Wray Castle Support the Global Centre of Rail Excellence
The Global Centre of Rail Excellence being constructed in South Wales is one of the most critical and creative infrastructure projects happening anywhere in European rail.
With benefits for the industry and for government; for our natural environment and for the local and national economies, the project is unique in its vision and the multiple benefits it will bring.
As a site for world class rail innovation GCRE will bring people and ideas together, supporting the design and development of imaginative new technologies and concepts that can be the backbone of the stronger, greener, and more affordable rail network of tomorrow.
GCRE’s replication of a mainline railway environment will provide an unparalleled opportunity for the industry to operate in a safe and controlled space, enabling faster proving and deployment of new technologies, as well as opening new possibilities for showcasing the best in rail innovation.
One of the key technical developments in rail radio communications technology is the development of FRMCS (Future Rail Mobile Communications Systems) which is due to start replace the existing GSM-R standard from around 2030. The GCRE offers the potential operators build and test live FRMCS networks on the test tracks. Wray Castle, in partnership with the UIC, the worldwide rail organisation, has launched a suite of specialist training solutions for the railway industry including for the FRMCS standard.
Wray Castle support the development of GCRE and the positive impact it will have on innovation in the rail industry.
About Global Centre of Rail Excellence
The Global Centre of Rail Excellence will be a ‘one stop shop’ for testing new rolling stock and supporting world class research, development and certification of new rail infrastructure, technologies, processes and skills – something that currently doesn’t exist on a single site in either the UK or in Europe.
Operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the facility will include two electrified test loops, one a high-speed rolling stock track and the other a track for heavy infrastructure testing.
GCRE will become the UK’s first ever net zero railway, supporting the innovation needed to aid the UKs path to net zero and, crucially, helping lower the costs of major rail infrastructure projects. Located on a former open cast mine in the Dulais Valley, it will create long-term, high-quality jobs in an area of multiple deprivation and become a magnet for other, high-quality investments and R&D funding as part of an active industrial policy. www.gcre.wales