EUROPE: The Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking has launched its latest call for proposals, with €148·2m of EU funding available towards research projects worth €245m.
Topics are :
- Studies on innovation in climate finance for rail;
- Sustainable competitive digital green rail freight services;
- Network management planning and control & mobility management in a multimodal environment and digital enablers;
- Studies on rail industry 5.0, ’a vision of the future of European industry taking into consideration the achievement of societal goals beyond jobs and growth’;
- Digital & automatic up to automated train operations;
- A sustainable and green rail system;
- Intelligent & integrated asset management;
- Regional rail services/innovative rail services to revitalise capillary lines;
- Support to the European FRMCS deployment group;
- Extending the rail network of PhDs.
Applications will be accepted until February 11 2026.
The call for proposals ‘is a decisive step for the future of European rail’, said European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport & Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas on October 8.
’EU-Rail will take innovations from the lab to the tracks, making rail more digital, more sustainable and more reliable for passengers and freight. This initiative also strengthens Europe’s competitiveness by accelerating the deployment of interoperable solutions across the single market.
‘Open to all innovators, including SMEs, universities and start-ups, the call encourages strong partnerships and practical solutions that deliver impact quickly and at scale.’
Giorgio Travaini, Executive Director at the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, said ‘EU-Rail is looking forward to receiving impactful applications from all entities eligible under Horizon Europe. Our R&I Programme is unique, bringing together the research community, SMEs, operators, infrastructure managers and suppliers around the same goal: making rail the everyday mobility choice.’
