Ref.

Ares(2023)4502261 - 29/06/2023

ANNEX to GB decision n°08/2023

WORK PROGRAMME 2023-2024

Amendment n°1
adopted by the EU-Rail Governing Board on 23 June 2023

In accordance with Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 and with Article 33 of the Europe’s Rail
Financial Rules S2R Decision n° 11/2019.

The Work Programme is made publicly available after its adoption by the Governing Board.

NOTICE RELATED TO S2R JU SUCESSOR

On 30 November 2021, Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021, establishing the
Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 219/2007, (EU) No
557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No
642/2014, entered into force. In accordance with this Regulation, the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking
(EU-Rail) became the legal and universal successor in respect of all contracts, including employment
contracts, procurement contracts and grant agreements, liabilities and acquired property of the
Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (S2R JU). Therefore, if reference is made to S2R JU’s
contracts/agreements/assets/liabilities in this Work Programme, they should be understood as
those of EU-Rail’s. In addition, in accordance with Article 174(12), at its first meeting on 21 December
2021, the Governing Board adopted Decision 2/2021 listing the decisions adopted by the Governing
Board of S2R that shall continue to apply for EU-Rail.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... 4

1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 8

1.1 THE EUROPE’S RAIL JOINT UNDERTAKING (EU-RAIL) ........................................................................................ 9

1.2 MISSION STATEMENT OF EU-RAIL ............................................................................................................... 11
1.3 BACKGROUND AND LINK WITH THE MASTER PLAN .......................................................................................... 11
1.4 STRATEGY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME ............................................................................. 13

2. WORK PROGRAMME 2023 .................................................................................................................... 16

2.1 MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ................................................................................................... 16

2.2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2023 ...................................................................................................................... 17
2.3 OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF EU-RAIL IN 2023 .............................................................................................. 20
2.3.1 Objectives, indicators and risks .................................................................................................. 20
2.3.2 The System Pillar ........................................................................................................................ 24
2.3.2.1 SP deliverables during Ramp up phase ....................................................................................... 25
2.3.2.2 Governance and Organisational Structure ................................................................................. 26
2.3.2.3 System Pillar working method and System Engineering management plan .............................. 31
2.3.2.4 SP Milestones and planning ....................................................................................................... 32
2.3.2.5 System Pillar and Innovation Pillar interactions ......................................................................... 33
2.3.3 The Innovation Pillar .................................................................................................................. 34
2.3.3.1 Flagship Area 1 (FA1): Network management planning and control & Mobility Management in
a multimodal environment .......................................................................................................................... 34
2.3.3.2 Flagship Area 2 (FA2): Digital & Automated up to Autonomous Train Operations .................... 35
2.3.3.3 Flagship Area 3 (FA3): Intelligent & Integrated asset management .......................................... 36
2.3.3.4 Flagship Area 4 (FA4): A sustainable and green rail system ...................................................... 37
2.3.3.5 Flagship Area 5 (FA5): Sustainable Competitive Digital Green Rail Freight Services ................. 39
2.3.3.6 Flagship Area 6 (FA6): Regional rail services / Innovative rail services to revitalise capillary lines
40
2.3.3.7 Flagship Area 7 (FA7): Innovation on new approaches for guided transport modes ................. 41
2.3.3.8 Transversal Topic: Digital Enablers ............................................................................................ 43
2.3.3.9 Innovation Pillar specific objectives for 2023 and 2024 ............................................................. 44
2.3.4 Exploratory Research and Other ................................................................................................ 44
2.3.5 S2R R&I Programme ................................................................................................................... 45
2.3.5.1 Innovation Programme 1 (IP1): Cost-efficient and reliable trains .............................................. 45
2.3.5.2 Innovation Programme 2 (IP2): Advanced traffic management and control systems ............... 46
2.3.5.3 Innovation Programme 3 (IP3): Cost Efficient and Reliable High Capacity Infrastructure ......... 47
2.3.5.4 Innovation Programme 4 (IP4): IT Solutions for attractive railway services .............................. 47
2.3.5.5 Innovation Programme 5 (IP5): Technologies for sustainable and attractive European rail freight
.................................................................................................................................................... 48
2.3.5.6 Cross-cutting themes and activities ........................................................................................... 49
2.3.5.7 IPx - System Architecture and Conceptual Data Model (CDM) ................................................... 50
2.3.6 Other risks .................................................................................................................................. 50
2.3.7 Scientific priorities, challenges and expected impacts ............................................................... 55
2.3.8 Calls for proposals ...................................................................................................................... 56
2.3.8.1 Conditions of the calls and calls management rules .................................................................. 58
2.3.8.2 List of countries entrusting the JU with national funds for the calls .......................................... 59
2.3.8.3 Country specific eligibility rules .................................................................................................. 59
2.3.9 Calls for tenders and other actions ............................................................................................. 60

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 2.3.10 Follow-up activities linked to past calls: monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment ......... 63
2.3.11 Cooperation, synergies and cross-cutting themes and activities ............................................... 64
2.4 SUPPORT TO OPERATIONS OF EU-RAIL IN 2023 ............................................................................................ 65
2.4.1 Communication, dissemination and exploitation ....................................................................... 65
2.4.2 Procurement and contracts ........................................................................................................ 69
2.4.3 Other supporting operations ...................................................................................................... 70
2.4.3.1 IT activities ................................................................................................................................. 70
2.4.3.2 Data protection .......................................................................................................................... 71
2.4.3.3 Accounting.................................................................................................................................. 72
2.4.4 Human resources ........................................................................................................................ 72
2.4.4.1 HR management ........................................................................................................................ 72
2.4.4.2 Strategy for achieving efficiency gains and synergies ................................................................ 73
2.4.4.3 Staff establishment plan ............................................................................................................ 73
2.5 GOVERNANCE ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................................................... 75
2.5.1 Governing Board ........................................................................................................................ 75
2.5.2 Executive Director....................................................................................................................... 76
2.5.3 Scientific Committee................................................................................................................... 76
2.5.4 States’ Representatives Group ................................................................................................... 77
2.5.5 The System Pillar steering group ................................................................................................ 78
2.5.6 The Deployment Group .............................................................................................................. 78
2.6 STRATEGY AND PLANS FOR THE ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS ......................... 79
2.6.1 EU-Rail organization ................................................................................................................... 79
2.6.2 Internal Control Framework ....................................................................................................... 79
2.6.3 Financial procedures .................................................................................................................. 80
2.6.4 Ex-ante and ex-post controls ...................................................................................................... 81
2.6.5 Audits ......................................................................................................................................... 82
2.6.6 Risk Management ...................................................................................................................... 83
2.6.7 Anti-fraud strategy ..................................................................................................................... 84

3. BUDGET 2023-2024 , .............................................................................................................................. 86

4. ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................... 93

ANNEX I - IKAA PLAN ............................................................................................................................................ 93

ANNEX II - ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAMME OFFICE OF EU-RAIL .......................................................... 99
ANNEX III – KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR EUROPE’S RAIL JOINT UNDERTAKING .................................................... 100
TABLE I - Horizon Europe Common Key Impact Pathway Indicators .......................................................... 100
TABLE II - Horizon Europe Partnership Common Indicators ....................................................................... 100
TABLE III - Key Performance Indicators specific for EU-Rail ....................................................................... 101
ANNEX IV – KPIS AND TRLS FOR SHIFT2RAIL PROGRAMME ........................................................................................ 104
TABLE I – Estimation of Release 5 - of the Key Performance Indicators of the Shift2Rail Programme ...... 104
TABLE II – Overview of demonstrators for S2R JU projects with a Technology Readiness Level reaching at
least value 6 ............................................................................................................................................... 105
ANNEX V – LIST OF FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE EUROPE’S RAIL JOINT UNDERTAKING.................................................... 108
ANNEX VI – SYSTEM PILLAR MILESTONES AND PLANNING ............................................................................................ 111
ANNEX VII – CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2023 ................................................................................................................ 150
DESTINATION 1 – Network management planning and control & Mobility Management in a multimodal
environment and Digital Enablers .............................................................................................................. 154
DESTINATION 8 – Exploratory Research and other activities..................................................................... 161
ANNEX VIII – 2023 CALL FOR PROPOSALS – EVALUATION CRITERIA .............................................................................. 189

