Endorsers of the Global Centre of Rail Excellence Vision

A site for world class testing

Dear Simon,

The rail industry faces a variety of significant challenges over the coming years:

• To tackle the climate crisis, we have to decarbonise the railway network and prove the reliability, sustainability and effectiveness of the innovations needed for the high-quality, attractive and integrated public transport networks of the future;

• To better manage resources at a time of challenging public finances, especially post Covid and with the continuing conflict in the Ukraine, we have to find new and creative ways to lower the costs of rail through the development of more affordable railway infrastructure, improved cost control and more effective delivery and management of major projects;

• For the good of passengers, freight users and railway funders we have to grasp the exciting opportunities offered by new digital and connected technologies;

• And to develop the UK as a global leader in rail research, manufacturing and standards development we have to ensure the eco-system supporting rail innovation, proving and showcasing – from R&D through to production and servicing – is set up to support these ambitions.

All of these challenges depend upon decreasing the time taken to bring reliable, assured products to market, without compromising safety, customer experience or cost.

One of the barriers to that happening is that the rail sector, both in the UK and in Europe, lacks a purpose-built, offline facility at which single site, integrated testing and proving of rolling stock, infrastructure and cutting-edge new technologies can take place.

The current patchwork of facilities do not provide the breadth of capabilities the modern rail network requires. At such a crucial time, we need a custom built, high-quality rail innovation facility, that can support the rapid development and deployment of new technologies and help tackle the strategic challenges we face across the whole industry.

The Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) can provide such a facility and is a once in a generation opportunity we as an industry must take.

So as a railway industry we have come together to put our names to this open letter to confirm our support for the vision and market demand for the Global Centre of Rail Excellence.

When GCRE is operational we believe that it will offer a broad range of services and functionality that will benefit our organisation. Many of the planned services are not available elsewhere in a way which works for business at a consolidated location and at the scale GCRE will offer.

GCRE’s replication of a mainline railway environment will provide an unparalleled opportunity for the industry to operate in a safe and controlled space, enabling faster proving and deployment of new technologies, as well as opening new possibilities for showcasing the best in rail innovation. Currently, organisations like ours have to find inefficient and time consuming workaround options to prove products, systems and system integration.

We also recognise that rail has a collective responsibility to demonstrate how our industry is playing a positive role in the creation of new jobs and skills and the wider development of a fairer economy. GCRE will undoubtedly stimulate wider economic development opportunities in a deindustrialised area and generate high quality employment opportunities, both locally and throughout the wider supply chain. Having closely followed the development and progress of the GCRE, we firmly believe it will play a crucial role in advancing the railway and demonstrating its wider social impact, too.

We are committed to supporting the development of the Global Centre of Rail Excellence and can see value to our business in the range of services it is offering. We understand that you will use this letter with potential investors to demonstrate widespread market demand for the services that GCRE will provide.

Yours sincerely,