How can the rolling stock supply chain create greater value for the UK?

Rail Forum Midlands (RFM) commissioned Oxera to analyse the UK’s rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance supply chain to quantify its contribution to the UK’s economy and understand the size, impact and potential of this important part of the rail ecosystem.

Our analysis demonstrates that the UK rolling stock manufacturing and maintenance supply chain is an important sector in its own right. It supports tens of thousands of highly skilled, well-paid jobs, primarily across the North and Midlands. It is highly productive, with the potential to further increase UK economic activity, supporting the levelling-up and decarbonisation agendas, without requiring an increase in overall investment by clients and government.

The rolling stock supply chain in the UK makes a substantial contribution to the UK economy; conservatively, we estimate that it supports 26,000–27,000 jobs and £1.7bn–£1.8bn of gross value added (GVA). That employment and economic activity is distributed around the UK, with a key cluster of activity in the Midlands.