Rail Industry welcomes hydrogen train trial 

 

30 September 2020

The Railway Industry Association, the national trade body for rail suppliers, has welcomed the running of HydroFLEX, the UK’s first hydrogen train, as well as the announcement that the Tees Valley will become a Hydrogen Transport Hub.

David Clarke, Technical Director at the Railway Industry Association (RIA), said: “It is welcome news that the UK is undertaking mainline testing of a hydrogen train and announcing a Hydrogen Transport Hub in the Tees Valley. The introduction of fleets of low carbon, self-powered trains, alongside a rolling programme of electrification, can help ensure rail leads the country’s decarbonisation revolution, generating jobs and investment in the process. As we look to generate an economic recovery, clean rail technologies can help spur economic growth across the UK, whilst also helping our rail industry to develop a competitive advantage from which it could export more overseas too."

Notes to Editors

 

  1. 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. 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 vital industry for the UK’s economic recovery, supporting green investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK. 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.