Kishan Sumanasekera

Kishan is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with over 7 years rail experience in various companies within the rail industry. He gained his Masters in Aeronautical Engineering at Queen Mary University of London. Kishan uses his background in operational rail to implement effective solutions to problems using his analytical and problem-solving skills. He can express a broad range of technical skills, personal effectiveness, leadership skills and use rigorous logic and methods to produce solutions to difficult problems.

He began working at Greater Anglia as a graduate engineer where he developed his proficiency through managing the operational engineering of legacy stocks. Kishan enabled GA to seamlessly introduce the new class 720 whilst cascading out the legacy fleet whilst maintaining operational capacity. This included risk assessments, producing relevant engineering changes and improvement of performance and reliability. His main role included delay attribution to determine root cause and financial liability using industry standard tools.

Kishan then took on the role of senior reliability consultant at Arup. He took on large scale projects including HS2 and Cross Rail. He facilitated workshops with clients, stakeholders and multidisciplined engineers where he ensured full management and delivery of projects while ensuring the development and management of strategic client relationships.

In September 2022, Kishan started at Rock Rail as a Fleet Manager. He brings great knowledge of old and new fleets and is responsible for the management of the key engineering tasks involved with introducing and maintaining new fleets. He oversees the day-to-day engineering, asset management and financial acumen of Rock’s current and future fleets.

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
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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