Written question WQ95606

The Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) is a Programme for Government commitment to develop a new, purpose-built facility in South Wales that will become Europe’s leading centre for rail and sustainable mobility innovation. GCRE will be a site for world class rail and mobility research, testing and showcasing of next generation rolling stock, infrastructure and cutting-edge net zero technologies, providing a range of services unique across the continent.

Becoming the UK’s first ever net zero in operation railway and supporting the innovations needed to decarbonise the UK and European railway, GCRE will help to lower the costs of major rail infrastructure across the world, support the creation of new businesses and enhance Welsh exports, as part of a wider industrial strategy.

A recent economic appraisal by PWC highlighted that GCRE was a ‘very high’ value for money project that has the potential to create 1,100 jobs in its first decade and contribute £300m GVA uplift to the local economy. It highlighted that for every £1 invested in GCRE, £15 of wider benefits will be realised by the local community, economy and industry.

GCRE lies just 15 miles from the Tata Steelworks in Port Talbot and once investment is secured will be able to provide support to the transition. In the immediate term GCRE will provide skills re-training for former Tata employees to find similar technical roles in rail – it is estimated that within 90 minutes of the Port Talbot site there is a demand for 3,400 roles in rail over the next two years, in maintenance and capital projects. Longer term GCRE will itself provide an important source of alternative employment both at the facility itself through roles created directly at GCRE as well as through partners operating at the site.

Outline planning permission has been secured for the facility; a skilled core team has been built and a 700-hectare site has been purchased – the former Nant Helen mining site in South Wales – on which preparatory earthworks have been progressed. Strong commercial demand exists for a purpose-built facility for European rail innovation, with clients including Hitachi Rail, CAF, Network Rail and Transport for Wales having committed to take testing time at the GCRE facility once it is operational. In all, more than 200 companies across the international rail supply chain have indicated their desire to use the unique-to-Europe infrastructure that GCRE will have on site.​

GCRE is a development supported with £50m of Welsh Government funding and £20m from UK Government. GCRE is currently in the process of securing private investment for capital construction of the facility. GCRE provided a new year investment update in January, in which it outlined that it is in detailed dialogue with a potential funder.

A further update will be provided as discussions progress.