Railway industry welcome International Trade Minister’s commitment to overseas rail exports

In a speech to the Railway Industry Association’s Parliamentary Reception, published today, the Department for International Trade’s Investment Minister Graham Stuart MP said, “I am acutely aware that our railways play a critical role in our country’s economic success: driving growth, creating jobs, building opportunities and supporting our exports”; and “the railways industry is central to Britain’s future: of export-led growth, technological innovation and clean growth.”  The Minister’s speech can be read here.

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association, responded: “It is great to hear the Minister support the railway industry’s repeated assertion that rail is crucial to the economic success of UK plc at home and abroad. Rail businesses should be visible alongside other transport modes such as automotive and aerospace as the Government seeks to negotiate future trade deals around the world.

“Not only is rail a vital mode of transport in the UK, but it is also an important industry in its own right – exporting £800 million in goods and services a year, as well as supporting 600,000 jobs and £36.4bn GVA. The Railway Industry Association and our members stand ready to work with Minister Graham Stuart and the Department for International Trade, as it re-doubles its exports activity in the months and years ahead, and to take advantage of the opportunities new trade deals could bring. This could be a new era for rail exports if we get this right.”

Read the Speech

1. The speech took place at RIA’s annual Parliamentary Reception on Wednesday 29 January 2020.
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