Angel Trains is a British
rolling stock company
A rolling stock company (ROSCO) or rolling stock leasing company owns and maintains railway engines and carriages which are leased to train operating companies who operate the trains.
Rolling stock companies have been criticised as rentier capit ...
(ROSCO). Together with
Eversholt Rail Group and
Porterbrook, it is one of the three original ROSCOs.
Angel Trains was established in March 1994 as part of the
privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the Rail transport in Great Britain, railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, the process was largely compl ...
. In November 1995, it was bought by
Nomura Holdings
is a financial holding company and a principal member of the Nomura Group, which is Japan's largest List of investment banks#Largest full-service investment banks#Bulge Bracket#Membership, investment bank and Broker-dealer#Japan, brokerage group. ...
,
Babcock & Brown
Babcock & Brown LP (B&B) was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009.
Babcock & Brown Securities LLC is an active investment banking firm focused on equipment an ...
, and former
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...
manager John Prideaux. By September of the following year, Angel Trains had contracts with 19 of the 25
train operating companies
In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...
(TOCs) in the UK, and owned approximately 3,755 vehicles. During December 1997, Angel Trains was sold on to the
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...
, leading to criticism of the firm having been previously undervalued. The firm quickly expanded into the continental European rail leasing business; this international branch of the firm would be split off as ''Angel Trains International'' during 2008 and was subsequently rebranded as
Alpha Trains
Alpha Trains is a rolling stock leasing company operating in the European Union and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) regions of mainland Europe.
It was created as ''Angel Trains International'' as a spin-off from the British rolling stock ...
.
In addition to its British Rail-era inventory, Angel Trains acquired new rolling stock, such as the
Class 390 'Pendolino'
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
s (EMUs), which were introduced by
Virgin West Coast
Virgin Trains (VT) (legal name West Coast Trains Limited) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West C ...
during the early 2000s. Following another takeover of the business in 2008, at which point it reportedly held over 40 per cent of the railway rolling stock leasing market in Britain, a major restructuring was undertaken. Since the 2010s, Angel Trains has arranged deals involving
Hitachi
() is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
-built high speed
bi-mode trains, such as a deal for 19 five-car
Class 802 for train operator
TransPennine Express
TransPennine Trains Limited, trading as TransPennine Express (TPE), is a British train operating company that has operated passenger services in the TransPennine Express franchise area since May 2023. It runs regional and inter-city rail ser ...
(TPE). Angel Trains has also participated in numerous programs to boost its rolling stock's efficiency and environmental credentials, such as converting several vehicles into
hybrid diesel and battery-powered trains, as well as
hydrogen
Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
s, as well as other initiatives.
History
Angel Trains was established on 21 March 1994 as a subsidiary of
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
; its creation was one of many preparatory steps involved in the
privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the Rail transport in Great Britain, railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, the process was largely compl ...
during the 1990s.
It was named Angel Trains after the
London neighbourhood in which British Rail's offices were located. During November 1995, Angel Trains was sold to a consortium of the Japanese financial services company
Nomura Holdings
is a financial holding company and a principal member of the Nomura Group, which is Japan's largest List of investment banks#Largest full-service investment banks#Bulge Bracket#Membership, investment bank and Broker-dealer#Japan, brokerage group. ...
(85%), global investment specialist
Babcock & Brown
Babcock & Brown LP (B&B) was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009.
Babcock & Brown Securities LLC is an active investment banking firm focused on equipment an ...
(10%) and former
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...
manager John Prideaux (5%); a private consultancy company owned by Prideaux, ''Prideaux & Associates'', was utilised in this deal.
By September 1996, Angel Trains had contracts in place with 19 of the 25 train operating companies in the UK, and owned approximately 3,755 vehicles, a third of which were less than eight years old at that time. Less than one year after the acquisition, Nomura was already examining options to merge or sell on Angel Trains, or form a joint venture with a
train operating company
In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...
(TOC); it had reportedly encouraged by the recent sale of other ROSCOs, such as
Porterbrook to
Stagecoach
A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
in addition to alleged approaches by unidentified third parties.
During December 1997, Angel Trains was purchased by the financial services group
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...
in exchange for £395 million. The company had been sold at
auction
An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...
by its previous owners, according to the British newspaper
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
, the bidding for Angel Trains had been quite vigorous.
Around this time, allegations arose that companies such as Angel Trains had been privatised for sums that were far too small by the British Government, which led to an in-depth investigation being conducted by the
National Audit Office in addition to separate reviews by regulators.

