As we enter our new membership year, Rail Forum is delighted to welcome the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) as our Export Partner for 2024-2025.
With growing international opportunities and world-leading rail capability across its membership, Rail Forum is pleased to launch enhanced exporting support. With 50% of members as current or potential exporters we anticipate strong interest in developing international growth and partnership opportunities.
Kelly Warburton, Chief Commercial Officer at GCRE said: “The Global Centre of Rail Excellence is delighted to partner with the Rail Forum as its Export Partner and is looking forward to playing a full role in the Steering Group to enhance the export potential of UK rail.
“GCRE will be a world class facility for research, testing and product development that will be a very powerful platform from which to showcase the very best in UK rail innovation for an international export market.
“Rail is a critical strategic asset for the UK not only in terms of public transport, but also in how it can help to grow the UK economy and enhance our national exports. With an international portfolio of customers and partners using the facility, GCRE will add important new capability to UK exports and so we are excited to partner with the Rail Forum for this critical programme.”
Catherine Appleby, Membership & Engagement Director at Rail Forum said: “We’re delighted to welcome GCRE as our Export Partner and value their support and engagement. We recognise our role as an important instrument to support members’ international journeys and facilitate access to wider support, funding, opportunities as well as our own export community.”
Together with our Export Partner, our recently launched Export Steering Group is developing initiatives to promote the extensive export capability of the UK rail supply chain and bring Rail Forum members and international opportunities together. Members involved in this group include Anturas, AtkinsRéalis, GCRE, HÜBNER, J-Flex Rubber Products, LPA Group, Portaramp, Railstons, Transport Design International and TRB Lightweight Structures.
This follows existing export activities including our relationship with the Southern African Railway Association (SARA) and our Letter of Intent, signed in October in partnership with Department for Business & Trade (DBT), UK Export Finance and UKRRIN. This relationship has already very positively led to a number of opportunities being shared with members and inward visits. We look forward to continuing to develop our partnership with SARA, and are delighted to working with DBT with a series of export events – ‘Midlands Track’; the first launched for 3rd July 2024. Rail Forum continue to work collaboratively with DBT, providing members with opportunities to participate in visits and roundtables to discuss export activities and future plans.
In January 2024, Rail Forum joined the European Railway Clusters Initiative (ERCI); the leading meta-cluster of the railway industry in Europe, uniting 17 innovation clusters from 16 European countries. Applications are currently live for Rail Forum members to submit themselves for the heralded ERCI Innovation award; winners of which will be announced at InnoTrans, which we are delighted to be attending.
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
- ERCI and Rail Forum – Innovation Award application form can be downloaded from this webpage
- Introduction to Innotrans – booking page for webinar on 1st July 2024
- Midlands Track 2024: Virtual Meet the Buyer – Private Sector Rail Export Opportunities in Peru and Africa – expression of interest form
For further information contact Cat Appleby, Membership & Engagement Director | +44 (0)7792 255040 | cat@railforum.uk
