ROGER FORD ASSESSES THE STATE OF THE MARKET SERVED BY EXHIBITORS AT MODERN RAILWAYS RVE
AS 2020 DEADLINE NEARS
Now in its sixth year, Modern Railways RVE provides a showcase for the wide variety of products and services from companies that make up the specialist supply chain serving the rolling stock market. The show also features a ‘Meet The Buyer’ programme organised by Rail Forum Midlands in partnership with the Railway Industry Association and the Department for International Trade (pp14-15).
This event offers suppliers the chance for companies to pitch their products and services directly to some of the most influential buyers in the rail industry. This year’s ‘Meet The Buyer’ programme features all five of the rolling stock manufacturers with United Kingdom assembly plants already in production, under construction or committed.
Since Hitachi established its Newton Aycliffe plant in 2015, it has created a supply chain of nearly 1,200 UK companies. Siemens already has its own UK specialist subsidiaries, but with Brexit approaching, both it and CAF are likely to follow Hitachi’s lead when sourcing suppliers for their new UK facilities at Goole and Newport respectively, making RVE 2018 particularly timely.
