Please find attached the detailed programme for the two half-days of the Mid-Term Event of the FP2 R2DATO project, to be held on 5 and 6 February 2025 in Malaga.

The 6th Smart Rail Control Consortium (SmartRaCon) Scientific Seminar took place on October 23–24, 2024, in San Sebastian, hosted by CEIT. Organized by CEIT (ES), DLR (GE), RISE (SE), SINTEF (NO), University Gustave Eiffel (FR), and IBDiM (PL), the event was a two-day hybrid format featuring 3 keynote presentations, 7 PhD presentations, 13 project presentations, and 10 posters from 10 Europe’s Rail projects, delivered by 28 presenters representing 16 entities.

Key Highlights and Awards:

• Best PhD Contribution: David Kule Mukuhi (UGE) – NG-TCN: Towards Network Slicing in Onboard Wireless Train Communication Networks.
  Finalist: Imanol Bravo (CEIT) – Rail Fasteners Looseness Detection Using Axle-Box Acceleration Data.
• Best Project Contribution: Niloofar Minbashi (KTH) – An Integrated ETD Prediction System for Yards and Terminals.
  Finalist: Aria Mirzai (RISE) – Cybersecurity Risk Assessment of Virtually Coupled Train Sets.
• Best Poster Contribution: Melissa Tijink (Uni. Twente) – What is the Code of This Wagon?.
  Finalist: Itziar Ruiz (CEIT) – Repair of Wheel and Rails by Additive Manufacturing.
• Most Supportive Project: FP2-R2DATO.
  Finalists: FP3-iam4Rail, FP5-TRANS4M-R.

This seminar marked a shift from previous one-day events under Shift2Rail (X2Rail-1 to X2Rail-5) to a broader scope across Europe’s Rail projects, introducing PhD sessions that facilitated rich technical discussions.

With the rise of standardized modular signaling architectures, external validation and verification of signaling subsystems are crucial to ensure conformity and interoperability. Testing involves various setups where subsystems assume different roles. This led to the development of a “versatile test component.” The article details its implementation for point controller and point machine subsystems, based on the EULYNX Subsystem Point specification.

This presentation provides an overview of all the clusters, the WPs and TEs currently being developed within the cluster, and the demonstrators targeted. It is based on the overview also used for the Annual Activity Report (AAR).

This presentation provides an overview of the demonstrators, as mentioned in part B of the grant agreement. The aim is to explain the purpose of the demonstrator, the Technical Enables (TE) incorporated into the demonstration, and some details, illustrated by architecture, line images, visuals, diagrams and timetables, to facilitate understanding and clarify the purpose of the demonstrator.

This paper explores the managerial challenges in implementing the European Train Management System (ERTMS), Remote Train Control (RTC), and Automatic Train Operation (ATO) within the railway sector. It highlights the need for updated managerial practices to successfully integrate these technologies, which are crucial for advancing digitalization and automation in railways. Given the complex sociotechnical nature of railways, the study emphasizes the importance of aligning technical and social systems across organizational levels. The paper adopts an organizational perspective and uses a scoping review methodology to analyze these challenges within the broader context of railway organizations.

The railway industry is crucial for economic growth and commuter transportation, but it faces challenges like outdated infrastructure and equipment. To address these issues, the sector is adopting digital and automated technologies, including Automatic Train Operation (ATO), which promise efficiency and cost savings. However, these projects, often classified as megaprojects, are complex due to the advanced technology, environmental impact, and numerous stakeholders involved. Effective stakeholder management and engagement are essential to avoid delays, cost overruns, and to ensure project success. This paper investigates public perceptions of ATO megaprojects through sentiment analysis of social media posts.

The goal of this video is to describe their activities and the main objectives of the partner’s collaboration within WP34/35: preparing new subsystem validation and certification, enhance the current test benches to be able to test ASTP subsystems, agreeing on testing strategy for validation/certification, digital twin for braking and traction subsystem.

GNSS is becoming essential for railways to help reduce carbon emissions and improve efficiency. It is seen as a key component for future European Rail Traffic Management (ERTMS), enabling advanced technologies like moving blocks and automation. However, environmental factors such as tunnels and urban areas can degrade GNSS performance, raising challenges in ensuring reliability and safety. Ongoing projects, like R2DATO, are working to address these issues, focusing on performance evaluation and overcoming operational obstacles.

The implementation of fully automated train operation (ATO) up to Grade of Automation 4 (GoA4) marks a major advancement in the railway industry, offering key benefits such as reduced energy consumption, lower operating costs, and improved service quality. These improvements enhance the attractiveness of public transport and align with the vision of a fully automated rail system based on European Train Control System (ETCS) standards. This work focuses on the GoA3/4 reference architecture from the X2Rail-4 project and the development of intelligent algorithms for optimizing speed and automatic tracking control.

CEIT is actively participating in multiple Work Packages (WPs) within the R2DATO Project under the European Rail Joint Undertaking (ERJU), part of the Horizon Europe program. Specifically, CEIT is contributing to WP10, focused on developing a lab prototype for an automatic driving system for an inspection vehicle, based on the GoA3/4 system architecture from the X2Rail-4 project. This work involves collaboration between various research groups, including Railway, ISI 4.0, DAIM, ESC, and STM, to ensure the system aligns with industry standards and supports future integration into railway infrastructure.

The push for greater efficiency in rail operations, with more trains running in less time, increases the risk of human error, particularly in manual safety-critical tasks. Assistance systems can help mitigate this risk, especially in rural areas where control centers oversee large territories. The challenge is to provide effective support without disrupting workflows while ensuring safety. In the R2DATO project, a decentralized Autonomous Route Setting (AnRS) approach is being developed to resolve potential train route conflicts dynamically, without changing existing infrastructure. The paper will explore the system architecture, autonomy criteria, and use real accident cases to show how AnRS could improve safety and efficiency.