In 2020 it was announced that rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook would take a 15 year lease from Summer 2020 at the Quinton Rail Technology Centre, QRTC site, near Stratford-upon-Avon.

The Long Marston site covers 135 acres and consists of 12 miles of storage sidings, a two-mile test-track loop, a short length of electrified line and a number of rail served light maintenance structures.

Porterbrook plans to work with the rail supply chain and academic bodies, as well as creating new partnerships with technology leaders from other sectors, so that Long Marston can play a role in helping to improve the railway for both passengers and freight customers.

Porterbrook also confirmed that Long Marston will continue to host the annual RailLive expo, staged by RAIL magazine, when the entire rail industry comes together to showcase the latest developments in a real railway environment. Porterbrook shares Bauer’s ambition that RailLive should become the global showcase for the very best of Britain’s Railway.

Porterbrook has been using the facilities on site for many years, most recently working with University of Birmingham BCRRE, the UK’s largest university rail department, to develop hydrogen propulsion in rail.

Invest in Coventry & Warwickshire has been promoting the UK rail investment opportunity for many years, working with Midlands Engine to create the Midlands Engine Rail Investment Prospectus.