RIA is the voice of the UK rail supply community; the national trade association for UK-based suppliers to the railway industry.
Established over 140 years ago, RIA now has over 300 member companies from across the supply chain, over 60% of which are small or medium sized entreprises (SMEs). Our member companies represent a large proportion of the rail industry by turnover, reflect a great diversity of disciplines within the sector and cover the lengths and breadths of the UK.
We support the delivery of a bigger and better rail industry, representing the sector as an essential generator of economic growth, jobs and investment, supporting a low carbon form of mass transit for communities across the UK.
Our main activities are to:
- Represent members’ interests to clients, Government and politicians, regulators, and others
- Offer a forum for dialogue and networking between industry colleagues
- Provide information and insight to members
- Promote exports of members’ products and services
RIA regularly engages with Ministers and civil servants in Government, in particular at the Departments for Transport (DfT); Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS); and International Trade (DIT). We also work with all major clients across the UK. This includes: Network Rail, Transport Scotland, Transport for Wales, HS2, Transport for London (TfL), East West Rail, and many others.
RIA also works with a range of industry partners to help drive positive change in our sector, on areas such as decarbonisation, innovation, equality and diversity or supporting SMEs. This includes: High Speed Rail Group (HSRG), Rail Delivery Group (RDG), Rail Freight Group (RFG), RSSB, CECA, Campaign for Better Transport, Women in Rail and Young Rail Professionals, amongst others.
We are active in the regions and nations of the UK - for example RIA facilitates the Northern Rail Industry Leaders (NRIL) which provides a voice for suppliers based in the north of England.
We support the work of the Rail Supply Group, a Government-backed initiative to drive improvement in the railway industry.
RIA is also a member of the
Rail Innovation Family , a grouping of the UK’s major representative organisations in the rail supply sector, set up in June 2019 with the aim of providing greater and clearer support for suppliers seeking to bring innovation into the rail industry.
Our
Articles of Association set out how RIA is governed by a Board of rail industry leaders from the various sub sectors such as rolling stock, infrastructure, SMEs and consultants.
Awards
RIA has won several awards including:
- Diversity in the Workplace, won jointly with Women in Rail | Railway Technology Awards 2021
- In-House Team of the Year | PRCA Public Affairs Awards 2020
- Membership Event of the Year <400 | Memcom Excellence Awards 2020
- Overall Best Association, Under 1000 Members | Association Excellence Awards 2019
- Conference of the Year for RIA's Annual Conference | Trade Association Forum Awards 2019
- Conference of the Year for RIA's Innovation Conference | Trade Association Forum Awards 2018
Our History
RIA is one of the oldest trade associations in the UK, and is almost as old as the railway itself. It was set up in 1875 as the Locomotive Manufacturers' Association.
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