Shaping the future of green mobility in France

As the only Dutch bank in the syndicate, Rabobank provided Proxima with a green loan that aligns with our mission to promote sustainable growth and innovation in European railway infrastructure and transport. Supporting projects like Proxima accelerates the transition to low-carbon mobility, addressing both environmental and societal needs. It is expected there will continue to be an increasing demand for sustainable, high-speed travel between key cities in Europe. Proxima's fast, inter-urban rail services will connect Bordeaux, Rennes, Nantes, and Angers to Paris.

The Proxima initiative is expected to act as a catalyst for the creation of other independent rail operators across Europe, helping to increase capacity and competition across the European rail market. To support this growth, Proxima has announced plans to invest in 12 new high-speed trains and also has reached an agreement with Lisea, concessionaire of the South Europe Atlantic High Speed Line, for the use of its new maintenance and stabling depot located in Marcheprime, 20 kilometers south of Bordeaux.

The financing represents a landmark transaction for the sector, with Rabobank playing a key role, acting as Green Loan Coordinator and Arranger. It demonstrates Rabobank’s ambition to support the independent rail sector and accelerates the transition to low-carbon mobility, addressing both environmental and societal needs. Our partnership with Proxima is reflective of Rabobank’s desire to collaborate with partners who follow similar goals to ours.

Proxima is backed by Antin Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm headquartered in Paris. The project is financed by a consortium of leading French and international banks. Antin Infrastructure Partners is a longstanding client of Rabobank. Since 2015, we have supported Antin on various transactions across the Energy Transition and Food & Agri domain, including supporting Eurofiber, Sølvtrans and IDEX investments.