RIA responds to publication of Government Research & Development Roadmap

2 July 2020

 

The Government has published a ‘Research & Development’ Roadmap setting out the UK’s vision and ambition for science, research and innovation.

David Clarke, Technical Director at the Railway Industry Association, responded: “It is good to see the Government’s Research and Development Roadmap published today and that £300 million will be brought forward to speed up R&D schemes.

“The Railway Industry Association agrees with the Government that innovators and risk-takers need support to get their new ideas to market, particularly in the rail sector where initiatives like the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) and Network Rail’s R&D Portfolio are having a real impact on the delivery of innovation. We would urge the Government to specifically include rail, as an industry with a long history of innovation and the potential to be a leader in areas like decarbonisation and ‘levelling up’, as part of future R&D programmes.”

Notes to Editors

 

  1. The Government’s Research and Development Roadmap can be found here
  2. About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. We promote and represent our members’ interests to policy makers, clients and other stakeholders in the UK and overseas. RIA has 300+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £36 billion in economic growth and £11 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 600,000 people—more than the workforce of Birmingham. It is also a growing industry with the number of rail journeys expected to double over the next 25 years and freight set to grow significantly too. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). RIA works to promote the importance of the rail system to UK plc, to help export UK expertise around the globe and to share best practice and innovation across the industry.