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LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Acronym/
Full Title
Abbreviation
ABAC Accrual Based Accounting
AI Artificial Intelligence
ALM Application Lifecycle Management
ATO Automatic Train Operation
ATP Automatic Train Protection
A&V Auralisation and Visualisation
BEMU Battery Electric Multiple Unit
BIM Building Information Modelling
CA Commitment Appropriation
CAAR Consolidated Annual Activity Report
CAPEX Capital Expenditure
CBA Cost Benefit Analysis
CBM Condition-Based Maintenance
CBO Common Back Office
CCA Cross Cutting Activities
CCRCC Control Command and Railway Communication Conference
CDM Conceptual Data Model
CEI Call for Expression of Interest
CEN European Committee for Standardization
CENELEC European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
CERT Computer Emergency Response Team
CFM Call for Members
(C)COLA (Common) Collaboration Agreement
CSA Coordination and support action
CSIRT Computer Security Incident Response Team
D&E-Net Dissemination and Exploitation Network
DMI Driver Machine Interface
DOI Digital Object Identifier
DRIMS Dynamic Railway Information Management System
DSS Decision Support System
EC European Commission
ED Executive Director
EN European Norm
ERA European Union Agency for Railways (formerly European Railway Agency)
ERRAC European Rail Research Advisory Council
ERTMS European Rail Traffic Management System
ETCS European Train Controlling System
EU European Union
EU-Rail Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking
FACTs Flexible AC Transmission Systems

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Acronym/
Full Title
Abbreviation
FFFIS Form Fit Functional Interface Specifications
FIS Functional Interface Specifications
FWC Framework Contract
GA Grant Agreement
GB Governing Board
GIS Geographic Information System
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
GoA Grade of Automation
H2020 Horizon 2020, EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
HMU Hydrogen Multiple Unit
HST High Speed Train
HVAC Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning
IA Innovation Action
IAMS Intelligent Asset Management System
IC Innovation Capabilities
ICT Information and Communications Technology
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
IKAA In-kind contributions to additional activities
IM Infrastructure Manager
IMU Inertial Measurement Unit
IP Innovation Programme
IPR Intellectual Property Rights
ISO International Standardisation Organisation
IT Information Technology
ITD Integrated Technology Demonstrator
JTI Joint Technology Initiative
JU Joint Undertaking
KPI Key Performance Indicator
LCC Life-Cycle Cost
LIDAR Light Detection and Ranging
LTE Long-Term Evolution (standard for wireless communication)
MAAP Multi-Annual Action Plan
MaaS Mobility as a Service
MAWP Multi-Annual Work Plan
MB Moving block
MFF Multiannual Financial Framework
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
MP Master Plan
N&V Noise and Vibration
NLOS Non-line-of-sight
NTP Network Time Protocol
OC Open Call
OCORA Open CCS On-board Reference Architecture

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Acronym/
Full Title
Abbreviation
ODM Operational Data Management
OPEX Operational Expenditure
OTM On Track Machine
PA Payment Appropriation
PPP Public-Private Partnership
PRM Persons with Reduced Mobility
PTC Positive Train Control
PTI Platform Train Interface
PTO Public Transport Operator
RAIM Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring
RAL Unpaid amount
RAMS Reliability and Maintainability System
RBC Radio Block Centre
RCA Reference Command Control and Signalling Architecture
R-CSIRT Railway Computer Secutiry Incident Response Team
RFID Radio Frequency Identification
R&D Research and Development
R&I Research and Innovation
RIA Research and Innovation Action
RoI Return of Investment
RU Railway Undertaking
S2R (JU) Shift2Rail (Joint Undertaking)
SaaS Software as a Service
SBA Single Basic Act (Council Regulation No 2021/2085 establishing the Joint Undertakings
under Horizon Europe)
SC Scientific Committee
SERA Single European Railway Area
S&C Switches and Crossings
SiC Silicon Carbide
SIL Software in the Loop
SIWG System Implementation Working Group
SME Small and Medium Enterprise
SNE Seconded National Expert
SP System Pillar
SPD System Platform Demonstration
SPSG System Pillar steering group
SRG States Representatives Group
SRIA Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (for EU-Rail SRIA=MP)
SWL Single Wagon Load
SteCo Steering Committee
TAF Telematic Application for Freight
TAP Telematic Application for Passengers
TCMS Train Control and Monitoring System

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Acronym/
Full Title
Abbreviation
TC Tender Call
TD Technology Demonstrator
TL Train Load
TMS Traffic Management System
TRA Transport Research Arena
TRL Technology Readiness Level
TSI Technical Specifications for Interoperability
TSN Time Sensitive Networking
TSP Travel Service Providers
UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
URID User Requirements Working Group
V&V Verification & Validation
WA Work Area
WCRR World Congress on Railway Research
WP Work Programme

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1. INTRODUCTION
The Work Programme 2023-2024 (hereinafter the “Work Programme” or “WP”) of the Europe’s Rail
Joint Undertaking (hereinafter also “EU-Rail” or “the JU”) outlines:

- the scope of the activities that will be performed in 2023 and, indicatively, in 2024, related to
its Research and Innovation (R&I) Programme governed by the Horizon Europe rules. The main
focus will be on
o the ramp up of the 2022 Flagship Projects, following the conclusion of the grant
agreements signature, to ensure that by the end of 2023 the planned milestones are
achieved,
o the delivery of the first results of the System Pillar Tasks and Domains, following the
signature of the first Service Request and the ramp up phase during Q4 2022the
conclusion of the Call 2022-2 and launch of the relatives projects as from mid-2023
indicatively, to ensure that new exploratory and other R&I activities complement the
main Programme,
o the launch of the Call 2023-1 during Q4 2023 to create new opportunities for
inclusiveness and participation; the scope of this call will be defined during Q2 and Q3
2023, taking into consideration the aforementioned activities and their progress. The
scope of the Call 2023-1 will result from an extensive open consultation of the rail
stakeholders and beyond,
o the preparation of a call for Associated Members to be launched in the first half of
2024, after having made a in depth assessment of the possible gaps in terms of entities
involved in the EU-Rail Programme to its full extent;

- the R&I activities related to the projects launched in the previous years under the S2R
Programme; the focus will be on the execution of the research and innovation activities
previously signed and needed to advance in delivering the Technology Demonstrators, and in
view of reaching the complete phase of the S2R Programme by 2024, having achieved its
targets.

The EU-Rail Programme aims at contributing to the ambitious targets of the “Sustainable and Smart
Mobility Strategy” of the European Commission1, building upon the many results already achieved and
those still to be finalized of the ongoing S2R Programme, ensuring the adequate phase out and ramp
up. To highlight the most relevant of these targets, digitalization and automation of railway systems
should be mentioned, being a key path towards sustainable (climate neutral, life-cycle cost efficient,
connected, integrated through a system approach) mobility for passengers and supply chain.

It also provides details on the corporate and supporting activities for the period to come and explains
the governance structure of EU-Rail, including the tasks of individual bodies of the JU. Finally, the WP
2023-2024 presents information on the 2023 Budget, as well as estimated figures for 2024.

This Work Programme shall be read in conjunction with the EU-Rail’s Master Plan (MP)2 and Multi-
Annual Work Plan (MAWP)3, both adopted on 1 March 2022 by the Governing Board (hereinafter also
“the GB”).

1 COM(2020) 789 Final of 9 December 2020, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:5e601657-3b06-11eb-

b27b-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
2 Adopted by Governing Board Decision n° 01/2022 and available at https://shift2rail.org/about-europes-rail/europes-
rail-reference-documents/europes-rail-key-documents/
3 Adopted by Governing Board Decision n° 02/2022 and available at https://shift2rail.org/about-europes-rail/europes-
rail-reference-documents/europes-rail-key-documents

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In the introductory part (Section 1), EU-Rail background, mission and the strategy for the
implementation of the Programme are described. Section 2 outlines the operational activities planned
for 2023 and 2024, as applicable, the corporate and supporting activities, the EU-Rail governance, as
well as it provides information on the organisational management and internal management and
control framework. Section 3 details the EU-Rail’s 2023-2024 Budget. Further information regarding
IKAA, organisational chart, KPIs, demontrators, EU-Rail’s Founding Members, as well as regarding the
System Pillar milestones and planning, is provided in Section 4.

1.1 The Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail)

EU-Rail was established by the Council Regulation (EU) No 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021
establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No
219/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No
561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014 (hereinafter “the Single Basic Act” or “the SBA”)4 which entered in
force on 30 November 2021.

In accordance with Article 174(6) of the SBA, the EU-Rail is the legal and universal successor in respect
of all contracts, including employment contracts and grant agreements, liabilities and acquired
property of the S2R JU which it replaced and succeded.

EU-Rail is as public-private partnership in the rail sector established under Article 187 of the Treaty on
the Functioning of the European Union.

The objective of EU-Rail is to deliver a high capacity integrated European railway network by
eliminating barriers to interoperability and providing solutions for full integration, covering traffic
management, vehicles, infrastructure and services, aiming to achieve faster uptake and deployment
of projects and innovations. That should exploit the huge potential for digitalisation and automation
to reduce rail’s costs, increase its capacity and enhance its flexibility and reliability, and should be
based upon a solid reference functional system architecture shared by the sector, in coordination with
the European Union Agency for Railways.

