Rail industry welcomes new Trade Minister and calls for rail to take a prominent role in future trade policy and negotiations
22 June 2018
The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has welcomed George Hollingbery MP as the new Trade Minister.
Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association said:
“The Railway Industry Association (RIA) welcomes George Hollingbery MP to the role of Trade Minister at this important time for UK trade. We urge him to consider the rail industry a key ally – on a par with other transport sectors like automotive and aerospace – as he begins to seek trade deals post-Brexit and help the UK’s exports efforts in the months and years ahead.
“According to research by Oxford Economics released earlier this year, UK rail is not only responsible for 600,000 jobs and over £36bn GVA, it also exports some £800 million every year. It is therefore vital that rail plays its part when UK trade negotiations begin.
“RIA and its members look forward to working with the new Minister and the Department for International Trade to ensure rail reaches its full exporting potential. And we also hope both will support a steady programme of forthcoming rail exporting activity, to the benefit of not only rail suppliers but also the rail industry more widely.
“Finally, we would like to thank outgoing Minister Greg Hands for all his work with the rail supply sector, and we wish him well for the future.”
Notes to Editors
- About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the representative body for UK-based suppliers to the UK and world-wide railways. It has more than 200 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.