RIA welcomes £1.7bn UK-Turkey rail deal

The Railway Industry Association (RIA), the voice of the UK rail supply community, has welcomed the announcement of a £1.7 billion deal for the construction of a 503km high speed electric railway in Turkey, with funding guaranteed by UK Export Finance.

RIA supported the deal by working closely with ERG International UK – the engineering, construction and project management contractor for major infrastructure assets – over a period of time, providing overviews of both the railway industry and RIA member capability, and connecting them with supplier companies, whom they had identified as meeting their initial requirements.

Neil Walker, Exports Director at the Railway Industry Association (RIA), commented: “This is clearly a significant boost for both the UK railway industry, showing it has world-leading products and expertise which can export across the globe, and for the wider Global Britain agenda.”

“RIA is proud to have played a part, helping ERG to source UK rail suppliers who will be vital to building this ground-breaking, sustainable, transport project. We should also acknowledge and thank colleagues in the Department for International Trade and at UK Export Finance, for their ongoing support for rail exporters, and we look forward to continuing to work with them, to promote UK rail businesses to partners overseas.”

Notes to Editors

1. The announcement can be found here.
2. ERG International UK approached RIA in October 2020 asking for support to understand UK industry capability in the areas of superstructures, electrification and signalling. Over a period of months, RIA connected them with member and industry companies at a senior level, whom they had identified as meeting their initial requirements.
3. 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 £43 billion in economic growth and £14 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 710,000 people. It is also a vital industry for the UK’s economic recovery, supporting green investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK; for every £1 spent in rail, £2.50 is generated in the wider economy. 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). www.riagb.org.uk