Building on advances in automation and digitalization, EU-Rail aims at speeding up researching,

developing and deploying operational and technological innovative solutions to achieve the radical
transformation of the rail system and deliver on European Green Deal objectives. These objectives
include,

- a shift of a substantial part of the 75% of inland freight carried by road towards transport by
rail and inland waterways,
- scheduled collective travel under 500 km should be carbon-neutral by 2030 within the EU.
- traffic on high-speed rail will double by 2030 and triple by 2050.
- rail freight traffic will increase by 50% by 2030 and double by 2050.
- a fully operational, multimodal Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) for sustainable
and smart transport with high speed connectivity by 2050.
- improving the competitiveness of rail and supporting the European technological leadership
in rail.

In addition to the General and Specific Objectives established in Chapter 1 of the SBA, EU-RAIL is
entrusted with the following:

4 OJ L 427, 30.11.2021, p. 17–119

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General Objectives

(a) contribute towards the achievement of the Single European Railway Area;
(b) ensure a fast transition to more attractive, user-friendly, competitive, affordable, easy to
maintain, efficient and sustainable European rail system, integrated into the wider mobility
system;
(c) support the development of a strong and globally competitive European rail industry.

Specific objectives

(a) facilitate research and innovation activities to deliver an integrated European railway network
by design, eliminating barriers to interoperability and providing solutions for full integration,
covering traffic management, vehicles, infrastructure also including integration with non-
standard national gauges, such as 1520, 1000 or 1668 mm railway, and services, and providing
the best answer to the needs of passengers and businesses, accelerating uptake of innovative
solutions to support the Single European Railway Area, while increasing capacity and reliability
and decreasing costs of railway transport;
(b) deliver a sustainable and resilient rail system: by developing a zero-emission, silent rail system
and climate resilient infrastructure, applying circular economy to the rail sector, piloting the
use of innovative processes, technologies, designs and materials in the full life-cycle of rail
systems and developing other innovative solutions to guided surface transport;
(c) develop through its System Pillar a unified operational concept and a functional, safe and
secure system architecture, with due consideration of cyber-security aspects, focused on the
European railway network to which Directive 2016/797 applies, for integrated European rail
traffic management, command, control and signalling systems, including automated train
operation which shall ensure that research and innovation is targeted on commonly agreed
and shared customer requirements and operational needs, and is open to evolution;
(d) facilitate research and innovation activities related to rail freight and intermodal transport
services to deliver a competitive green rail freight fully integrated into the logistic value chain,
with automation and digitalisation of freight rail at the core;
(e) develop demonstration projects in interested member states;
(f) contribute to the development of a strong and globally competitive European rail industry;
(g) enable, promote and exploit synergies with other Union policies, programmes, initiatives,
instruments or funds in order to maximise its impact and added value.

In carrying out its activities, the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking shall seek a geographically balanced
involvement of members and partners in its activities. It shall also establish the necessary international
connections in relation to rail research and innovation, in line with the Commission priorities.

In addition to the tasks set out in SBA Article 5, EU-Rail together with the Commission had to prepare
and, after consultation with the states’ representative group, submit for adoption by the Governing
Board the Master Plan, developed in consultation with all relevant stakeholders in the railway system
and rail supply industry.

In accordance with article 87(1) of the SBA, the members of EU-Rail are the Union, represented by the
Commission, and 25 Founding Members listed in Annex II of the SBA5. As stated in article 6 of the SBA,
in order to become members of EU-Rail, the Founding Members signed a letter of commitment
detailing the scope of the membership in terms of content, activities and its duration, as well as the
Founding Members’ contributions to the joint undertaking, including an indication of the envisaged
additional activities.

5 Please see Annex V of this Work Programme for full list of members other than the Union.

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EU-Rail intends to launch during the first half of 2024 a call for expression of interest with a view to
selecting Associated members in accordance with Article 7 of the SBA, after having performed an in
depth review of the areas where such type of membership would bring added value to the R&I
Programme.

1.2 Mission statement of EU-Rail

Taking into consideration the objectives to be achieved the following vision and mission are
established.

The vision of EU-Rail is

To deliver, via an integrated system approach, a high capacity, flexible, multi-modal, sustainable and
reliable integrated European railway network by eliminating barriers to interoperability and
providing solutions for full integration, for European citizens and cargo.

The Mission Statement of EU-Rail is

Rail Research and Innovation to make rail the everyday mobility

1.3 Background and link with the Master Plan

As defined in the SBA, the “Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda” (SRIA) represents the
document covering the duration of Horizon Europe that identifies the key priorities and the essential
technologies and innovations required to achieve the objectives of the JU.

In accordance with Article 86(5) SBA, the Master Plan shall constitute the EU-Rail Strategic Research
and Innovation Agenda within the meaning of SBA Article 2(12).

The Master Plan (hereinafter also “the MP”) was developed in consultation with railway stakeholders.
The draft was open for feedback to the general public via the JU’s website for 4 weeks and a webinar
was organized on 19 November 2021. The Master Plan was sent in consultation to the Scientific
Committee and the States Representatives Group, it has been presented to the Transport Working
Party of the Council and the TRAN Committee of the European Parliament. Comments and suggestions
received have been incorporated, when relevant, in the final version adopted by the EU-Rail Governing
Board on 1 March 2022.

The EU-Rail’s Master Plan builds also upon the “Rail Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda”6 of
the European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC). ERRAC is a research platform composed of
representatives from most of the major European railway research stakeholders: manufacturers,
operators, infrastructure managers, the European Commission, EU Member States, academics and
users’ groups. Its mission is to deliver a vision of the railway’s future enabled by Research and
Innovation activities.

The Master Plan provides guidance for the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking’s more specific tasks,
namely

6 https://shift2rail.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/RAIL-Strategic-Research-and-Innovation-Agenda-2020-
_FINAL_dec2020.pdf

11
 - develop in its System Pillar a system view that reflects the needs of the rail manufacturing
industry, the rail operating community, Member States and other rail private and public
stakeholders, including bodies representing customers, such as passengers and freight and
staff, as well as relevant actors outside the traditional rail sector.
The ‘system view’ shall encompass:
o the development of the operational concept and system architecture, including the
definition of the services, functional blocks, and interfaces which form the basis of rail
system operations;
o the development of associated specifications including interfaces, functional
requirement specifications and system requirement specifications to feed into
Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) established pursuant to Directive
(EU) 2016/797 or standardisation processes to lead to higher levels of digitalisation
and automation;
o ensuring the system is maintained, error-corrected and able to adapt over time and
ensure migration considerations from current architectures;
o ensuring that the necessary interfaces with other modes, as well as with metro and
trams or light rail systems, are assessed and demonstrated, in particular for freight
and passenger flows;

- facilitate the research and innovation activities necessary to achieve the objectives of EU-Rail,
including low TRLs rail-focused research and innovation activities. In that respect, EU-Rail
shall:
o define and organise the research, innovation, demonstration, validation and study
activities to be carried out under its authority, while avoiding fragmentation of such
activities;
o exploit standardisationand modularity opportunities, and facilitate the interfaces with
other modes and systems;
o develop demonstration projects;
o develop close cooperation and ensure coordination with related European, national
and international research and innovation activities in the rail sector and beyond as
necessary, in particular under Horizon Europe, thereby enabling the Europe’s Rail
Joint Undertaking to play a major role in rail-related research and innovation while
also benefiting from scientific and technological advances reached in other sectors;
o ensure, through the cooperation referred here above, the translation of research into
effective development effort and development of pioneering innovations and
ultimately into market focused innovation through demonstration and deployment;
o perform any tasks necessary to achieve the objectives set out in SBA Articles 4 and 85.

Five areas of priority for EU-Rail have been determined in its MP:

1) European rail traffic management and supporting rail’s key role in a multimodal transport system
2) Digital and automated train operations
3) Sustainable and digital assets
4) Competitive digital green rail freight
5) Smart solutions for low density traffic lines (cost-efficient regional lines)

These priorities are underpinned by a system view to ensure a harmonised approach to the evolution
of the Single European Rail Area.

EU-Rail also works on forward-looking activities, tackling disruptive technologies and thinking, through
performing exploratory research and other complementary activities.

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The JU fosters a close cooperation and ensures coordination with related European, national and
international research and innovation activities in the rail sector and beyond as necessary, in particular
under Horizon Europe, Connecting Europe, and the Digital Agenda. The regional dimension is
a priority to ensure that EU-Rail will deliver services to connect European regions in an integrated
network approach.

EU-RAIL has put in place measures to maximise its impact using synergies with other European,
national and regional programmes and activities beyond the involvement in the overall coordination
of Horizon Europe.

This Work Programme results from extracting the priority research and innovation activities identified
in the MP and detailed in the MAWP to be delivered by the end of 2026 for the running Flagship
Projects and System Pillar activities, while preparing the work for launching new Exploratory Research
and other activities, considering the available budgetary resources in 2023 and 2024, including under
the multi-annuality by instalment principle and the SBA conditions.

1.4 Strategy for the implementation of the programme

The overall Strategy of EU-Rail is anchored in its Master Plan and is further elaborated in its Multi-
Annual Work Plan.

