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        • Our R&I Programme
          Discover Innovation pillar

          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.

          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.

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          About

          Outputs

          Governance

          Key documents

          Discover Deployment Group

          Deployment Group

          The Deployment Group advises the EU-Rail Governing Board on the market uptake of rail innovation developments and support their deployment.

          About Deployment Group

          Deployment Group Participants

          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.

          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.

          Explore Shift2Rail

          About Shift2Rail

          Shift2Rail R&I Programme

          Shift2Rail Key Documents

          Shift2Rail Members

          Governing Board & Decisions

          Shift2Rail Projects

        • 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 the 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

          Preparatory Activities

          Jobs

          Discover Europe's Rail Members

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

          Discover Structure of Governance

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

          Explore Structure of Governance

          Governing Board

          General Assembly

          States Representatives Group

          Scientific Steering Group

          Executive Director

          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.

          Explore Reference Documents

          Key Documents

          Annual Work Plan and Budget

          Annual Activity Report

          Annual Accounts

          Functioning of the Europe's Rail JU

News

In our press release of 28 July we announced the grants awarded for a series of new projects worth €147.7 million with a Shift2Rail co-funding of up to €75.4 million. These projects have now been launched and will deliver key Shift2Rail results through technological demonstrators and pave the way to the successor programme. Find out more below!

Innovation Programme 1 – Passenger trains

Call for Members projects

PINTA3 addresses the next generation of traction systems, including silicon carbide semi-conductor-based tractions systems demonstrations on trains, wheel-motor demonstration on high speed trains, smart maintenance, virtual validation and eco-friendly heating, ventilation, air conditioning and cooling (HVAC) and research on battery and hydrogen powered regional trains.

CONNECTA-3 is a continuation project of CONNECTA-2. It targets high TRL deployment and validation in two relevant laboratory demonstrators and field tests for urban and regional scenarios.

Open Call projects

RECET4Rail will focus on the following new technologies for the traction drive sub-system: development of design approaches, end-to-end conception time evaluation and feasibility/performance study of 3D printing technologies for new traction components use cases. The project will also focus on dynamic wireless power transfer system sizing for city profiles focused on opportunistic charging, improving the understanding of the robustness and reliability of high voltage SiC modules, and development of smart maintenance approaches enabled by predictive analytics, trained on big data.

Safe4RAIL-3 will be based on the development of three technological pillars aimed at advancing the maturity of the technologies and devices for the next generation train control and monitoring system.

GEARBODIES aims to improve the efficiency of rolling stock maintenance in close collaboration with the ongoing PIVOT2 project. The success of the European rail system to foster the modal shift towards rail requires cost-efficient and reliable long-lasting trains, and this project will contribute to its achievement.

Innovation Programme 2 – Traffic management

Call for Members projects

X2RAIL-5 is the 5th and last proposal of the Shift2Rail Members in the advanced traffic management and control systems domain. It aims to continue the research and development of key technologies within the technology demonstrators.

Open Call projects

PERFORMINGRAIL will support the activities of the adaptable communications technology demonstrator, by helping to bring the developments as close as possible to the market and also by helping to update the regulatory framework.

AB4Rail aims to identify and select alternative communication bearers, as well as, select proper communication protocols for the adaptable communication system of the Shift2Rail technical demonstrator TD2.1 – adaptable communications for all railways.

Innovation Programme 3 – Optimised Infrastructure

Open Call projects

IN2ZONE will design and test a prototype next generation transition zone solution that provides a step-change in track support conditions, resulting in a reduction of maintenance interventions.

STREAM will develop two smart technologies employing environment perception and human intention principles, enabling prevention and risk mitigation.

DAYDREAMS’ objective is to move forward the integration and use of data and artificial/human trustworthy intelligence together with context-driven HMI for prescriptive intelligent asset management systems in railway.

Innovation Programme 4 – Digital services

Call for Members projects

ExtenSive provides complementary and continuous solutions already started within previous projects, (MaaSive, ATTRACkTIVE, Co-Active and the lighthouse project IT2Rail), to enhance the traveller experience and improve travel services (in the areas of travel shopping, trip tracking, booking and ticketing and aligned with Mobility as a Service paradigms), and deal with Software as a Service approach.

Open Call projects

IP4MaaS will demonstrate the technologies at an unprecedented level: six different locations in Europe including more than ten transport operators (public transport and Mobility-as-a-Service), authorities and agencies.

Innovation Programme 5 – European Railway Freight

Call for Members projects

FR8RAIL IV’s objective is to further develop technologies relevant for the rail freight sector to reach the goal highlighted in the Shift2Rail Master Plan. The work is partly based on results achieved in previous projects (FFL4E, ARCC, FR8RAIL I, FR8RAIL II, FR8RAIL III, and FR8HUB).

IPX – Rail system architecture and exploratory research for disruptive innovation

Call for Members projects

TAURO’s high-level objective is to identify, analyse and finally propose suitable founding technologies for the future European automated and autonomous rail transport, to be further developed, certified and deployed through the activities planned for the next Shift2Rail programme.

LINX4RAIL-2’s objectives include: managing the follow-up of the existing work on system architecture and conceptual data model (CDM) carried out in the on-going LinX4Rail project aiming at a large adoption for the European railways sector; Ensuring wider uptake of results from LinX4Rail by proving the performance of the proposed methodology and vision while evaluating the impacts, taking into account the business case; Establishing a single ‘repository’ for system architecture and CDM with a well-developed sustainability plan; Adopting a common vision for the functional railway vision able to transform the European railway system.

Open Call projects

HYPERNEX addresses the need for a catalyst to accelerate the development of the fifth mean of transport – Hyperloop – in Europe.

Cross-Cutting Activities – Horizontal Innovative Solutions for Railway

Call for Members projects

SILVARSTAR’s overall goal is to provide the railway community with software tools and methodologies to assess the noise and vibration environmental impact of railway traffic on a system level.

Europe's Rail