Global Centre of Rail Excellence announce local supply chain event

The Global Centre of Rail Excellence has announced a ‘Meet the Buyer’ engagement event with potential local suppliers and businesses in March.

The event will be held at the Towers Hotel and Spa in Jersey Marine, Neath Port Talbot, on Friday 17th March and run from 11am to 3.30pm.

The event will include a presentation from the GCRE team about the facility being constructed at the head of the Dulais and Swansea Valleys, with opportunities for one-to-one conversations with the GCRE team.

Those wishing to register for the event can do so on the GCRE website:

Meet the Buyer Event: Neath Port Talbot, Friday 17th March

When it opens in 2025, GCRE will be a facility providing world class research, testing and certification of rolling stock, infrastructure and innovative new technologies that will fill a strategic gap not just in UK rail, but across Europe.

GCRE Chief Executive Simon Jones said: “The Global Centre of Rail Excellence is one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Europe today. It will help transform innovation in rail, not just here in the UK, but across the continent.

“What has always been a critical part of the vision for GCRE, since its inception, is for the facility to have a positive, long-term and sustainable impact on the local area – its economy, its environment and the local communities around the site.

“The event we are holding on 17th March is a chance for local businesses and potential suppliers to find out more about progress with our facility and learn about the opportunities it will offer them and the region.

“GCRE will be a success if we can build a high quality and resilient supply chain that gives us access to the best skills, knowledge and suppliers, including those that exist locally and regionally. That in turn will help support the foundational economy through strong local partnerships and opportunities for businesses and organisations.”

Spanning the former Nant Helen opencast site and Onllwyn Washery in South Wales, GCRE will be the UK’s first net zero railway.

The facility will offer three core services – Rolling Stock Testing; Infrastructure Innovation and Storage and Maintenance.

The facility will include two 25KV electrified test loops, one a 6.9km high speed rolling stock track and the other a 4km infrastructure test track.

Simon added: “When it opens in 2025, the Global Centre of Rail Excellence will be a facility with potential to serve a UK and European customer base and the opportunities for local suppliers and contractors to get involved are significant.

“GCRE will be a genuinely world class site for innovation, research and development, quite unlike anything else on the continent. We want the local area to feel pride about having a site of international quality on its doorstep and create a sense that this is a collective project that local businesses and suppliers can all contribute to.

“I’d encourage local businesses and potential suppliers interested in knowing more about the GCRE facility to come to our briefing event and get involved.”

Photo credit: GCRE

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