In order to deliver its objectives and strategy, EU-Rail will be set-up around one single Research and
Innovation Programme based on a system view. The Programme will be delivered by two integrated
pillars - the System Pillar and the Innovation Pillar - and complemented by a Deployment Group, all
together covering the full life cycle of R&I from blue sky to pre-deployment and pre-industrialisation
processes, TRL 9.

The System Pillar activities

The purpose of the System Pillar is to introduce common EU railway system view so that the evolution
of the rail system is based on common operational visions and a layered functional architecture. The
idea of the System Pillar is integrating new scientific knowledge and other industry best practices in
order to accelerate and better organise its evolution. The System Pillar is the ‘generic system
integrator’ for the EU-Rail and performs the role of architect of the future railway system. This means
that the System Pillar prepares and proposes the concept of operations, the system architecture, the
associated standards and specifications, and migration strategies.

The task is to develop the operational concept(s) and functional system architecture for a genuine
integrated European system, supported by a model-based systems architecting and engineering
approach, beyond the current specifications, with much greater standardisation and much less
variation than at present. This integrated system shall on the one hand deliver unrestricted movement
of trains, on the other hand, it shall create a single market for rail components.

The System Pillar Task 1 is to define the high-level overall railway architecture and operational concept
for the EU Rail System. It focuses on the European railway network to which Directive 2016/797
applies.

Task 2 of the System Pillar is in the area of control-command and signalling (CCS). The regulation and
implementation of European rail CCS is of central importance in the running of a safe, efficient,
interoperable, robust and reliable rail service in Europe. CCS deals with all the on-board and trackside
equipment required to ensure safety and to command and control movements of trains authorised to
travel on the network. The task is to develop the operational concept(s) and functional system
architecture for a genuine integrated European CCS system, supported by a model-based systems

13
architecting & engineering approach, beyond the current specifications in the CCS Technical
Specification for Interoperability, with much greater standardisation and much less variation than at
present. This integrated CCS system shall on the one hand deliver unrestricted movement of trains,
on the other hand, it shall create a single market for rail components. Task 2 will evolve and encompass
relevant activities to answer other research and innovation areas of the Innovation Pillar, such as the
Digital Autoamtic Coupling for rail freight.

Task 3 of the System Pillar covers the area of Traffic and Capacity management (TMS/CMS).
Improvements in this area enable more flexible end to end journeys at European level including short
term planning. TMS/CMS activities will encompass the internal improvements of the systems such as
automation and focus on the necessary interfaces to improve cross border operations.

Task 4 of the System Pillar focuses on the Digital Automated Coupling and freight advances that will
be a gamechanger for digital freight operations. System Pillar shall ensure an alignment on its
development to the overall system architecture and operational concept.

The Innovation Pillar activities

The Innovation Pillar is set up to deliver user-focused research, innovation and large-scale
demonstrations. It is tasked todeliver the operational and technological solutions which provide the
necessary capabilities to transform the European rail system. Its activities are organised in seven
Flagship Areas and the Transversal Topic, more details of which are presented in Section 2.3.1.

Continuous exchanges exists between the System Pillar and Innovation Pillar activities as part of the
Integrated R&I Programme, with a bi-directional flow: both pillars should provide input and output to
each other against a clearly defined series of priorities and objectives to be achieved. In general, these
objectives include the following:

 contribute towards the achievement of the Single European Railway Area;

 ensure a fast transition to more attractive, user-friendly, competitive, affordable, easy to
maintain, efficient and sustainable European rail system, integrated into the wider mobility
system;
 support the development of a strong and globally competitive European rail industry.

These general objectives can be further specified as follows:

(a) facilitate research and innovation activities to deliver an integrated European railway network
by design, eliminating barriers to interoperability and providing solutions for full integration,
covering traffic management, vehicles, infrastructure also including integration with non-
standard national gauges, such as 1520, 1000 or 1668 mm railway, and services, and providing
the best answer to the needs of passengers and businesses, accelerating uptake of innovative
solutions to support the Single European Railway Area, while increasing capacity and reliability
and decreasing costs of railway transport;
(b) deliver a sustainable and resilient rail system: by developing a zero-emission, silent rail system
and climate resilient infrastructure, applying circular economy to the rail sector, piloting the
use of innovative processes, technologies, designs and materials in the full life-cycle of rail
systems and developing other innovative solutions to guided surface transport;
(c) develop through its System Pillar a unified operational concept and a functional, safe and
secure system architecture, with due consideration of cyber-security aspects, focused on the
European railway network to which Directive 2016/797 applies, for integrated European rail
traffic management, command, control and signalling systems, including automated train

14
 operation which shall ensure that research and innovation is targeted on commonly agreed
and shared customer requirements and operational needs, and is open to evolution;
(d) facilitate research and innovation activities related to rail freight and intermodal transport
services to deliver a competitive green rail freight fully integrated into the logistic value chain,
with automation and digitalisation of freight rail at the core;
(e) develop demonstration projects in interested member states;
(f) contribute to the development of a strong and globally competitive European rail industry;
(g) enable, promote and exploit synergies with other Union policies, programmes, initiatives,
instruments or funds in order to maximise its impact and added value.

The Deployment Group Activities

The Deployment Group should consist of European rail representatives, in particular of Infrastructure
Managers and Rail Operators, but also of suppliers to ensure the preparedness of products, to advise
the JU on the way coordinated and integrated deployment can be organised, in particular on the
following elements to be proposed by the JU Executive Director, and in consultation with rail
stakeholders (such as users associations, logistics associations, environment NGOs etc.), including a
representative of the state representative group:

(a) Examine and provide recommendations on alternative scenarios for the rollout of innovative
solutions.
(b) A roadmap for the coordinated and integrated deployment of the relevant rail research and
innovation results, (incl. investment plan if needed).
(c) Consideration of human factors as a result of deployment.
(d) Assessment of the relevant legal framework, its necessary adaptations, and the options for
the transition phase.
(e) Ensure consideration of diversity of situations across the Union.
(f) Alignment of deployment and investment plans.
(g) Risks and opportunities associated to uncoordinated initiatives.
(h) Phasing out of existing legacy systems and consideration on the necessary accompanying
funding and financial measures.
(i) Use of a performance scheme that would contribute to accelerating deployment and/or any
other relevant measures.
(j) Any other relevant matter that would contribute to reducing the innovation lifecycle and
increase the performance of rail, maintaining the same level of safety or increasing it.

The activities of the Deployment Group are expected to start early 2023.

15
2. WORK PROGRAMME 2023

2.1 Message from the Executive Director

Message of the Europe’s Rail Executive Director

Following the 2022 ambitious and successful ramp up phase, the Europe’s Rail JU and its Programme
are fully operational, including Innovation Pillar, System Pillar and, soon, the Deployment Group.

The Research and Innovation activities performed under one integrated Programme covering
innovative solutions’ lifecycle, from exploratory research to pre-implementation and deployment, are
designed to deliver the transformation of the rail sector needed to answer clients needs, passengers
and supply chain. Not only to contribute addressing the European Green Deal but also the energy
crises and new challenges.

Nevertheless, the EU-Rail Programme does not cover all the necessary key enablers and
telecommunications is one of the areas not fully included, due to the fact that activities started earlier
and have been performed within different organizations, outside the European Union governance.

It is the time to reverse this process. It is the time to ensure that the European Union reappropriates
itself of the key enablers that create the backbone of the future digital rail system, such as new
generation of telecoms. With this Work Programme 2023 – 2024, the JU, its membership and all the
stakeholders involved in the EU-Rail activities shall consider how to fully integrate telecoms design,
development, demonstrations, and pre-deployment within the EU-Rail Programme, under the
umbrella of the European Union represented by the European Commission and together with the
system authority for safety and interoperability, the European Union Agency for Railway, Any solution
that would reproduce previous lock-in products, due to company’ or organizations’ IPRs, technology,
past thinking, it is obsolete and cannot be considered future proof.

Similarly, the work performed in the S2R Programme on satellite navigation as well as complementary
work performed within the EUSPA Programme shall be part of an industrial roadmap to deliver the
necessary key elements of a resilient digital rail system.

The EU-Rail Programme is not designed to digitalize how today operations are performed. This is a
failure and would not require European Union funding and resources: it is designed to transform rail
and make it future proof. It is not with the people and thinking that created today problems and
inefficiencies that we will solve them. The EU-Rail membership, the organizations and entities involved
in Research and Innovation shall have the ambition to challenge the current ways of working,
operationally, technologically and embrace a new way of working, engaging the workforce in such
endeavour.

Not only. In the years before Shift2Rail and now Europe’s Rail, large investments in rail research and
innovation resulted in minor impacts on the performance of the rail system; this has now been
substantially reversed with the setting up of the first rail European institutionalized partnership in
2016, but still the current situation is suboptimal as there is no planning of the deployment of R&I
results. The Deployment Group, expected to be active by early 2023, will have to tackle the design,
definition and proposal of future European coordinated deployment.

Without such courage and ambition, the rail sector will replicate in the digital and autonomation
designed future the current way of working, passing away to the opportunity for effectiveness,
efficiency and lifecycle economy that only an in depth transformation can deliver.

