Rock Rail Supports Rail Safety Education Initiative Reaching Nearly 8,000 Young People

  • Rock Rail

Rock Rail has continued its partnership with Learn Live and the Rail Safe Friendly programme, supporting rail safety education for thousands of young people across the UK.

Over the past two years, the programme has engaged 10 schools and reached 7,904 students through dedicated educational content focused on rail safety and responsible behaviour around the railway.

The initiative achieved 100% engagement across participating schools, reflecting the importance of accessible safety education within local communities.

Participating schools included:

  • Southfields Academy
  • Bilbrook Middle School
  • Wren Academy
  • St Andrew’s (Barnsbury) CE Primary School
  • Whitehall Primary School
  • Hewett Academy
  • Woodlands Academy of Learning
  • Oakwood Junior School
  • Ibstock Place School
  • Hellesdon High School

At Rock Rail, we believe infrastructure investment should create long-term value beyond the physical assets themselves. Alongside supporting the delivery of modern and sustainable rail fleets, social value initiatives form an important part of ensuring infrastructure investment delivers meaningful outcomes for passengers, communities and future generations.

The partnership with Learn Live and Rail Safe Friendly supports this broader commitment by helping young people better understand rail safety while supporting schools with accessible educational resources and engagement programmes.

We would like to thank Learn Live, participating schools and teachers for their continued collaboration throughout the programme.

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Driving Net Zero: How Rock Road 
Is Funding the UK’s Bus Transition

Accelerating the shift to clean, affordable, zero-emission transport

Year
2025
Category
Rock Road
Share

The Challenge

The UK bus network is at the heart of everyday travel – but over 30,000 diesel buses still need replacing to achieve a fully zero-emission fleet.

While around 5,000 battery-electric buses are already on the road, the high upfront cost of electric vehicles and depot electrification continues to slow the transition. Traditional funding routes — such as government grants or short-term bank finance – have helped start the journey but cannot support decarbonisation at the scale required.

A new, sustainable funding model was needed: one that could attract long-term capital, spread costs fairly, and give operators and authorities confidence in the future.

The Solution

In 2021, Rock launched Rock Road to deliver exactly that –  applying its proven infrastructure financing approach from the rail sector to the UK’s clean bus revolution.

Working with Aviva, the National Wealth Fund, and HSBC, Rock created a dedicated investment platform that channels infrastructure-style finance from pension funds and institutional investors directly into zero-emission bus projects.

This model provides:
  • Access to billions in long-term private capital for fleets and depot electrification.
  • Low-cost, sustainable finance tailored to public-sector needs.
  • Comprehensive risk transfer, including residual value and battery performance, supported by Rock’s in-house team of engineers and asset managers.

Impact

The platform has already raised £100 million, with capacity to scale to £1 billion per year over the next decade – providing a consistent source of affordable capital for local authorities and operators.

Rock’s model ensures that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electric buses can now be lower than diesel equivalents, thanks to both cheaper long-term finance and reduced operating costs.

In London, Rock has financed 120 zero-emission buses under 7-year leases aligned with Transport for London’s contract lengths. This structure gives operators flexibility and certainty:

  • Buses can be returned, renewed, or upgraded at the end of term.
  • Lease rates are predictable and capped.
  • Ownership and residual risks sit with Rock, not the operator.

The Future

Rock Road’s ambition is to support the rollout of zero-emission fleets across the UK – helping local authorities and operators meet climate goals without overextending public budgets.

By leveraging limited government funding to attract large-scale private capital – for example, £10 million of public investment unlocking over £250 million in total funding – Rock’s model accelerates decarbonisation while keeping costs low for the public sector.

Our ambition is to make electric buses the default choice - not because of subsidy, but because they are the best economic and environmental option.
Louis Swindell
Commercial Director, Rock Road