The rolling stock industry employs over 30,000 people and contributes over £1.8bn gross value added to the economy annually. Unless action is taken soon, previous orders will soon be completed leaving factories and upgrade facilities empty putting thousands of jobs at risk. Equally as damaging will be the loss of skills and experience, which will be difficult to replace when they are inevitably needed again in the future. This will result in increased costs in the long run. It is also likely that the passenger experience will worsen, as trains are kept running beyond their optimum life and the opportunity to reduce carbon and improve air quality will be lost.
In 2023, working with members RIA analysed the whole UK rolling stock market and published the report ‘UK Rolling Stock Industry: Making 2023 the year of opportunity not crisis’. RIA will continue to support members and push for greater clarity of the UK rolling stock pipeline, to give industry the security needed.