Throughout the late 1990s and into the 2000s, Angel Trains considerably expanded its leasing business, especially in the continental European market. It entered into a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
with the German locomotive manufacturer
Vossloh, which led to the formation of another leasing company ''Locomotion Capital'', during 2000. Additionally, through investment in its international branches
Angel Trains Cargo (leasing freight rolling stock) and ''Angel Trains Europa'' (leasing passenger rolling stock), the company became one of the largest rolling stock leasing companies in Europe - specifically in terms of freight locomotives.

Angel Trains also entered into new leasing arrangements for brand new rolling stock around this time. One high profile example was the
Class 390 'Pendolino'
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
s (EMUs), the initial order for which comprised 54 nine-car units at a cost of £500 million on behalf of
Virgin West Coast
Virgin Trains (VT) (legal name West Coast Trains Limited) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West C ...
.
Unusually, these trains featured an active
tilt system, designed to provide higher passenger comfort while travelling at speed around curves.
Due to a large increase in passenger numbers following the WCML modernisation, the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
announced the procurement of four additional Class 390s, each with 11 cars, while 31 of the existing trainsets were also lengthened to 11 cars to provide increased capacity.
[.]
In June 2008, Angel Trains was acquired by a consortium of
Babcock & Brown
Babcock & Brown LP (B&B) was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009.
Babcock & Brown Securities LLC is an active investment banking firm focused on equipment an ...
,
AMP Capital, Arcus European Infrastructure Fund and
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
...
at a reported cost of £3.6 billion. Babcock & Brown's head of European infrastructure, Simon Gray, referred to the purchase as "one of the largest acquisitions in Europe in the last few months". At the time, Angel Trains held more than 40 per cent of the railway rolling stock leasing market in Britain.
The 2008 takeover promptly led to a major restructuring of the business' activities; all of its international operations were split out into ''Angel Trains International'', during January 2010, this division was rebranded as
Alpha Trains
Alpha Trains is a rolling stock leasing company operating in the European Union and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) regions of mainland Europe.
It was created as ''Angel Trains International'' as a spin-off from the British rolling stock ...
. During 2015, AMP Capital Investors and PSP Investments increased their shareholdings in Angel Trains to 55% and 30% respectively after purchasing the stock formerly owned by Arcus European Infrastructure Fund.
Since the 2010s, Angel Trains has been involved in the supply of
Hitachi
() is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
-built high speed
bi-mode trains, such as a deal for 19 five-car
Class 802 for train operator
TransPennine Express
TransPennine Trains Limited, trading as TransPennine Express (TPE), is a British train operating company that has operated passenger services in the TransPennine Express franchise area since May 2023. It runs regional and inter-city rail ser ...
(TPE).
Referred to as the ''Nova 1'' by TPE, it was procured under plans to bolster its route capacity by roughly 80%.
According to Robin Davis, TPE's Head of New Trains, a major rationale behind the Nova 1 was its bi-mode capability, noting that electrification ambitions often had much uncertainty, while a bi-mode fleet eliminated the operational risk to such uncertainty.
Angel Trains has participated in numerous initiatives to improve the efficiency and environmental credentials of the railways. In September 2018, plans were announced by Angel Trains to convert
Class 165 diesel multiple units into
hybrid diesel and battery-powered trains. For this scheme, the original diesel-hydraulic drives were replaced by electric drives, the engines charge the batteries, making the drive effectively a hybridized diesel-electric drive; in February 2022, the first trainset was entered service with
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways (legal name The Chiltern Railway Company Limited) is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains.
Chiltern Rail ...
.
In February 2020,
ScotRail
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail (), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise as an operator of las ...
and Angel Trains announced plans to convert a
Class 314 EMU, equipping it with
hydrogen
Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
s, as a technical demonstration of the feasibility of using hydrogen to fuel trains.
In July 2020, Riding Sunbeams formed a consortium that included Angel Trains to power electrified railway lines using 100 per cent
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
. During November 2021, it was announced that Hitachi Rail and Angel Trains would trial the use of
battery power on hybrid high speed trains in order to reduce fuel consumption.
By June 2019, Angel Trains' inventory of rolling stock reportedly totalled 4,421 vehicles.
Initial fleet
The fleet Angel Trains inherited from
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
in 1994 comprised:
[
]
References
External links
*
{{Royal Bank of Scotland Group
Companies based in the City of Westminster
Post-privatisation British railway companies
Privatisation of British Rail
Private equity portfolio companies
Railway companies established in 1994
Rolling stock leasing companies
Royal Bank of Scotland
1994 establishments in England