Rail

UK

Gowling WLG's rail team of more than 25 lawyers across the firm works for a range of clients in the rail industry. The team is led by Giles Clifford, who has personally been involved in the rail sector for 20 years, and is a leading specialist in station-related development and interfaces with the UK National Rail network.

We have advised UK and international clients, including governments, private sector operators, developers, joint ventures and financiers, on all aspects of rail and transport law for over 20 years. Our work covers all aspects of railway law, and includes a number of large, complex projects in several countries, acting for clients to devise strategy, procure and bid for projects.

We help both those who are regularly involved in the rail world, and those for whom contact is a novelty - if you don't know the sector, we can help de-mystify it so you can deal successfully with its complexities.

We have advised on all types of rail and transport contracts including concessions, passenger franchises, IT solutions for passenger transport, new stations, park and ride stations, new freight routes and rail freight terminals, upgrading infrastructure, metro concessions and new trains and whole life rolling stock service, primary and secondary legislation, safety and economic regulation, competition law, dispute resolution and mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures within the sector.

We specialise in providing strategic advice and risk analysis, and procuring and designing appropriate contractual delivery models to make the documentation fit the transaction. We provide relevant commercial advice in a timely and easy to understand way.

We offer a full service in rail law including:

  • Strategic options and project procurement;
  • Real estate, financing and commercial contracts;
  • Regulatory advice;
  • Corporate structuring and transactions;
  • Technology protection and licensing.

Examples of our work include:

Advising London Underground and Transport for London on a number of projects for the development and reconfiguration of stations in connection both with commercial developments and Network Rail projects, including recently at Waterloo (for the Shell Centre redevelopment), Tottenham Hale, Finsbury Park and London Bridge (for the News Building and Network Rail's Thameslink Upgrade).

Advising Crossrail Limited on a variety of work in connection with the acquisition of land for Crossrail (the Elizabeth Line) in London, and on related overstation developments, including development agreements and land acquisition for stations and facility sites, securing options, leases, utility rights and transfers.

Advising on a number of schemes to construct stations on the National Rail network, including advice to Warwickshire County Council on parkway stations with associated transport interchanges including Stratford on Avon Parkway station, Coventry City Council on the development of new stations at Coventry Arena and Bermuda Park and on the regeneration of the main Coventry Station gateway, West Northampton Development Corporation on the development of the new Northampton Station including the negotiation of an implementation Agreement with Network Rail and the London Borough of Barnet on the reconfiguration of rail freight facilities at Cricklewood and creation of a new Thameslink station as part of the Brent Cross regeneration scheme.

Acting for Pittsburgh-based railway investment and management company Railroad Development Corporation on its investment in Vivarail Limited, a newly formed UK company set up to manufacture a new class of "D-trains" using the body shells and bogies from surplus London Underground trains combined with new diesel engines and modern control systems to create Diesel Multiple Units

Providing advice to Goodman Logistics Developments on all aspects of the development of the East Midlands Intermodal Park and Etwall terminal, both rail connected logistics development schemes

Advising Société du Grand Paris: Implementation of the property projects adjacent to the line 16 railways stations of the Grand Paris Express, establishing real estate projects relating to new railways stations on line 16 of the Grand Paris Express (Chelles - Saint-Denis Pleyel section).

Advising the Ile-de-France Region on the Extension of tramway T1 (from Noisy-le-Sec to Val de Fontenay) a transport involving negotiation with several municipal authorities and the establishment of a "tool box" to enable the client to realise value from development land along the tramway route.