16
By the end of this decade, Europe’s Rail shall deliver a high capacity integrated European railway
network by eliminating barriers to interoperability and providing solutions for full integration, covering
traffic management, vehicles, infrastructure and services, aiming to achieve faster uptake and
deployment of projects and innovations. That should exploit the huge potential for digitalisation and
automation to reduce rail’s costs, increase its capacity and enhance its flexibility and reliability, and
should be based upon a solid reference functional system architecture shared by the sector, in
coordination with the European Union Agency for Railways.

I would like also to take this opportunity to mention the objectives of inclusiveness and openness that
are underpinning this Work Programme, built on the SBA terms and conditions for the partnerships:

- Recital 15, which requires the joint undertakings to deliver European added value compared
to calls under the main Horizon Europe work programme.
- Recital 16, which confirms Horizon Europe principles of openness and transparency, strong
leverage effect and long term commitments. In particular, partnerships should be open to any
entity that is willing and able to work towards the common goal, should promote broad and
active participation of stakeholders in their activities, membership and governance, and should
ensure that the results would be for the benefit of all Europeans, in particular through a broad
dissemination of results and pre-deployment activities across the Union.
- Recital 19, where it is clarified that Horizon Europe Regulation requires that the financial or
in-kind contributions from members other than the Union should be at least equal to 50 %
and may reach up to 75 % of the aggregated joint undertaking budgetary commitments.
Also, that the Union should be in a position to reduce its contribution if members other than
the Union fail to fulfil their commitments.
- Recital 21, that establishes that in line with the ambitions set out in the Horizon Europe
Regulation, one of the preconditions of setting up institutionalised European partnerships is
ensuring partners’ contributions throughout the lifetime of the joint undertakings... Joint
undertakings should be able to identify measures to facilitate those contributions through their
work programmes, in particular by reducing funding rates. In duly justified cases, it should be
possible to introduce additional conditions that require the participation of a member of the
joint undertaking or their constituent or affiliated entities, targeting activities where the
industrial partners of the joint undertaking can play a key role such as large-scale
demonstrations and flagship projects closer to the market, and contribute more via lower
funding rates.

The launch of the Research and Innovation activities of this Work Programme shapes the mission-
oriented nature of the JU, building on openness and inclusiveness, answering the call of the Member
States and Parliament to deliver impact and added value to European citizens. Synergies with other
Union – as well as national and regional – programmes and partnerships shall provide opportunities
to complement the series of actions expected from the rail sector, including interacting with ERRAC
on complementary activities. Stakeholder relations and dissemination of results ensure the visibility
of the progress achieved. Sound financial and risk management and compliance will underpin the
implementation of the Programme along its lifecycle.

2.2 Executive Summary 2023

The European Green Deal7 and the related Roadmap8, published in December 2019, form an integral
part of the European Commission’s strategy to implement the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda and

7 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/european-green-deal-communication_en.pdf
8 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/european-green-deal-communication-annex-roadmap_en.pdf

17
associated Sustainable Development Goals9. EU-Rail, positioned within Horizon Europe under Cluster
5: Climate, energy and mobility, aims to address these particular Sustainable Development Goals:

The European Green Deal sets out a clear vision of how to achieve climate neutrality in Europe by
2050 and presents the EU’s new growth strategy. To achieve climate neutrality, a 90% reduction in
transport greenhouse gas emissions is needed by 2050. The transformation of the railway system will
be pivotal to achieve the environmental and economic objectives by offering both decarbonised and
time/cost-competitive transport solutions for passengers as well as for freight.

In December 2020, the “Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on
track for the future”10 was adopted by the Commission. It fosters, besides other concepts, the idea of
using the potential of digital technologies to revolutionise the way we move, making our mobility
smarter, more efficient, and also greener. The Strategy identifies concrete milestones, and, in order
to meet them, particular goals to be achieved by means of rail research and innovation are set as well,
such as:

- a shift of a substantial part of the 75% of inland freight carried by road towards transport by
rail and inland waterways,
- scheduled collective travel under 500 km should be carbon-neutral by 2030 within the EU,
- traffic on high-speed rail will double by 2030 and triple by 2050,
- rail freight traffic will increase by 50% by 2030 and double by 2050,
- a fully operational, multimodal Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) for sustainable
and smart transport with high speed connectivity by 2050,
- improving the competitiveness of rail and supporting the European technological leadership
in rail.

Further to the topic of “Digital Decade”, the Commission indicated in its Communication of March
2021 11 how digital transformation can improve the ecosystems related to mobility and transport.
Digitalisation can improve environmental and cost performance and simultaneously increase safety
levels contributing to a higher quality of life. It will be achieved through more advanced levels of
automation, faster and more reliable connectivity, and IT enabled profound transformation of the
management of mobility services. The public could also benefit from fast internet connectivity for
passengers on most stations and lines, user oriented telematics and facilitated multi-modality.

In this context, EU-Rail and its Programme will strive for speeding up the development and
deployment of innovative technologies in railway transport in order to contribute to achievement of
the above mentioned milestones. This will require a significant transformation of the railway sector,
addressing long overdue changes in legacy operational processes, systems and governance models, as
well as integrating with other transport and mobility solutions for passenger services and cargo
logistics. The ongoing energy crises, which has major impacts also on rail, requires accelerating
research and innovation towards deployment of innovative technological and operational solutions
that would contribute to operational efficiencies and energy performance.

9 https://sdgs.un.org/goals
10 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:5e601657-3b06-11eb-b27b-
01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
11 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0118

18
The strategic framework for EU-Rail’s endeavours is provided in its Master Plan identifying the
ambitions and the objectives of this new partnership and defining a systemic, long-term and result-
oriented delivery strategy for research & innovation in the railway sector.

More specifically, the JU’s 2023 and 22024 priorities in this respect will be on:

a. the ramp up of the 2022 Flagship Projects, following the conclusion of the grant
agreements signature, to ensure that by the end of 2023 the planned milestones are
achieved, followed by a second year of R&I in 2024, while assessing the capacity to
reach the targets defined by the end of 2026;
b. the delivery of the first results of the System Pillar Tasks and Domains, in particular
those identified in Annex VI following the signature of the first Service Request and
the ramp up phase during Q4 2022; the conclusion of the Call 2022-2 and launch of
the relatives projects as from mid-2023 indicatively, to ensure that new exploratory
and other R&I activities complement the main Programme;
c. the launch of the Call 2023-1 during Q4 2023 to create new opportunities for
inclusiveness and participation; the scope of this call will be defined during Q2 and Q3
2023, taking into consideration the aforementioned activities and their progress. The
scope of the Call 2023-1 will result from an extensive open consultation of the rail
stakeholders and beyond;
d. the preparation of a call for Associated Members to be launched in the first half of
2024, after having made a in depth assessment of the possible gaps in terms of entities
involved in the EU-Rail Programme to its full extent;
e. the R&I activities related to the projects launched in the previous years under the S2R
Programme; the focus will be on the execution of the research and innovation
activities previously signed and needed to advance in delivering the Technology
Demonstrators, and in view of reaching the complete phase of the S2R Programme by
2024, having achieved its targets.

These priorities will build upon the monitoring and review of the ongoing R&I activities to ensure the
delivery of the results expected for the demonstrators and to pave the way for the next generation of
the Rail Research and Innovation Programme.

The Communication activities for 2023 and 2024 will continue ensuring that the mission and
objectives, including the new System Pillar and Deployment Group as well as the new corporate and
visual identity of the new partnership, are communicated and understood widely. To ensure the
involvement of stakeholders from the entire rail value chain, including actors from outside of the
traditional rail sector, EU-Rail will organise and participate to a number of events and conduct other
communication activities.

During 2023 and 2024 will seek the continuation of the close collaboration established between EU-
Rail and:

 the European Railway Research Advisory Council (ERRAC),

 the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA),
 other programmes and partnerships, such as the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, SESAR3 JU,
Clean Aviation JU, BATT4EU, etc. with the objective to establish synergies that will results in
coordinated and consistent activities, up to joint projects,
 different associations representing the key stakeholders of the rail sector and beyond,
 third countries programmes, in line with the policy priorities of the Commission and
considering the key objective of the competitiveness of the European rail industry.

19
The main events, where EU-Rail will showcase its results in 2023, are the annual EU-Rail Innovation
Days in December, EU-Rail/ERA/EUSPA joint event (Stockholm, March tbc). Participation to external
events is foreseen at the UIC World Congress on High-Speed Rail (Marrakesh, 7-10 March), and the
UITP Global Transport Summit (Barcelona, 4-7 June). Other probable participations of EU-Rail include
events such as the SIFER in March, the 8th Railway Forum 2023 in September, the UIC – Second African
Digital Rail Congress in October, ExpoFerroviaria in October, World Passenger Festival in October, or
Rail Live in November.As from the end of 2023, the preparatory activities for the major events
expected in 2024 will be planned, such as TRA in Ireland and InnoTrans in Berlin in September 2024.

