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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

Shift2Rail brought railway transport mode to a prominent spot at the Transport Research Arena (TRA) Conference, which took place on 16-19 April 2018 in Vienna, Austria. Seizing yet another opportunity to show its progress towards delivering the European railway systems of the future, the Shift2Rail JU presented an impressive stand at the Transport Research Arena Conference in Vienna to a crowd of 3,500 professionals.

EU Commissioner for Mobility and Transport Violeta Bulc visited the S2R stand and expressed her support to Shift2Rail. “Today, transport is reinventing itself. We need to co-shape the future mobility together and drive change with new concepts”, Ms. Bulc said earlier in her TRA opening remarks.

Ms. Bulc also had the opportunity to attend one of the 17 presentations Shift2Rail projects held at the JU stand during the conference. Shift2Rail funded research played a prominent role at TRA as 27 scientific papers produced by Shift2Rail projects were accepted in the official scientific programme. In total, 33 Shift2Rail projects presented their work at the conference, both at the S2R stand and within the official TRA programme.

The new S2R innovation capabilities map was the main attraction at the S2R booth. Using this interactive tool, visitors could experience how Shift2Rail R&I will contribute to building the capabilities of the railway systems of the future, accelerate multimodality and become the backbone for mobility of people and goods. The JU also included a map on its stand depicting the location of the 343 entities from 27 European countries participating in the initiative – working together to move the innovation in the rail eco-system forward.

During the conference, Shift2Rail also announced the launch of its Rail Research & Innovation Awards, aimed to recognise the commitment and progress achieved by S2R projects in three different categories: digitalisation, decarbonisation and project management.

Shift2Rail broad representation at TRA

Shift2Rail’s Executive Director Carlo Borghini had several opportunities to present the Shift2Rail vision in front of the TRA audiences including when Mr. Borghini together with Commissioner Bulc presented the 2018 TRA Visions for Young Researchers Award in the rail category.

Mr. Borghini also participated in a panel discussion on enabling and implementing research and innovation strategies. “We are here to make the vision of a better service for passengers a reality”, he said. “For each 50 cents invested we need to have 1 euro worth of return for EU citizens”.

Nine Members of the Shift2Rail JU displayed their work in the exhibition area, allowing visitors to get a broader perspective on the progress towards advancing rail transport across Europe performed by Shift2Rail partners.

Vienna hosted the seventh Transport Research Arena, the largest European transport research conference. Initiated in 2006, this event takes place every two years in a different European city; Helsinki will host TRA in 2020.

Pictures from the event

Shift2Rail -TRA2018

Europe's Rail