Reliance Rail Pty Ltd has achieved a financial close on a new AUD1.8 billion (US$1.30 billion) Green Sustainability-Linked Loan (GSLL) in Australia. The 21-year loan fully refinances Reliance Rail’s existing bank debt facilities for the remainder of the project.

Established in 2006, Reliance Rail is a PPP with the New South Wales Government, responsible for the design, manufacture and maintenance of the largest single procurement of passenger trains in the country.  Its core assets include 78 Waratah Trains and the Auburn Maintenance Centre (AMC), which is used to maintain over 60% of Sydney Trains’ passenger fleet.

The loan intends to improve the sustainability of infrastructure and operations of the project and will further support electrifying Sydney’s transport infrastructure with reduced debt margins. The GSLL is supported by 12 lenders,  including BNP Paribas, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, DZ Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Kookmin Bank, Mizuho Bank, National Australia Bank, Natixis, Nippon Life, Norinchukin, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, and Westpac. RBC Capital Markets acted as financial adviser for the transaction, while King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) acted as legal adviser for the borrowers and White & Case represented the syndicate of lenders.