RIA’s aims are to assist our members to help them export their products and services around the world. We arrange Rail Trade Missions Overseas, UK Pavilions at major rail trade exhibitions (such as InnoTrans), Webinars, Meet The Buyer events and seminars and much more. We help host inward visits, connect members with international clients and work across the UK supply chain.
The UK’s experience of rail privatisation, market liberalisation, and significant investment in rail infrastructure over the last 20 years has fostered an open and competitive marketplace in a demanding domestic market. This has driven new product and service innovation, and uniquely places the UK and UK based organisations to assist international rail clients.
Many RIA members are active across the whole of railway supply, at home and overseas, covering a diverse range of products and services.
RIA has a Members directory on our website home page for sourcing and cooperation purposes which provides member company details, links to members websites and point of contact.
The RIA Team has worked with Overseas and UK based clients to connect them with related UK suppliers. This has been particularly important when the client is sourcing UK Export Finance and has a need to include UK content.
We work closely with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) including rail trade specialists at our British Embassies and High Commissions, Department for Transport (DfT), and UK Export Finance.
Many of our trade missions or overseas UK Pavilions at rail exhibitions are open to both RIA member and non-member companies alike, especially when working in Partnership with HMG.
We have a RIA Exports Leadership Group. The Group is chaired by Andrew Went, UKIMEA & Global High Speed Rail Leader at Arup, and we are currently electing a Vice Chair. Others on the group include Atkins, British Steel, Hird Rail Group, Hitachi, Knorr-Bremse, LPA Excil Electronics, Priestman Goode, along with other RIA members, who help provide strategic direction and advice.
Contact the RIA Exports team for further information here.
[Video courtesy of the Department for Business & Trade]
UK Tradeshow Programme
The UK Tradeshow Programme previously offered by government to help UK businesses attend or exhibit at overseas trade shows effectively has now closed and grants are not available.
RIA is lobbying Government to reintroduce the scheme or create a successor to assist UK companies, particularly SMEs towards the cost of exhibiting at these exhibitions and will update the page as further information becomes available.
We will continue to create UK Pavilions at overseas railway trade exhibitions, all UK companies are welcome to apply to join us at a key overseas rail exhibition.