Great British Railways may purchase trains directly rather than leasing them from rolling stock companies, according to a report by railmarket.com — a change that would alter the financing structure behind one of Europe's largest fleets.

No figures on fleet size, procurement value or timeline accompanied the report, and GBR has not yet published a formal procurement framework confirming the approach. The possibility nonetheless signals that the new body, created to consolidate network and passenger operations, is reviewing how Britain's rolling stock is funded.

Under the current model, train operating companies lease vehicles from ROSCOs — Angel Trains, Eversholt Rail and Porterbrook — which own the assets and recover capital costs through lease payments. Moving to direct ownership would place asset risk and financing responsibility on GBR itself.

For operators and ultimately taxpayers, the outcome hinges on cost of capital. Public ownership could reduce the margin leasing companies build into their charges, but it would also transfer maintenance, residual value and refinancing risk from private lessors to the state.

The report does not specify which fleet categories, routes or contract renewals might be affected first, nor whether existing leases would run to term. Any transition would unfold over years, aligned with lease expiries and new build programmes.

A decision to buy rather than lease would represent the most significant change to Britain's rolling stock market since privatisation, and GBR is expected to publish further detail as its procurement mandate takes shape.