FP1 “MOTIONAL” Set to Transform the Future of Europe’s Railway System

On Thursday, 4 December, FP1 Motional project coordinator, Lars Deiterding from HaCon, presented an overview of the project and provided FP1 progress updates and achievements from 2025.  A key highlight from the meeting was to showcase demonstration outcomes and the ongoing planning of the Dissemination event series taking place next year.  The presentation took place as part of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking’s Information Sessions, where the flagship projects included in Europe’s Rail are showcased. He explained that the European research initiative MOTIONAL is taking significant steps towards modernising and digitalising the continent’s rail network. The project aims to strengthen service planning and operational management, making it a key component in achieving the EU’s ambition for rail to become the preferred mode of transport for both passengers and freight.

By developing functional requirements, specifications and advanced digital solutions, FP1 MOTIONAL is helping to shape a future European rail traffic management system that is fully interoperable, resilient and capable of adapting capacity. It is also enabling seamless integration of complementary services, including last-mile operations, harnessing the opportunities offered by digitalisation.

Today, rail traffic is largely managed at national or regional level using legacy systems with limited digital maturity and weak integration between actors. MOTIONAL seeks to change this by paving the way towards a unified Single European Rail Area, in which traffic planning and control operate seamlessly across borders and transport modes.

The project’s work is organised into two major streams. Workstream 1 focuses on next-generation, digitally linked timetable planning, operational traffic management, and integrated mobility services supporting door-to-door travel.

Workstream 2 will deliver a suite of digital enablers that support Europe’s Rail Destinations across the board, recognising digitalisation as a transformative process for the entire rail system.

Lars Deiterding concluded that through these developments, MOTIONAL aims to establish rail as the backbone of an efficient and truly multimodal European transport network, laying the foundations for a more connected, modern and sustainable future.