RIA welcomes ‘First of a Kind’ funding for new technologies

10 January 2020


The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has welcome the announcement of £9.4 million in ‘First of a Kind’ funding for new rail technologies.

David Clarke, Technical Director of the Railway Industry Association (RIA), said: “It’s great news that £9.4 million is available for new projects that would make our railways even more green, reduce costs, improve customer experience and increase accessibility. As we look to the future, there are a number of opportunities where the UK rail industry could develop world leading capabilities - such as in the areas of materials, data, automation and energy – which could not only improve our own rail system, but also could help the UK export even more. I’d urge all companies, whether you have experience in the rail industry or not, to get involved in the ‘first of a kind’ competition and help develop innovations to improve our railways.”

Notes to Editors
  1. The announcement 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. https://www.riagb.org.uk/