About RIA

The voice of the UK rail supply community; the national trade association for UK‑based suppliers to the railway industry, with activity in all regions and nations of the UK. Established almost 150 years ago, RIA has 300‑plus member companies from across the supply chain, over 60% of which are small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

RIA supports the delivery of a bigger and better rail industry, representing the sector as an essential generator of economic growth, jobs and investment, supporting a low carbon form of mass transit for communities across the UK. RIA regularly engages with Ministers and civil servants in Government. We also work closely with all major rail clients across the UK. We collaborate with a range of industry partners to help drive positive change in our sector, on areas such as decarbonisation, innovation, equality and diversity, or supporting SMEs. We also support the work of the Rail Supply Group, a Government‑backed initiative to drive improvement in the railway industry.

Recent Publications and Key Messages

September 2021 – RIA launched ‘The Economic Contribution of UK Rail’

• £43 billion GVA in economic growth, compared to £36.4 billion in 2016. • 710,000 jobs, compared to 600,000 in 2016. • £14 billion in tax revenue each year, compared to £11 billion in 2016. • For every £1 spent in rail, £2.50 of income was generated in the wider economy, compared to £2.20 in 2016.

November 2021 – RIA published ‘Learning from Major Rail Projects’

• Collaboration and Leadership: Create strategic partnerships with the contractors and clients that are based on shared goals. Recruit for and reward positive team behaviours, including a continuous learning and development culture, and the ability to manage change effectively. • Visibility and long‑term investment: Once committed do not look back, share pipelines and plan long‑term investment to drive competition, grow supply chain capability and efficiency, and give confidence to private sector to invest in skills, assets and innovation. • Innovation and SMEs: Support innovation at earliest stages of a project, take full advantage of supply chain capability including international, SME, and cross‑sectoral ideas and expertise. Harness supply chain skills on system thinking and whole life value. • Procurement: Engage suppliers early. Publish transparent pipelines and outcome‑focused procurement models.

Effective procurement enables the development of intellectual property, and unlocks collaborative funding and financing models. • Economic, Environmental and Social Value: Recognise the full economic, environmental and social value that rail brings to the UK. • People, Trade and Exports: Celebrate the diversity of the supply chain and its people, and promote UK rail expertise and capability internationally.

March 2022 – RIA published 5 Tests for Great British Railways (GBR)

• No hiatus in current work: More than 70% of Network

Rail’s spend is with the private sector – and there cannot be a pause in this work. • Transparency: Be clear and transparent with rail suppliers, to allow them to deliver.

• Partnership: Be an open and accessible client, and partner with the private sector for the best results. • Productivity: Ensure the rail industry is able to thrive – financial sustainability will ensure rail delivers for UK plc. • Ambition: Leave a positive legacy, including in safety, decarbonisation, exports and the economy.

About RIA continued

April 2022 – RIA published ‘A Railway Innovation Strategy: Getting Ready for Great British Railways’

• Increase Government investment in rail research, development and innovation. This will leverage private sector investment by sharing risks at an early stage and giving confidence to develop skills and capabilities. Rail plays an active role in technology areas identified by the

Government in its innovation strategy. • Strengthen support during the innovation rollout phase.

Moving from innovation to business‑as‑usual requires resources, long‑term commitment to change and buy‑in from all levels of industry and Government. • Lead a concerted cross‑industry effort to identify and overcome barriers to successful adoption. Innovations need a clear path to market and rollout is often prevented by policy, procurement, cultural or industry issues which are beyond the control of private sector innovators and investors. • Provide a pathway and funding for radical innovation.

Accept some may fail, but those which succeed will provide ample reward. • Adopt a whole‑system and long‑term view to enable the right innovation. Innovation is core to the future resilience, cost‑effectiveness and sustainability of the railway, and needs to be treated as a business function like all others. • Support skills development and the creation of an innovation culture. May 2022 – RIA responded to the Dept for Transport’s Labour Market Call for Views and Ideas

• Profile: Promote a positive image of transport as a sector which offers local, national and global career opportunities to work on some of the most exciting agendas of our time from customer service, to zero carbon and digital. • Skills pipeline and rail investment: Recognise the link between certainty and supplier investment in skills: businesses of all sizes need the certainty of forward pipelines of work which unlock the return on skills investment. Commit to publishing pipelines of work and smoothing the investment profiles. • Collaboration, simplification and incentives: Skills activity needs to be accessible and to make a return on investment for individuals and employers. • Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI): Build on supply chain and industry initiatives including the RIA Women in

Rail EDI Charter, Young Rail Professionals, and the NSAR to ensure that together the impact of initiatives is bigger than the sum of their parts.