GCRE announces new partnership with Network Rail

The Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) has announced a major new partnership with Network Rail aimed at accelerating innovation across the UK rail industry.

The agreement will see the Welsh GCRE, currently under construction, provide testing, research and innovation support to Network Rail once operational. The facility, supported by funding from both the Welsh and UK Governments, will be a world-leading centre for the development and testing of new rail technologies. Once complete, it will also be the first net zero railway in the country.

Simon Jones, CEO of GCRE, hailed the partnership as a significant step forward for Britain’s railways. “This collaboration will help us develop the ideas, research and innovation that will deliver the stronger, faster and greener railway we need for the future,” he said.

GCRE is already attracting significant interest from the industry, with recent partnerships with Hitachi, CAF and Transport for Wales. The agreement with Network Rail further strengthens the centre’s future ambitions as a key partner in future innovation.

Jones added: “This multi-million pound deal secures another high-profile client for the GCRE site, underlining the commercial momentum behind our facility and the strength of our business model.”

GCRE is set to play a key role in delivering Network Rail’s ambitious plans to modernise and decarbonise its network, including its ambitious target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and 2045 in Scotland.