‘The Global Centre of Rail Excellence is a facility with genuinely worldwide potential’, that was the message from GCRE Chief Executive Simon Jones as the company signed a new international collaboration agreement with UAE based technical advisory firm Contrax this week.
The GCRE CEO finalised the agreement at COP28 taking place in the UAE. Contrax is an international firm with significant engineering and business development expertise in rail systems and sustainable mobility.
Contrax supports governments and businesses with a range of functions, including business development, asset management as well as providing advice on the delivery of complex railway and sustainable transport systems.
Simon Jones said the partnership shows how GCRE can help businesses worldwide, and particularly in the Middle East.
The Global Centre of Rail Excellence is a major new sustainable mobility and green energy research, testing and showcasing facility currently being constructed in South Wales. The site will support the development of next generation rolling stock technologies, infrastructure testing and net zero energy innovation.
Chief Executive of GCRE Limited, Simon Jones, said:
“I’m delighted to finalise this agreement with Contrax who bring such significant expertise in rail and sustainable mobility.
“The Global Centre of Rail Excellence is a facility with genuinely worldwide potential and so this partnership with Contrax will help us harness the significant international market opportunity that our site offers up.
“Contrax have a strong reputation of providing advice and support to companies and projects across the globe, but in particular it’s the knowledge that they bring of the Middle East that will be of most benefit to GCRE.
“The Global Centre of Rail Excellence will be a world class site for rail, energy and sustainable transport innovation. It’s been very important for the Global Centre of Rail Excellence to be here at COP28 to highlight the very positive support that our facility can provide to governments, manufacturers and companies as they innovate their way to Net Zero.
“The new decarbonised technologies and sustainable mobility innovations we all need to see to get to 2050 require world class facilities for testing, research and development. GCRE provides those high-quality services in one place.
“Contrax will help us connect the potential of the world class facility we are building to the global demand that exists for net zero product innovation and as a place to help manage the integration challenges that come with increasingly complex large sustainable transport projects.”
Contrax have worked on a number of major projects around the world including Metro systems in Dubai, Riyadh and Makkah, as well as supporting the Connect 6ix consortium win the Ontario Line Metro contract.
Engineering and Asset Management Partner at Contrax, Mark Morris, said:
“We at Contrax are extremely excited with the opportunity to support and partner with the GCRE. We have significant experience of delivering asset management, and rail systems solutions management across the Middle East that we can offer sustainable innovative solutions, added value and support across all aspects of the railway system.
“This is an exciting time for rail and we are really happy to be supporting and providing our expertise to such a fantastic initiative as the GCRE.”
