NORD/LB finances electric locomotives and sleeping cars for European night train services.

Vehicle financing for RDC Asset GmbH supports sustainable long-distance travel by rail

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank is supporting sustainable rail travel by financing three electric locomotives and 45 sleeper train carriages (sleeping, reclining, and seating cars) for RDC Asset GmbH (RDC). The financing, amounting to a low double-digit million euro sum, is a crucial component in strengthening the shift to rail, particularly for long-distance travel across Europe. The fleet is leased by the Hamburg-based company, a German subsidiary of the US-based Railroad Development Corporation, to state railways such as SBB (Switzerland), ÖBB (Austria), and SJ (Sweden). Additionally, the vehicles are used seasonally by BahnTouristikExpress, which is also part of the RDC Deutschland group, for the car train service Hamburg -> Lörrach. The transaction involved DAL Deutsche Leasing (DAL), which acts as the leasing seller through a special purpose vehicle and structured the financing with NORD/LB. "Financing trains is key to mobility and the sustainable development of our society. We are proud to grow as RDC Deutschland in the segment of night train travel and particularly in car train services to further strengthen rail travel," explains Ute Oldenburg, Chief Financial Officer, RDC Deutschland. "With NORD/LB and DAL, we have professional partners by our side, from whose financing and structuring expertise we benefit."

For 30 years, NORD/LB has financed sustainable projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors as a bank for the energy transition; this includes rail and public transport. Currently, the financing volume for infrastructure projects amounts to over 5.5 billion euros. With this project, the bank is making another contribution to the necessary transport transition – moving away from emissions-intensive individual transport towards sustainable public transport solutions.

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