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          Discover Innovation pillar
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          Innovation Pillar

          EU-Rail’s Innovation Pillar (IP) is tasked to deliver operational and technological solutions that contribute to a more efficient, flexible, and demand-led, yet safe and environmentally sustainable European railway system. The activities undertaken aim at large-scale demonstrations and they also cover technologies of all readiness levels as well as exploratory research.

          Explore System pillar

          About

          The System Pillar is the “generic system integrator” for the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail), and the architect of the future EU’s railway system.

          Outputs

          Discover key outputs from the System Pillar.

          Governance

          Discover the Governance structure and key decisions from the System Pillar.

          Key documents

          Discover the System Pillar document library.

          Discover System pillar

          System Pillar

          The System Pillar provides governance, resource, and outputs to support a coherent and coordinated approach to the evolution of the rail system and the development of the system view.

          Discover Deployment Group
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          Deployment Group

          The Deployment Group advises the EU-Rail Governing Board on the market uptake of rail innovation developments and support their deployment. Its activities thus form a bridge between the research and innovation process and the coordinated implementation through recommendations for deployment in the rail system.

          Explore the DAC Delivery Programme

          For a successful and effective implementation of the Digital Automatic Coupler for European rail freight (DAC), it is of crucial importance to have open, close and efficient cooperation between rail stakeholders. The European DAC Delivery Programme enabled by Europe’s Rail, offers a unique European platform for such cooperation and collaboration.

          About Shift2Rail

          Explore more information about the Europe's Rail predecessor programme.

          Explore Shift2Rail

          Shift2Rail Programme

          Explore the detailed information about the Shift2Rail Innovation Programmes.

          Organisation

          Explore the structure of the Shift2Rail programme.

          Shift2Rail Projects

          Get a glimpse of the Shift2Rail Projects and their achievements.

          Discover Shift2Rail

          The Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking is the predecessor programme of the Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail), established by Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021.

           

        • Projects

          Discover detailed information on Europe's rail innovation initiatives, showcasing flagship and other projects aimed at enhancing rail systems across Europe. It highlights collaborative efforts funded by the European Union to develop sustainable, efficient, and competitive rail transport solutions.

           

          Solutions catalogue

          Europe’s Rail Catalogue of Solutions illustrates successful R&I results in the form of possible products and solutions, while highlighting the benefits for final users, operators, infrastructure managers and/or suppliers. This publication also outlines the advantages of integrating demonstrators into market solutions so that they can deliver the rail innovation Capabilities of the future.

        • Who we are?

          About Europe's Rail

          Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail) is established by Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021. It is the new European partnership on rail research and innovation established under the Horizon Europe programme (2020-2027) and the universal successor of the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking.

           

          Explore About Europe's Rail

          Mission and objectives

          The objective of Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking is to deliver a high capacity integrated European railway network by eliminating barriers to interoperability and providing solutions for full integration, covering traffic management, vehicles, infrastructure and services, aiming to achieve faster uptake and deployment of projects and innovations.

          Preparatory Activities

          Discover the the processes and background information on the preparation of the Joint Undertaking.

          Jobs

          Browse latest Europe's Rail vacancies.

          Discover Europe's Rail Members

          Find out the full list of Europe's Rail Members.

           

          Explore Structure of Governance

          Governing Board & General Assembly

          The Europe's Rail Governing Board oversees Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking, guiding strategy, budgets, and work plans. It includes the European Commission and rail industry stakeholders, aiming to innovate and integrate Europe's rail systems, boosting efficiency, sustainability, and alignment with EU Green Deal goals.

          States Representatives Group

          The Europe's Rail States Representatives Group advises the Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking. It comprises representatives from EU member states and associated countries, ensuring alignment of Europe's Rail activities with national policies, facilitating cooperation, and providing input on rail innovation, integration, and sustainable development across Europe.

          Scientific Steering Group

          The Europe's Rail Scientific Steering Group provides scientific and technical advice to the Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking. Comprising experts from academia and research institutions, it ensures that research projects align with cutting-edge science and innovation, supporting the development of a modern, sustainable European rail system.

          Executive Director

          Find out more information about the Europe's Rail Executive Director.

          Discover Structure of Governance

          Discover the full structure and governance of Europe's Rail, including the decisions of the Governing Board.

           

          Explore Reference Documents

          Key Documents

          Discover main Europe's Rail documentation.