Improvements in the JU’s internal communication will be in the focus as well, leveraging on the
available IT tools, to boost the flow of information among the staff.

At the corporate level, EU-Rail will strive for appropriate workload distribution, as well as for costing
and staffing levels needed to ensure successful delivery of the Programme. In addition to supporting
continuous learning and qualification raising of the staff, activities improving the well-being and team
cohesion will be conducted throughout 2023 and 024. In the upcoming period, the JU’s priorities in
the HR area will also include developing a fit-to-purpose competency framework and a talent
development plan.

Following the entry into force of the SBA, Article 13 required the European institutionalized
partnerships to assess the possibility to establish back office arrangements between themselves in
relation to a list of services. The SLA that will be finalized by year end 2022 will be operational during
2023 and the future years. The costs and benefits of such SLAs will be assessed during the future years
while possibly new services will be considered for synergies.

In the area of internal control and assurance, EU-Rail will face in 2023 the challenge of establishing
a methodology for reviews/audits aimed at qualitative aspects of the project management to be
applied for lump sum grants under Horizon Europe. A dedicated programme of such ex-post audits
will be planned for 2024.

In the last years, the Joint Undertaking has demonstrated the progress achieved through the
commitment of its members and stakeholders. The system transformation, to which the JU was
expected to substantially contribute, did not end with S2R, as it will still require a major effort in the
years to come, connecting fundamental research – applied research – large scale
demonstrations/deployment. The system approach brought forward by an institutional partnership
such as the Joint Undertaking has proved to be capable of delivering such major transformation,
involving legislator, regulator, standardisation bodies and stakeholders.

2.3 Operational activities of EU-Rail in 2023

2.3.1 Objectives, indicators and risks

As mentioned in Section 1.4, the R&I activities of the EU-Rail Programme are structured around two
Pillars, the System Pillar, which is structured in four main tasks, and the Innovation Pillar that is
organised in seven Flagship Areas (FA) and the Transversal Topic (TT). Their objectives and the main
high-level risks associated to them are presented below.

The results of the JU shall be measured via a series of key performance indicators (KPIs) addressing,
on the one hand, the technological and operational outcomes and, on the other hand, the impact that
they are expected to realise once deployed. The KPIs shall cover the full lifecycle of R&I, from
exploratory research to deployment coordination. The KPI model shall be based on input delivered by
each of the JU projects and reported on a yearly basis, through the Annual Activity Report. Each project

20
will be required to ensure that relevant quantitative and qualitative metrics are provided that
contribute to the JU’s overall KPIs. The current version of the KPIs at the level of the Flagship Areas
and the Transversal Topic is provided in Annex III in Section 4 of this WP.

Operationally, the System Pillar tasks and the Flagship Projects will start to work together in 2023 and
the objective in 2023 is to ensure an appropriate integration model. This start with the provision of
a toolset for Model-Based System Engineering, Conceptual Data Model and Federated Dataspace to
the SP and IP activities, from the output of the Tender launched in 2022. The process of exchange of
information, of work on common tasks and of collaboration in general as one integrated programme
will also be finalised in 2023, with the first output on this subject by the FPs and SP working groups.

The System Pillar contributes defining the concept of Operations for Rail, through a System of Systems
service-oriented approach, providing the overall framework for delivery of R&I, taking into account
interfaces within different rail segments and other modes. These activities should ensure a common
approach and efficient use of resources; EU-Rail is the platform for and provide the coordination and
resources to enable sector convergence on common solutions at European level. EU-Rail shall
therefore in particular coordinate and consolidate all relevant sector initiatives, noting the importance
of unified requirements from the Railways. This is complementing and underpinning the focus on
research and innovation towards impact-oriented solutions. Indeed, the work to define and then
maintain the operational concept and functional system architecture will be the framework within
which the R&I work progresses with logical interactions.

The R&I activities to deliver the Concept of Operations, addressing the specific segments’ interfaces,
are structured within the Innovation Pillar and established around the full lifecycle of research and
innovation, from exploratory research, via applied research to large scale demonstrations.

EU-Rail focus is on key priorities but addressing the subsystems of the various rail market segments
and, where relevant and cost-effective, standardisation or commonly agreed harmonised
specifications needed to deliver them. Automation will require converging on digital solutions,
artificial intelligence, imaging, robotics, etc. but also addressing sub-components, e.g. mechanical,
that otherwise would jeopardise the transformation to be delivered. In order to achieve such
ambition, EU-Rail acts as “single coordinating body” to ensure the convergence of the sector towards
the aforementioned new Concept of Operations and the related Reference Functional System
architecture, both addressing different segments. This would allow setting the right conditions
towards modular (standard interfaces), scalable, plug & play, etc. solutions in view of large-scale
market introduction and their evolution.

R&I Large Scale Operational Demos will be one of the major game changers in the impact to be
achieved by EU-Rail. It is not about coordinating the funding, it is about Integrated R&I Large Scale
Demonstration activities, i.e. moving from small-scale demonstrators[prototypes] in one specific
network or lab, to European wide live, operational network-scale demonstration of solutions in a
different environment, reaching TRL 8/9 level, and to show the benefits from the European
deployment of new solutions. This will also be a key component for the inclusiveness of these areas
of Europe, and consequently, Member States, under-represented in the current rail research and
innovation activities. As they will be capable to contribute to the definition of specifications and
demonstrate the benefits of the proposed partnership, or ongoing Programmes, solutions in their
operational network and services offered to their customers.

This activity will also support the necessary steps for the regulatory changes or standards’ changes
needed to bring solutions to the market, closing the virtuous circle started in the definition of concepts
within the System Pillar, before industrialisation and deployment.

21
 The “Deployment Group”, to be activated by Q1 2023, will tackle the transition from R&I to
coordinated and consistent deployment at European level, to avoid creating new barriers to a one
single European network.

The table below present a summary of the main activities per year, for the years 2023 to 2024

Target
contributions
Value of Maximum Non-
Type of from Indicative
Year 2023 the EU-Rail co- funded
call Members in publication date
actions funding activities
case of
award
Multi- Open 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
annual Call
for 2023
Proposals *
(instalment) values 96.8 57.9 38.8 75.2
Call for
Proposals –
Exploratory Open 23.3 21.2 2.1 0.0 Q4 2023
Research
(**)

Q1 – Q4 2023 &
implementation of
Call for
Open 16.7 14.9 1.8 0.0 new and ongoing
Tenders
contracts/framework
contracts

Open,
including
Operational through
0.4 0.4 0.0 0.0 Q1 – Q4 2023
Experts REA,
including
new SC

Total 40.4 36.5 3.9 0.0

Target
contributions
Value of Maximum Non-
Type of from Indicative
Year 2024 the EU-Rail co- funded
call Members in publication date
actions funding activities
case of
award
Multi- Open 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
annual Call
for 2024
Proposals *
(instalment) values 65.3 39.1 26.2 50.8

22
 Target
contributions
Value of Maximum Non-
Type of from Indicative
Year 2024 the EU-Rail co- funded
call Members in publication date
actions funding activities
case of
award

Q1 – Q4 2024 &
implementation of
Call for
Open 11.7 11.7 0.0 0.0 new and ongoing
Tenders
contracts/framework
contracts

Open,
including
Operational through
0.4 0.4 0.0 0.0 Q1 – Q4 2024
Experts REA,
including
new SC

Total 12.1 12.1 0.0 0.0

(*) This call for proposals was launched in 2022 implementing multi-annuality by instalment, meaning
that the amount committed by the JU will be confirmed yearly based on the annual budget of the JU.
This amount of Maximum EU-Rail co-funding corresponds to the 2023 instalment for the call 2022-1.
For more information about the annual instalments, please refer to the “Table of Financial
programming per year until 2027” in Chapter 3 “Budget 2023-2024” of the present document.
(**) This call is not launched with multi-annual instalement as the award and GA signature is planned
for 2024 and budget immediately available.

In addition to the specific research and innovation calls and implementation, during 2023 EU-Rail will
prepare the launch of a call for Associater Members after having made an assessment of the needs to
complement the current membership to deliver the Programme. The Call for Associated Members is
expected for publication early 2024.

In line with Regulation (EU) 2021/695 establishing Horizon Europe, in particular with regard to Article
52 thereof, EU-Rail is bound to contribute to an interim Programme evaluation to feed into the
decision-making process of the HE Programme, the next framework programme and other initiatives
relevant to R&I. Such interim evaluation of the Programme shall be carried out with the assistance of
independent experts selected on the basis of a transparent process once there is sufficient
information available about the implementation of the Programme, but no later than four years after
the start of that implementation. Thus, with the interim evaluation being due at the end of 2024 at
the latest, the JU will start in 2023 the planning of its contribution to this activity, so that its intended
purpose – namely the assessment of the Programme's effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence,
and Union added value – can be effectively achieved.

