On 4–5 November, the Arctic Test Arena was officially inaugurated in Narvik, marking the launch of a dedicated Norwegian–Swedish facility for testing and developing railway technologies under Arctic conditions.

Around 170 representatives from 60 European entities in infrastructure, research and technology development attended the event, which aims to improve operational performance in extreme weather, strengthen climate resilience, foster technological innovation and promote cross-border collaboration.

Spanning 473 km from the ice-free port of Narvik to Luleå and the industries of Norrbotten, the Ofoten Line and the Iron Ore Line have long served as a critical transport corridor for Europe’s raw materials. Their Arctic environment, heavy-haul operations, and challenging terrain make them an exceptional testing ground. The Arctic Test Arena now provides a structured platform for research, experimentation and implementation, delivering solutions that can benefit railways across northern Europe and beyond.

The launch featured an official ceremony at Narvik Station, with remarks from Sébastien Denis, Senior Programme Manager at EU-Rail. Sébastien highlighted our EU-Rail FP3-IAM4RAIL project, presenting advanced monitoring systems for concrete bridges, transition zones and extreme-weather operations, illustrating how these innovations enhance operational reliability, winter performance and digitalised asset management.

Participants then boarded the Arctic Innovation Train to Katterat, Søsterbekk, and Abisko. A key demonstration involved monitoring the Søsterbekk Bridge using advanced sensors capable of tracking structural and rail integrity at temperatures reaching –30 °C.

The Arctic Test Arena is a collaboration between Trafikverket, Bane NOR, the Norvegian Railway Directorate, the City of Narvik, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå Railway Research Center (JVTC) EU-Rail, SINTEF, and UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

On 21 November, our EU-Rail FP1-MOTIONAL project hosted its online Townhall, marking an important step toward next-generation Digital Asset Engineering.

The programme included a workshop led by DB InfraGO AG, a presentation on LIDAR-based railway asset detection by MERMEC, and an overview of guidelines for Digital Twin development and maintenance by PKP, followed by a Q&A.
The session highlighted three core pillars driving the digitalisation of Europe’s rail system:

• Deep Learning for Object Extraction: leveraging AI techniques to detect and classify railway assets, demonstrated through LIDAR-based object extraction.
• Common guidelines for Digital Twins: establishing clear specifications for developing and maintaining digital twins across Europe’s rail infrastructure.
• Collaborative Workshop on Digital Asset Engineering: strengthening alignment among partners and fostering technical exchange.

This Townhall served as a valuable platform to gather expertise, accelerating innovation, standardisation and interoperability for digital rail assets across Europe.

As part of our EU-Rail FP2-R2DATO, industry partners are developing a Moving Block Demonstrator, a traffic control and supervision system based on new geometric, train-oriented safety logic.

Unlike traditional fixed-point safety systems with signals and markers, this approach authorises train movements dynamically, simplifying planning, reducing engineering effort, and potentially increasing capacity. It even allows multiple trains on the same track circuit when integrity monitoring is available.

Tested at DB’s digital testbed in the Ore Mountains, Germany, the demonstrator combines three key components:

• A digital register for data storage and distribution
• A plan execution system (by Hitachi) that converts timetables into movement requests
• The European Trackside Protection System (Hitachi), the safety core granting or rejecting permissions

Both simulation and field tests are employed: simulations provide early, cost-efficient validation, while field tests verify functionalities that cannot be simulated, such as real-world FRMCS and switch control. Two test vehicles equipped with ETCS onboard units support are used.

Results show that this innovative architecture and safety logic perform reliably in real-world conditions and can increase capacity by enabling operations at absolute braking distances.

Our EU-Rail FP2-R2DATO project is developing remote-operated and fully autonomous train technologies. Partners from 12 countries are testing digital systems that improve capacity and streamline operations without building new infrastructure. Trials in Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland have successfully demonstrated remote-driven trams and trains. The next step involves fully autonomous operations using an advanced perception system—the “eyes of the train”—to detect obstacles and make driving decisions. The project also aims to harmonise Europe’s fragmented railway systems to enable smooth cross-border travel. Researchers are testing innovations such as Moving Block technology, which increases network capacity by allowing trains to run closer together, and satellite-based positioning to enhance rail safety systems like ERTMS.  These developments are expected to transform European railways over the next decade, making rail transport more reliable, efficient and sustainable.

As part of our EU-Rail FP2-MORANE-2 project tests on conventional lines, a Renfe train has been selected to run on the León–Matallana line, which has been set up as a test environment for FRMCS within the European specifications validation project. Along these lines, GSM-R functionalities will be validated on the new FRMCS system, with the aim of ensuring that railway operations can be fully carried out under the new communications system.  Tests will take place under real operating conditions on a commercial line, allowing the system’s performance to be evaluated in a fully operational environment.

The train now features the FP2-MORANE-2 logo and corporate colours, making it easily identifiable and showcasing the involvement of Adif and Spain in this ambitious European programme. This new distinctive design strengthens the project’s visual identity across technical and public dissemination activities, marking another milestone in the advancement of Europe’s railway communications.

