-vehicle trains and 30 x 5-vehicle trains and related spares to be manufactured and sold by Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd (BTUK) to Rock. At the same time, SWR also entered into a Technical Supply and Spares Supply Agreement (TSSSA) with BTUK for maintenance support services in relation to the new fleet of trains. If SWR requires additional trains, rock may use an option in its manufacturing and supply agreement with BTUK to purchase an additional two 10-vehicle trains from BTUK, which it can then subsequently lease to SWR under the terms of the lease agreement. The parties have agreed to extend the scope of the option to a total of five 10-vehicle trains and for the option to be exercisable at any time on or before 30 September 2020. First MTR South Western Trains Limited (SWR) entered into an agreement with Rock Rail South Western PLC (Rock) in June 2017 for the lease of a new fleet of 60 x 10-vehicle trains and 30 x 5-vehicle trains and related spares to be manufactured and sold by Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd (BTUK) to Rock. At the same time, SWR also entered into a Technical Supply and Spares Supply Agreement (TSSSA) with BTUK for maintenance support services in relation to the new fleet of trains. If SWR requires additional trains, rock may use an option in its manufacturing and supply agreement with BTUK to purchase an additional two 10-vehicle trains from BTUK, which it can then subsequently lease to SWR under the terms of the lease agreement. The parties have agreed to extend the scope of the option to a total of five 10-vehicle trains and for the option to be exercisable at any time on or before 30 September 2020. As with the lease and TSSSA, the lease and purchase of the related maintenance support services of the additional three 10-vehicle trains (if the option is exercised) do not fall within the scope of the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (UCR), as SWR is not a utility for the purposes of the UCR. In any case, regulations 50(1)(e) and 88(1) (b) of the UCR would apply. To acquire rolling stock from another manufacturer/owner would oblige SWR to acquire rolling stock which has different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility and disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance. At this stage, it is not possible to accurately attribute a total value for lease and maintenance of the additional three trains. If the option is exercised the lease rates will be based on the prevailing financing rates at the time the option is exercised. The maintenance support services costs per train will be as per the option terms of the existing TSSSA. If the option is exercised, the lease and maintenance costs for the three additional trains are currently estimated to be approximately GBP 9 million up to August 2024. For the reasons given above, the actual costs may be higher or lower than this amount.