RIA CELEBRATES REACHING 350 MEMBERS MILESTONE

The Railway Industry Association has grown, developed, and evolved quite significantly since it was first established in 1875.

RIA, whose legacy is admired especially by its members, is known to most, as the go-to national trade association for UK-based suppliers to the railway industry and the voice of the UK rail supply community. As a membership organisation, we help to grow a sustainable, highperforming, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products.

Earlier this year RIA celebrated an important milestone, and it wasn’t for our 150 years of being established – which will be in two years’ time. However, we are pleased and proud to see our membership increasing, with figures showing an 84% growth since 2017, when we had 190 members. We reached the milestone of 350 members in April this year. The growth of the members was particularly encouraging, considering the pandemic and the political and economic turbulence of recent years.

RIA’s membership is continuously growing with over 350 member companies to date from across the supply chain, over 60% of which are small or medium sized enterprises. Our member companies represent a large proportion of the rail industry by turnover, reflect a great diversity of disciplines within the sector and cover the length and breadth of the UK.

We would like to thank each and every one of our members for their loyalty and informing the work RIA does, and we hope that any rail supply business not currently in membership considers joining us as we move ever closer to our 150th year in 2025. We look forward to working with the RIA membership to help the railway industry become even bigger and better in the months and years to come.

Our members benefit from access to daily online updates and more than a hundred quality networking events per year, plus preferential hire of our rooms and event space in London. Main highlights in RIA members’ calendars are the RIA flagship events.

Our next flagship event is the RIA Annual Conference 2023 taking place on 1 and 2 November at the Millennium Conference Centre, South Kensington, London. RIA’s award-winning annual conference is a muchregarded highlight of the UK rail calendar. RIA members will have the possibility of meeting face-to-face with clients, industry leaders, influencers, international guests and policy makers. This year’s conference focuses on the theme of “Promoting the case for rail and investment in uncertain times”. Across the two days, the programme will combine keynote speeches, panel discussions, interview sessions, spotlight exhibitor pitches and unique networking opportunities.

Speakers for the RIA Annual Conference include:

■ Andrew Haines, Chief Executive, Network Rail

■ Huw Merriman MP, Rail and HS2 Minister

■ Baroness Grey Thompson DBE, DL, Member of the House of Lords

■ Beth West, Chief Executive Officer, East West Rail

■ Steve White, Managing Director, Southeastern

■ Maggie Simpson OBE, Director General, Rail Freight Group

■ Martin Tugwell, Chief Executive, Transport for the North

■ Emma Porter, Managing Director, Story Contracting and many more.

Another date for the diary is the 14th edition of the RIA Innovation Conference taking place on 26 and 27 March 2024 at ICC Wales, Newport. Please save the date. Registration will be open soon.

Neil Walker Exports Director