One of the regularly aspects of the new stock order is that the Class 378s
will be owned directly by TfL, not leased from a Rosco like most mainline
stock; this line has been taken by most of the rail mags and other sources.

However the latest TfL 'board papers' include the following:

"Overground Train lease deal
On 20 December the operating lease for the new rolling stock fleet for the
London Overground was completed. The transaction, approved by the TfL
Board in June 2007, removes the assets from TfL's balance sheet. As a
consequence, the lease frees up £250 million of balance sheet capacity for
reinvestment on other projects.
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The lease runs to 2027. On expiry, TfL has the option to acquire the trains,
to enter into a follow-on lease or to hand back the trains to the lessor
(without any exposure to the residual value of the trains at that point).
This provides TfL with additional flexibility that did not exist prior to
signature of the lease - if TfL had wished to sell the trains at that point
it would have been exposed to risk of the market value at that time."

Are they going back to the Rosco style setup after all then, or leasing
directly from Bombardier?

Paul S