Warwickshire County Council is exploring the level of interest among private sector participants in financing a pipeline of new railway stations, with Rugby Parkway – a proposed new station on the eastern side of Rugby – serving as the first project.

The Council recognises that many local authorities across the UK are pursuing similar station developments to deliver wider social and economic benefits. Rugby Parkway is now at an advanced stage of readiness, with all required land secured, outline planning permission in place, the outline design approved by Network Rail, and the Network Change process complete. The project is therefore ready to move into the delivery phase with private sector involvement.

The Council is looking for an investor/developer partner (or consortium) to fully fund, build, and maintain the station under a long-term concession of approximately 30 years, using a combination of equity from the investor and third-party commercial debt. The Council anticipates that an appropriate sharing of risks between the public and private sectors will be necessary to achieve the most efficient and cost-effective funding structure.

Through this early market engagement exercise, the Council aims to gauge the interest of infrastructure funds, developers, contractors, and lenders in this type of opportunity, and to gather feedback that will help shape the optimum commercial model and future procurement route.