Furthermore, EU-Rail will continue to provide support and inputs to DG RTD for the purposes of
preparation of the Biennial Monitoring Reports on partnerships in Horizon Europe. These reports aim
at providing a strong evidence base to guide the implementation of partnerships and to inform

23
strategic discussions on the effectiveness of the new policy approach to European Partnerships and,
where relevant, how it should evolve. The reports further aim to shed light on the progress of
partnerships in achieving the EU objectives and targeted impacts both individually and collectively, at
EU and national level.

2.3.2 The System Pillar

To achieve an architecture that offers the demanded functional improvements concerning production
performance, reliability, quality, and cost as well as the needed architecture quality, the System
Pillar (SP) follows the defined process:

Given that it is necessary to define the whole rail system in order to determine the areas of priority
and focus, and in order to ensure consistency of approach, Task 1 of the System Pillar will define the
high-level overall railway architecture and operational concept for the EU Rail System, whilst the other
tasks, deliver the more detailed view of the systems and their specifications.

24
Through the Ramp up phase for the SP a draft high level architecture has been drafted and reviewed
with the sector. The full resource for the System Pillar has been in place since October 2022.

2.3.2.1 SP deliverables during Ramp up phase

EU-Rail made available resources already mid-2021 to enhance the work on concept(s) of operations
and system architecture to pave the way for the establishment of the System Pillar with the entry into
force of the SBA. These activities include a series of deliverables setting up different elements for the
process and governance of the functioning of the System Pillar and the interaction with the Innovation
Pillar, but also initial elements from the content point of view to contritbute to the ramp up phase of
the future Innovation Pillar Projects.

These results include:

 Common Business Objectives, setting out the targets and improvements to guide the
development of the outputs of the System Pillar within Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking.
 Operational Vision, starting point for the top-down discussion about the operational concept.
It defines general directions and the ambitions for the future CCS and TMS/CM target systems
as a discussion basis.
 CCS and TMS/CMS System Architecture, describing the CCS and TMS system architecture,
including the first iteration and alignment of the CCS and TMS system architecture, as a
baseline for the development work when the System Pillar starts.
 Governance organisation and working arrangement of the System Pillar, focusing on the
structure of the System Pillar, role of the Core Group in relation to both the System Pillar
activities and the interaction with the Innovation Pillar, and on the working arrangements with
external bodies.
 System Pillar Roadmap, defining the major milestones
 Migration principles for CCS, TMS/CMS and DAC as a whole system, including functional and
RAMSS considerations.

The results were delivered by mid 2022, when the formal structure of the System Pillar was set and
duly funded via a tender procedure (see below), fully operational in Q3 2022 and aligned its activities
during the grant preparation phase of the Innovation Pillar Projects.

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2.3.2.2 Governance and Organisational Structure

The main governance bodies involved in the System Pillar are :

 The System Pillar Steering Group, responsible for providing advice to the Executive Director
and the Governing Board on:
o the approach to operational harmonisation and the development of system
architecture,
o the detailed annual implementation plan for the System Pillar in line with the work
programmes adopted by the Governing board,
o monitoring the progress of the System Pillar.

 The System Pillar Unit which:

o Chairs the System Pillar Core Group,
o Reports to System Pillar Steering Group,
o Coordinates related resources, budget and timescales to the System and Innovation
Pillar Programme Board.

 The System Pillar Core Group which:

o Provides the competent leadership and expertise of the development of the
functional layered railway system architecture, specification models and Operational
Concepts that enable safe, secure and efficient delivery of the new systems,
o Manages the common business objectives and deliverables from the Tasks.

 The System and Innovation Programme Board, advising the Executive Director on:
o the coordination of resources, budgets and timescales of the System and Innovation
Pillars,
o project and programme management of the JU including interaction between the two
pillars as well as change management and conflicts, supported by the System Pillar
Core Group.

The EU-Rail Governing Board, as the body responsible for the overall oversight over the EU-Rail’s
activities, is the final decision body within the System Pillar decision-making process.

There are two different structures co-existing within the System Pillar organisation:

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 - The content structure: Describes the work items that need to be built in a certain sequence
to create the deliverables. Content structures have many levels of details and are connected
in all directions by the “flow of requirements”.
- The organisational structure: Defines the team structure and the control flow, aimed to be as
simple (top-down), efficient, and effective as possible.

Regarding the difference between the content structure and the organisational structure, a “design
team” for the business architecture of the railway system cannot be the “leading” team for all System
Pillar projects. Design work and program management is not the same. The Task 1 analysis and design
team contributes important requirements to the SP projects, but the progress management of the SP
is done by the SP Coregroup/the JU.

The figure below illustrates the first and second level operational breakdown structure of the System
Pillar, reflecting both the organizational structure:

The roles and responsibilities of the following SP groups are depicted in the EU-Rail’s Governance and
Process Handbook:

 SP Steering Group, Core Group, Engineering Services / Coordination (comprising Central

modelling service, Standardisation and TSI input planning, External Architectural support,
PRAMMS Management and Assurance), Administrative Services (comprising Programme
Office, Economic Analysis),
 Task 1: Railway System,
 Task 2: (Advanced) CCS system design,

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 o The cross-cutting domain teams (comprising Operational Design, Architecture and
release coordination and Migration and roadmap),
o The CCS System Design Teams (comprising Traffic control and supervision, Trackside
assets control & supervision, Train control and supervision, Transversal CCS
component, Field force CCS application, Communication team, Computing
environment),
 Task 3: TMS system design,
 Task 4: DAC/FDFTO12 System design.

System Pillar Task 1: EU Rail System

The System Pillar Task 1 will be focussed on the European railway network to which Directive 2016/797
applies.

The vision of the European railway system is:

 Open access to SERA, i.e. no technical and operational boundaries for trains, standardisation
(economies of scale), safety (including learning from information sharing) and resilience;
 Performant and competitive;
 Synchronised deployment, and
 Full alignment with the future system

The system architecture used by the System Pillar needs to be structurally and logically consistent,
and reflect the structural reality that, currently, there is no single European railway system.

The high-level target architecture(s) will input to the considerations of the optimal level of technical
and safety harmonisation building on cutting-edge technologies, making it possible to facilitate,
improve and develop railway services within the Union, and with third countries, and to contribute to
the completion of the SERA and the progressive achievement of the internal market. Interoperability
must be achieved and maintained.

The scope of Task 1 should not be time-bound, and can consider several iterations of development i.e.
it should be ambitious and flexible to take into account the impact of new technologies and processes
with regards to rail (e.g. from the innovation pillar) which may require a substantial revision of, inter
alia, safety concepts and the regulatory framework underpinning operations both with the clear goal
to harmonise across Europe.

To achieve the overall evolution and target architectures defined in Task 1 will be a complex challenge.
Best practice from other industries shows that successful integration of system architecture
approaches, especially when moving from current engrained systems like in rail, is to take the
opportunity when systems are in any case evolving to put in place the correct system architecture
processes and principles.

System Pillar Task 2: CCS

The regulation and implementation of European rail control-command and signalling (CCS) is of central
importance in the running of a safe, efficient, interoperable, robust cost-efficient and reliable rail
service in Europe. CCS deals with all the on-board and trackside equipment required to ensure safety
and to plan, command and control movements of trains authorised to travel on the network as well
as the efficient integration of maintenance processes that occupy tracks.

12 DAC = Digital Automatic Coupler / FDFTO = Full Digital Freight Train Operations (part of FA 5 project)

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Historically the automatic systems developed over time to monitor drivers’ operation (continuous
speed monitoring and avoidance of signals passed at red) have been developed to be different and
they are still substantially different in each national railway network, and thus a major barrier to
operate one European network.

A central focus at European level has been the implementation of ERTMS (European Railway Traffic
Management System), a major industrial programme to harmonise the automatic train control and
communication system and underpin interoperability throughout the rail system in Europe.
Deployment of ERTMS provides the backbone for a digital, connected Single European Rail Area.

The current harmonisation at European level, through the CCS TSI, addresses the safety and
interoperability requirements, the on-board functions and the interfaces between trackside and on-
board related to train protection, signalling the permission to move the train and radio
communication. Hence, not the full CCS system.

For trackside CCS beyond that specified in the CCS TSI, there are currently network or deployment
specific approaches of trackside engineering, operational concept, signalling rules and their interfaces.

The current typical CCS on-board configuration includes multiple proprietary TCMS (train control
management systems) and Class B driven interfaces between the main train on-board building blocks,
which are currently not harmonised.

As a result, even if ERTMS as it stands is implemented in full across the EU, national systems for
significant parts of the CCS system would continue, along with national operational rules driving
customisation, and a continued overall fragmented CCS market of signalling configurations and rail
business models.

This situation significantly increases CCS complexity and reduces the opportunity for more open and
competitive markets across Europe. It also creates a system that is not conducive to harmonised
evolution and innovation and induces errors and incompatibilities in implementation of the TSI
regulated interfaces. Finally, it undermines the performance of the rail system in favour of clients
opting for other mobility and transport solutions.

