Porterbrook acquires Corelink fleets
posted on 9th Jan 2026 10:50
On 8 January 2026, Porterbrook has completed a deal to acquire 404 vehicles owned by Corelink Rail Infrastructure Limited (Corelink). The fleet of 324 Class 730 Aventra EMus and 80 Class 196 Civity DMUs operated by West Midland Trains (WMT) serve passengers on regional and long-distance routes between London, Birmingham and Liverpool. Together, they account for 60 % of WMT’s network operations.
Mary Grant, Porterbrook CEO, said: “West Midlands Trains has been one of our largest customers for over 15 years and this latest transaction solidifies that partnership for the future. It also completes a programme of more than 1 billion GBP of capital deployed during the last five years in new trains, fleet upgrades, traction innovation and rail infrastructure.”
The five-car Aventras will be stabled and maintained at the Bletchley Train Maintenance Depot. Last year the site was upgraded with modern sidings, inspection facilities, new overhead electrified lines and gantries following Porterbrook’s 66 million GBP investment.
Corelink is a joint venture between Infracapital and Pan-European Infrastructure II, a fund managed and advised by DWS Group GmbH. Tom Crawley, Managing Director at Infracapital, said: “We are proud to have established Corelink with DWS, delivering a modern fleet that provides a reliable commuter experience across the West Midlands rail network. We believe Porterbrook is well-positioned to continue supporting Corelink’s mission to deliver dependable and sustainable rail transport in the UK.”
Hamish Mackenzie, Partner and Global Head of Infrastructure at DWS, said: “Corelink is a core infrastructure asset that provides an essential rail transportation service to key routes in the United Kingdom. The successful sale of Corelink by Pan-European Infrastructure II showcases DWS’s experience across the transportation sector and its active asset management expertise.”
Porterbrook were advised by CA-CIB (Financial), Freeths (Legal) and Deloitte (Tax). Infracapital and DWS were advised by DC Advisory (Financial) and Eversheds Sutherland (Legal).