          Annual Work Plan and Budget

          Find out about our key priortires in our Annual Work Plans and Budget.

          Annual Activity Report

          Discover the progress of our programme by downloading Europe's Rail Annual Activity Reports.

          Annual Accounts

          Have a full overview of Europe's Rail Annual Accounts.

          Functioning of the Europe's Rail JU

          Discover key documentation describing the general functioning of the JU.

          Discover Reference Documents

          Get access to Europe's Rail main reference documents, including Annual Work Plans, Annual Activity Reports, Annual Accounts and other important information.

           

News

Travel Companion Specification Report

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Description: This deliverable describes the specifications of the Travel Concerns Work Package and Travel Companion Modules within the ExtenSive project.  It describes the different functions developed to meet the travel concerns and outlines the behaviour of the Travel Companion through its use cases. In addition, it details the components, the functions, the missions and the capabilities.

Target audience: Travel Service Providers

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: The Extensive ‘specification reports’ all aim to be the basis of the development of the various corresponding modules. The Travel Companion is targeted to provide a better user experience by offering the traveler more services when using rail, and/or easier access to these services.

More information on this topic: ExtenSive


ExtenSive Components Specification Report

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Description: This deliverable covers the specifications for the evolutions of Innovation Programme 4 components in the context of the ExtenSive project. Its aim is to enhance orchestration components, considering new needs, shortcomings detected in previous versions, new flows of information, and secured data exchange. These improvements cover aspects of: trip tracking, travel shopping, and booking and ticketing components and flows. This specification is established considering Use Cases defined by the consortium.

Target audience: Travel Service Providers

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: The Extensive “Specification reports” all aim to be the basis of the development of the various corresponding modules. The Innovation Programme 4 components are targeted to improve access to purchasing services (of tickets or goods), and to trip tracking.

More information on this topic: ExtenSive


Software as a Service Solution Specification Report

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Description: This deliverable covers the specifications for the Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for the ExtenSive project. Its goal is to provide access to services to Transport Service Providers (TSPs), which they would not have otherwise. Furthermore, the document analyses the status of the Innovation Programme 4 ecosystem architecture, which was developed within previous Shift2Rail projects, and presents a plan for a SaaS architecture to create a scalable solution that can be easily deployed.

Target audience: Travel Service Providers

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: The Extensive “Specification reports” all aim to be the basis of the development of the various corresponding modules. The SaaS architecture aims at giving TSPs access to services such as Trip Tracking, Travel Shopping, Event Detection, Incident Management and Traveller Feedback.

More information on this topic: ExtenSive


Decision Support System Algorithms and Data Integration Specification Report

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Description: This deliverable is based on the definition of the main requirements for the design of a Decision Support System (DSS) to help multimodal Travel Service Providers (TSPs) in the management of unplanned disruptions and events. The document contains a description of the selected Use Cases and high-level specifications, as well as operational aspects, system analysis and logical architecture.

Target audience: Travel Service Providers

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: The Extensive “Specification reports” all aim to be the basis of the development of the various corresponding modules. The DSS system is targeted to manage travel smoothly even when unplanned events occur by providing alternative solutions, thus maintaining the satisfaction of the traveler even during disruptions.

More information on this topic: ExtenSive


Common Data Model Demonstrator Definition Specification Report

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Description: This deliverable is designed to present the activities performed within the ExtenSive project related to the task on bridging data between IP4 and IP2 . Within the Traffic Management System the data can be used to optimize overall traffic by utilizing surplus dwell time. The deliverable contains a description of the Use Cases that were selected and a high-level specification of the future solution. 

Target audience: Travel Service Providers

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: The Extensive “Specification reports” all aim to be the basis of the development of the various corresponding modules. The data integration aims at improving traffic management a step further through collected data, thus improving the time and convenience of rail travel.

More information on this topic: ExtenSive


Infrastructure on Stations and Their Surroundings Specification Report

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Description: This deliverable is designed to present the activities performed within the ExtenSive project related to giving travellers an overview of the station as well as information about railway station points of interest (POI) and the nearest surrounding. It also includes enhancements of the Travel Companion with the intention to improve voice assistance for travellers when moving at the station or its surrounding and to interact with ticket vending machines. The document contains a description of the Use Cases that were selected and a high-level specification of the future solution. These include navigation around and inside the station in relation to POI, passenger communication with the technology wall, and more.

