Adapting to the situation

As of 16 March, the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking is following the guidelines of the European Commission announced by President von der Leyen, in view of the Coronavirus outbreak. All colleagues in non-critical functions are teleworking until further notice. We are committed to acting responsibly to tackle this exceptional situation, while continuing to deliver for European citizens, by implementing a determined, coordinated and united approach, and looking forward to a sustainable future.

The European Commission’s Directorate General for Research & Innovation, with whom we work closely, has set up a dedicated webpage on Coronavirus research funded by the EU. A rapid research response from the European Union has been enabled thanks to the budget line for emergency research funds maintained under the Horizon 2020 annual work programmes for health research. Our fellow Joint Undertaking, Innovative Medicines Initiative, has also launched a Call earlier this month on the Development of therapeutics and diagnostics combatting coronavirus infections. We thank and support all our colleagues involved in this important research work, and encourage the wider community to participate in their capacity.

Staying connected

Thanks to a full-scale test of our business continuity plan performed last week, Shift2Rail is fully operational and ready to adapt to this new way of working. Please note that there will no physical meetings taking place on the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking’s premises for the time being. Operations will nonetheless continue to run smoothly through the use of Webex calls, and we of course remain reachable via our usual email and office telephone numbers which have been re-routed to colleagues’ mobiles. Don’t forget to stay tuned to our Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook channels to follow all our daily news. Our newsletter will be also be published as usual towards the end of each month.

Events postponed

The following events have been cancelled and have rescheduled new dates:

• Rail Live Madrid:
  • Previous date: 31 March -2 April
  • Rescheduled date: 30 November – 2 December 2020
• International Rail Forum and Conference (IRFC):
  • Previous date: 1-3 April 2020
  • Rescheduled date: 30 November – 2 December 2020 (TBC)
• Shift2Rail Projects Joint Conference:
  • Previous date: 30 June – 1 July
  • Rescheduled date: 21-22 October (TBC)

The following events have been cancelled, and we are in close contact with the organizers to establish whether they will be postponed to later this year. We will keep you updated as soon as this information is available:

• TRA2020 Helsinki: 27–30 April 2020
• TEN-T Days, Sibenik: 13-15 May 2020 

We thank you for your understanding during this exceptional period, and assure you of our commitment to stay connected and to continue to deliver results together.

In case of any questions, please contact communication@s2r.europa.eu.