RIA welcomes next round of ‘First of A Kind’ Funding

9 February 2021

The Railway Industry Association (RIA), the voice of the UK rail supply community, has welcomed the announcement of £9 million in ‘First of a Kind’ funding for rail research and development.

David Clarke, Technical Director at the Railway Industry Association, said: “It is great to see a further round of funding being opened by the Government to spur innovation in rail. Whether it’s building back better post-Coronavirus, decarbonising or improving the passenger experience, this funding will help the rail sector find new solutions that deliver a better and more effective railway, for the benefit of passengers, freight users and the wider economy.”

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.