Target audience: Travel Service Providers

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: The Extensive “Specification reports” all aim to be the basis of the development of the various corresponding modules. In this case, it addresses the possible infrastructure enhancements within the stations themselves in order to improve the traveller experience, by providing them guidance and assistance in the station.

More information on this topic: ExtenSive


Use Case of Innovation Programme 4 Update

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Description: This document is designed to present the new Innovation Programme 4 (IP4) Use Cases proposed by the ExtenSive project. The deliverable contains 54 Use Cases (UCs) covering all technical activities within ExtenSive Work Packages (WPs). These Use Cases reflect the project tasks in form of a story between the actors and the IP4 ecosystem. They have been subsequently used to first design the proposed solutions and then to validate that the technical developments were able to fulfil the initially defined goals.

Target audience: All rail stakeholders

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: By analysing needs and extracting standardized expected use cases, this document enables the researchers to better design and develop their solution for a greater positive impact on travel by rail.

More information on this topic: ExtenSive


Interoperability Framework Components

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Description: The deliverable includes the results obtained in the task that aims to describe the evolution of the components of the Interoperability Framework as a complete ecosystem for the last phase of the CONNECTIVE project (Final Release). This F-REL focuses on improving performance and facilitating the integration of services tested with Open Call pilots, presenting the tools and utilities developed for the F-REL based on the improvements identified from the experience of the previous phase known as Additional Release (A-REL). This document includes a description of each component and its main improvements, as a basis for the ExtenSive project specifications.

Target audience: All rail stakeholders

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: Thanks to the performance evolution obtained on the most recent version of the Interoperability Framework during the development period of this deliverable it has been possible to carry out satisfactorily and on time the integration of the different transport service operators.

More information on this topic: CONNECTIVE


Demonstrator Execution Results for the use of the Conceptual Data Model

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Description: This deliverable serves an extension of the content of the confidential report denoted as “Demonstration indicators and use cases description” by adding more development details related to the three envisioned use cases and the conducted demonstration activities. This document also contains the assessment of the proposed Conceptual Data Model.

Target audience: All rail stakeholders

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: Through this deliverable the LinX4Rail stakeholders are aiming to set up a European data model aimed to be used by the railway community.

More information on this topic: LinX4Rail


Second Release of the System Functional Architecture

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Description: The deliverable proposes a second release of the European Railway Architecture, (following the first release of November 2020). The system of interest considered in the scope of this document is therefore the European railway system.

Target audience: All rail stakeholders

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: Through this deliverable the LinX4Rail stakeholders are aiming to develop a high-level architecture for the railway system.

More information on this topic: LinX4Rail


Report on Architecture Analysis for Common Data Dictionary and Global System Modelling Specifications

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Description: This deliverable contributed to keep the Technical Demonstrator of Europe’s Rail up to date with relevant initiatives in the CCS architecture domain, by promoting a closer exchange between these initiatives and Europe’s Rail participants.

Target audience: All rail stakeholders

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: The objective was to trigger the analysis of the impact of architecture proposals. In specific, acting as an interface between a set of external initiatives in the CCS domain and the technical demonstrators (TD) of the Europe’s Rail project.

More information on this topic: LinX4Rail


Final report on Conceptual Data Model Governance and Deployment Strategy

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Description: This deliverable aims to define governance principles for the European Conceptual Data Model (CDM), which will support the upcoming System Pillar and Innovation Pillar activities within Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking.

Target audience: All rail stakeholders

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: Through this deliverable the LinX4Rail stakeholders are aiming to pave the way towards a common view to ensure a continuous adaptation of the CDM framework with clear determination on how to resolve integration issues and possible overlaps.

More information on this topic: LinX4Rail


Report on Architecture Analysis and Implementation Status Reporting

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Description: This deliverable contributed to keep the Technical Demonstrator of Europe’s Rail up to date with relevant initiatives in the CCS architecture domain, by promoting a closer exchange between these initiatives and Europe’s Rail participants.

Target audience: All rail stakeholders

How it brings us closer to achieving better rail for Europe: Through this deliverable the objective was to trigger the analysis of the impact of architecture proposals. In specific, acting as an interface between a set of external initiatives in the CCS domain and the technical demonstrators (TD) of the Europe’s Rail project.

More information on this topic: LinX4Rail-2

Europe's Rail