On 28 November, our EU-Rail FP3-IAM4Rail project took centre stage at RailLive 2025, with Adif hosting an expert roundtable highlighting the project’s progress and ambitions. The Roundtable session “Digitalisation and Sustainability in Railway Asset Management: Progress of the European Project FP3-IAM4Rail” was moderated by Rosa Casquero, Head of the Infrastructure Subsystem Sector at the International Union of Railways (UIC). Participants discussed how digital tools, data-driven processes, and sustainable strategies are transforming rail asset management across Europe.

Moreover, Henk Samson, Senior Programme Manager Innovation for the FP3-IAM4Rail Project, contributed to an expert panel alongside Martin Espenschied (Principal Technology Advisor and Strategist, SBB CFF FFS), Ana Mª Millán (Lead Engineering and EU-funded Projects, GTSTS Hitachi Rail) and Harald Eller (CEO, Savvee Strategic Management S.L). Together, they shared technical insights and practical perspectives on the ongoing digital transformation of the rail system, showing how innovative approaches are enabling more efficient, sustainable and resilient asset management.

On November 19, our EU-Rail member Adif hosted the 54th Steering Committee meeting of the FP5-TRANS4M-R project at the Railway Technology Centre (CTF) in Málaga.

Together with Renfe as its affiliated entity, Adif participates in a consortium of 27 public and private organisations from 10 EU Member States and one associated country.

The hybrid meeting gathered around 80 representatives from across Europe to review project progress, evaluate work packages and milestones, and make strategic decisions. Discussions focused on demonstrator requirements for achieving rail interoperability, including developments such as the Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC) and rolling stock inspection systems. Results from recent tests conducted in Germany by Deutsche Bahn (DB) were also presented.

Participants concluded the day with a guided tour of the CTF facilities, exploring innovation projects and specialised laboratories that enable the development of new technologies and improvements to existing systems.

Following the FP6 FutuRe Mid-term event held on 24–25 September in Turin, Italy, where participants discussed the strategic importance of regional railway networks, cost-effective CCS solutions and innovative passenger information systems, you can now watch the interviews with:

• Judit Sandor, EU-Rail Programme Manager, elaborates on the project’s mission and its role in challenging the current railway system to reach the goals.
• Alessandro Mascis, Wabtec Project Coordinator, highlights the vast number of the partners involved and comments on key differences between strategies and technological solutions for interoperable and non-interoperable lines.
• Alberto Lacchini, RailPool GM and FNM Fleet Operations Director, discusses the key challenges faced by regional lines today and what the railway community expects from FP6.

As our EU-Rail project ESEP4Freight successfully came to an end on 31 August 2025, we invite you to read the project’s final newsletter, which presents the recently released ESEP4Freight Web Platform.

The project’s overarching objectives were to create, integrate and validate a set of web-based information services within an open-access platform; to assess the impact of upcoming innovations; to analyse European freight market trends and freight flows; and to propose recommendations for adapting the current contractual and legal framework in intermodal transport to the needs of different actors.

In this final edition, you will also find access to the project’s publications, deliverables and presentations delivered across Europe.

On 12 November, the TravelWise project was invited to join SIGN-AIR and MultiModX (MMX) projects at a joint policy event in the European Parliament, hosted by MEP Sophia Kircher.
The discussion explored how stronger policies, better data use and closer cooperation between transport sectors can make seamless multimodal travel possible across Europe.

As the first cross-sector Joint Undertaking project, co-funded by EU-Rail and SESAR JU, TravelWise plays a pioneering role in advancing seamless passenger journeys and data sharing. The event convened EU policymakers, legal experts, transport operators, and civil society stakeholders to assess how closer air–rail cooperation can foster sustainable and passenger-centric mobility.

TravelWise emphasised its ongoing support for EU transport policy objectives through the development of new decision-support systems, data-integration approaches and collaborative operational models for aviation, rail and maritime stakeholders.

The Hyperloop Conference 2025 on 4 November convened researchers, policymakers and industry representatives to discuss the status of our EU-Rail Hyper4Rail project, technological developments and the critical need for coherent policy frameworks and harmonisation.

EU-Rail Project Manager Judit Sándor joined the panel “Policy Meets Technology: What Will Make Hyperloop a Reality?” with Íñigo Cruz Martínez (DG MOVE, European Commission), Andre Freitas (TIS), Juan de Dios Sanz Bobis (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) and Lukas Eschmet (Institute of Hyperloop Technology) to discuss the policy frameworks, research activities and technological milestones required to advance hyperloop. Judit also stressed the importance of harmonisation and technological maturity to build trust in hyperloop and shared insights into upcoming EU-Rail funding opportunities that support this evolution.

A keynote from Sascha Lamme, Hyper4Rail Project Coordinator, summarised Hyper4Rail’s interim findings, while a panel featuring Tim Houter (Co-Founder of Hardt Hyperloop), Juan Vicen Balaguer (Co-Founder & VP Institutional Relations of Zeleros), Gabriele Semino (Co-Founder & CEO of Neoways Technologies) and Antoine Juge (Managing Director of Eurotube Foundation), moderated by Kathleen Schröter, outlined the next steps for European hyperloop development and the need for converging technical concepts.

The Hyper4Rail consortium convened the day before to review the status of various work packages and discuss the contribution of user surveys and business case studies to the project’s operational concept and technical design considerations.