Rock Rail originated in 2014 with Rock Infrastructure; the company set it up as its dedicated rail leasing subsidiary on 1 July 2016. On 4 October 2016, Rock Rail also financed the purchase of 20
Class 745 and 38
Class 755 multiple units for
Abellio Greater Anglia; the deal, at a cost reportedly in excess of £600 million, was described by Abellio UK Managing Director Dominic Booth as one part of "the largest-ever privately-funded train procurement in the UK". Rock Rail's founder, Mark Swindell, described the company's role as a 'direct pipeline' for investors in infrastructure, contrasting it against
Private Finance Initiatives and
index funds, which allegedly made it an object of interest to numerous other companies within the insurance industry. Management has reportedly viewed the general state of Britain's rolling stock as 'elderly' and prime opportunities for being involved in its replacement. Throughout the early 2020s, Rock Rail finalised numerous contracts with train operators, such as for the purchase of
Class 701 electric multiple units for
South Western Railway, Hitachi-built
Class 805 and
807 high speed trains for
Avanti West Coast, and similar
Class 810s for
East Midlands Railway. By November 2020, Rock Rail had secured £3 billion of investment in excess of 1,500 new rolling stock, which was for the use of five separate British train franchises, since February 2016; this activity had reportedly accounted for roughly 40 percent of all passenger rolling stock orders in the UK rail market across this period. the company's fleet had exclusively comprised electric and bi-mode trains. By the end of the 2010s, Rock Rail had diversified its operations into both the Australian and continental European markets. ==Assets==