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Rail Cluster Scotland
Join the Rail Cluster for free to be part of the growing network of SMEs, rail manufacturers and contractors bringing jobs and investment to Scotland by creating more environmentally friendly train and track solutions.
Bringing together the businesses, people and expertise that support Scotland's railway
Rail Cluster Scotland was established in 2020 with support from Transport Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland to support the ambitions of Scotland’s Railway Decarbonisation Action Plan.
The original objective was to help Scotland’s railway access innovative technologies, products, services and expertise from across Scotland’s wider engineering and manufacturing base, supporting the transition towards a more sustainable and lower-carbon railway.
Over the past six years, Rail Cluster Scotland has evolved into an independent, industry-led initiative supporting collaboration, innovation, skills development, supply chain growth and business engagement across Scotland’s railway.
Today, the Cluster continues to support decarbonisation ambitions while helping connect rail with the people, businesses and expertise needed to support a resilient, successful and future-ready railway.
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Join close to 800 companies contributing to the future of Scotland's railways
Rail Cluster Scotland provides an independent and neutral environment that helps bring together organisations with an interest in Scotland’s railway.
We:
- Connect businesses with opportunities across the rail sector
- Support organisations seeking to enter, grow or diversify within rail
- Help rail organisations access expertise from across Scotland’s wider engineering and manufacturing community
- Support innovation and collaboration across the industry
- Promote skills, workforce and capability development
- Share intelligence, insight and information that supports better decision-making
- Strengthen relationships across Scotland’s rail supply chain
Scotland’s railway faces a range of opportunities and challenges, including decarbonisation, workforce development, innovation adoption, supply chain resilience and future capability requirements.
Rail Cluster Scotland helps create the connections needed to address these challenges by bringing together industry, suppliers, academia, researchers, innovators and public sector organisations.
By helping organisations collaborate, share knowledge and access wider expertise, the Cluster supports:
- A stronger rail supply chain
- Increased innovation and technology adoption
- Better visibility of opportunities
- Improved access to expertise and specialist knowledge
- Skills and workforce development
- Greater collaboration across the sector
Support for Scotland’s wider economic and sustainability ambitions
Following five years of public sector support, Rail Cluster Scotland is now supported by Network Rail and Scotland’s Tier 1 suppliers; Amco Giffen, Babcock, Siemens, Story Rail, SPL Powerlines, Taziker and Volker Rail.
This industry-led approach helps ensure that activity remains aligned to the priorities that matter most to Scotland’s railway, including:
- Supply chain engagement
- Innovation
- Workforce and skills
- Access to opportunity
- Future capability
- Supply chain resilience
The Cluster also maintains strong links with Transport Scotland and Skills Development Scotland, academia, innovation centres and wider industry stakeholders.
Rail Cluster Scotland is open to Scottish businesses and organisations with an interest in Scotland’s railway, whether they are already active in the sector or looking to enter, diversify into or grow within rail.
One of the Cluster’s strengths is the breadth of its network. We bring together organisations from across rail and beyond rail, helping create connections between industry, innovation, research, skills and wider engineering and manufacturing expertise.
This includes:
- Businesses already active within the rail sector
- Companies looking to enter, diversify into or grow within rail
- Engineering and manufacturing organisations
- Technology and innovation businesses
- Infrastructure, construction and service providers
- Train and freight operators
- Universities, colleges and research organisations
- Rail innovation programmes and innovation centres
- Skills and workforce organisations
- Public sector partners
Membership is free and open to organisations with an interest in supporting, supplying, working within or exploring opportunities in Scotland’s railway.
Over the past six years, Rail Cluster Scotland has helped strengthen connections across Scotland’s railway and wider engineering, manufacturing and innovation community.
Business Growth & Supply Chain Development:
- Connected businesses with opportunities across the rail sector
- Supported supplier engagement activity involving major rail organisations
- Helped businesses enter and grow within rail markets
- Developed new supply chain intelligence and insight
Innovation & Collaboration:
- Supported innovation projects and funding activity
- Connected rail organisations with Scottish innovation capability
- Supported Scotland’s hydrogen rail ambitions
- Built links between industry, universities, research centres and innovation organisations
Skills & Workforce:
- Supported Scotland’s Rail Skills Study
- Contributed to the establishment of the Rail Skills Leadership Group
- Supported national discussions around future rail skills and workforce development
- Chaired the Train Driver Modern Apprenticeship Technical Expert Group
International Reach:
- Represented Scotland through the European Railway Clusters Initiative (ERCI)
- Developed links with rail clusters across Europe
- Connected Scottish organisations with wider international rail networks and expertise
Building Connections:
- More than 750 individuals engaged
- More than 500 organisations connected
- More than 315 SMEs supported
As Scotland’s railway continues to evolve, Rail Cluster Scotland will continue to support collaboration, innovation, supply chain development and workforce initiatives across the sector.
The Cluster will also continue to help businesses access opportunities within rail while helping the industry access the expertise, ideas and innovation needed to support future success.
Join Rail Cluster Scotland
Whether you already work within the rail sector or are exploring opportunities for the first time, Rail Cluster Scotland can help connect you with the people, organisations and opportunities that support Scotland’s railway.
Membership is free. Join Rail Cluster Scotland and become part of the growing community supporting the future of Scotland’s railway.
The Rail Cluster Directory
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The Rail Cluster delivered by
Scottish Engineering, the premier membership organisation for Scotland's businesses.
We provide our members with invaluable access to professional services, such as health & safety, legal services as well as access to policymakers on local, national and international levels.
The continuous updates on employment law and economic data ensure our members are up to date with what is happening within industry. Our broad and diverse range of members creates a sense of community, where companies can rely on the advice and support of their peers within industry to create solutions to common challenges and share their best practice solutions.
Quotes about the Rail Cluster
Our continued involvement allows us to help companies seeking to diversify their business into rail, matching their interest in sustainable business streams which will flow from the clearly defined targets for rail de-carbonisation in Scotland and the UK.
And while we will retain the elements that have delivered a successful cluster to date, we look forward to bringing new ideas and innovation to the way we deliver, including an outward view to the rail opportunities across the UK, Europe and beyond.