Hence the CCS task is to develop a harmonised operational concept and functional system architecture
for a genuine integrated European CCS system, supported by a model-based systems architecting &
engineering approach, beyond the current specifications in the CCS TSI, with much greater
standardisation and much less variation than at present. Differences in operation are one of the key
root causes for complexity as well as product diversity and therefore are a major cost driver. The
harmonization of operational principles where economically possible – in particular under cab
signalling and radio-based ETCS is key to achieve generic CCS solutions, minimize national
requirements, reduce life cycle cost and achieve operational interoperability. This integrated CCS
system shall on the one hand deliver unrestricted movement of trains, on the other hand, it shall
create a single market for rail components.

CCS – both on-board and trackside - shall be based on a standardised modular system architecture
using standardised interfaces. In order to preserve investment made, the System pillar should not only
create adequate interface but care about migration feasibility (i.e. clear and affordable transition
steps) and find paths for moving beyond the current system with proprietary interfaces and allowing
modularity of components.

The need for the CCS task is because digitalisation technologies are ready for use in rail with huge
potential to improve passenger and freight services. Digitalisation coupled with automation is one
effective way to increase performance and capacity with less new infrastructure investments. Without

29
high quality architecture, adding such new technologies and maintaining compatibility will not be
possible.

The purpose of the focus on CCS is therefore to take advantage that as networks and Member States
migrate to CCS systems of ERTMS L2 or above – the opportunity is taken to do this in a harmonised
manner following functional layered architecture principles: this will set a common baseline that will
allow to evolve systems at the technological evolution pace. It will be a major change from “black
boxes” to “software solutions” computing environments.

Operational interoperability is an equally important goal of the Single European Rail Area. A further
major opportunity is thus to create harmonized operational rules.

On this basis, a converging shared vision on future rail operations based on ERTMS-alone Level 2 and
Level 3 networks will set up the baseline for the operational and technological solutions to ensure and
continue evolutions of rail.

System Pillar Task 3: TMS/CMS

TM/CM means to create a long-term to short-term operational plan (production plan) that fulfils
customer needs in an optimized way, to prepare and let execute the plan, and to predict and react on
deviations and events with adapted planning or initiated interventions to solve production problems.
The operational plan describes in very detail all types of track usage (train movements, stabling,
construction sites, usage restriction areas, etc.).

Task 3 aim for Traffic Management is to reach a high, smart and flexible automation and cooperation
levels for its long or short term simulation, planning, forecasting and coordination processes (cross-
company, cross-country) in a way that allows to work with an integrated and rolling high-quality plan
in near-real-time, based on automated information exchange between all involved planning partners.

The harmonization of operational processes is a key driver towards a deep and seamless integration
of the new services and capabilities, with a specific focus on national borders; this is fundamental for
the evolution of the Traffic and Capacity Management System to get an effective Single European
Railway Area (SERA).

The basic vision will also include a highly digitalized tactical short-term planning with the relevant cost-
efficient approach to address risks and opportunities.

This will allow task 3 of SP to achieve the objectives to:

• Strengthen the ability to sustain a given service quality, punctuality, and safe operation, by
completeness of planning, adequate level of information, rapid responses to capacity requests
and planning changes and reducing the impact of disturbances,
• Leverage on real-time information and data sharing to provide accurate status in order to
provide to customer rapid alerts of traffic congestion and in general provide valuable data and
information,
• Enable more efficient infrastructure usage and better predict capacity needs of infrastructure.

System Pillar Task 4: DAC/FDFTO

Coupling is done manually by a worker who must climb between wagons to hook and un-hook them,
requiring physically exhausting manual operation in a hazardous environment. A more efficient,
sustainable and competitive rail freight system is essential to meet the needs of both climate
protection and rising transport volumes. Digital automatic coupling is an enabler to create a modern
and digital European railway freight transport. It will not only increase efficiency thanks to automation

30
processes, but it will also ensure sufficient energy supply for telematics applications, as well as safe
data communication throughout the entire train.

Through the work in task 4, mainly regarding the high level specifications and providing the system
view, System Pillar will be supporting the improvement of freight train composition, operation and
capacity allocations of paths, stabling tracks (f.e. waiting for terminal slots) and shunting (yard) work.

2.3.2.3 System Pillar working method and System Engineering management plan

The System Pillar working method aims at fast and balanced decision making with full sector
involvement. Integrated teams within one place - the System Pillar - will work on and propose
developed positions for sector consideration:
- To ensure best results, the System Pillar design process will ensure clarification and agreement
on objectives and requirements early in the process as a basis for the subsequent decisions
on operational design and architecture.
- The aim is to have developed positions put forward by the tasks and associated domain teams
based on concentrated resource and a short interaction flow on system design level within
the System Pillar teams, enabling speed of development.
- Where appropriate, sector organizations are encouraged to support their representatives in
the System Pillar teams and the Core Group with input - consolidated positions, early
consideration of issues etc.
- Decisions can be made on the lower levels (within the Task cross-cutting or ‘Domain teams’),
under coordination of the System Pillar Core Group.
- Where required, more detailed sector consultation – working circles - will be organized to
critically assess the output of the System Pillar teams. The working circles do not have an
explicit governance role, but are established to achieve broad sector alignment.

On all hierarchical levels of the decision-making process a balanced sector representation shall ensure
that developed and fully considered positions are put forward to the System Pillar Steering Group and
Governing Board.

The Working Method regarding the System Pillar Tasks will follow the philosophy set forth in the
System Engineering Management Plan, in which the work is organised by breaking down the work
allocated to each Task into work items within workflows, defining dependencies and relationships
between them, covering several layers of the system of systems layer structure of the Railway
Systems, and arranging them into traces.

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The following figure gives an example of a trace structure:

In order to implement this working method, the SP SEMP task force has created a first version of the
SEMP. The System Pillar Central Modelling Service will develop the full version 2023, including:
 The engineering processes describing the workflow of engineering regarding:
o System Design Processes: e.g. process steps to get from use cases down to functional
design,
o Management Processes: e.g. how to collect, decide or allocate requirements or
project management processes, or change management processes, how to monitor
progress and verify consistency with Common Business Objectives,
o Publication/Standardisation Processes: e.g. TSI input processes, specification
maintenance.
 Definition of design methods:
o Methods: e.g. how hazards should be linked to risks, and risks be linked to
requirements,
o Ontology, vocabulary: e.g how to name results of SP or things in the railway
landscape,
o Design and modelling standards, notation: e.g. template structures for documents
like “system definition”, or how to describe an draw a function or interface, or how
requirements or use cases should be formulated.
 Tools to be used:
o For the temporary platform and for the later target platform (public procurement),
o Design Tools: e.g., to write traceable content, for modelling, approval tools, model
proving, etc.,
o Management tools: e.g. project management, issue management, workflow
automation, etc.,
o Information flow automation: Carrying, converting and linking files from different
tools, manage exchanges between teams.

2.3.2.4 SP Milestones and planning

The System Pillar is defined on the basis of MBSE processes and the identification of the workitems
that will allow to reach specific objectives. These objectives are mainly described by the
standardisation areas for the target architecture and are included in the System Pillar roadmap. The
roadmap is a matrix of a large amount of standardisation processes.

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Instead of analysing all detailed dependencies in the current stage (like normally done for a project
planning), unique milestones shall be used for all standardisation processes that lead to an overall
synchronisation. To decide about the right timing ambition for those major milestones, the
determining factors per standardisation area are assessed:

1. Market priorities (link to Innovation Pillar, obsolescent solutions, start of large rollout
programs) and Common Business Objectives
2. Difficulty level of the standardisation, amount of existing basic research
3. Maturity and progress of existing work

The indicative roadmap that was constructed during the ramp up phase of the SP can be found in
Annex VI.

The detailed milestones of the System Pillar Task and domain teams is in Annex VI as based on the
work of the System Pillar Ramp up phase. Even if the milestones are detailed in the objective of the
deliverable, additional detailing of the technical content for each of them is necessary for a better
monitoring of the work of SP and facilitating that the objectives of the works are achieved. For this,
during October and November 2022 SPCG is engaging directly with the Domain leaders of the different
teams in SP to reach this level of detail and aiming to have detailed programme plan of the activities
and milestones during the first year and including the specific technical content per milestone. This
will also enable to draft the contents of the first Standardisation and TSI input plan and define in detail
the contents foreseen for the first release of the SP target architecture.

2.3.2.5 System Pillar and Innovation Pillar interactions

EU-Rail, through the System Pillar will aim to have a coherent approach to the evolution of the EU rail
system through a system architecture approach.

The SP has a discrete work scope to set the system architecture of the rail system (Task 1), and in
particular the CCS, TMS/CMS and DAC/FDFTO architecture (Task 2, 3 and 4), as well as coordinating
the standardisation and TSI outputs of EU-RAIL. While the main focus will be on these Tasks, the
System Pillar will have to integrate and duly consider other key elements, such as digital automatic
coupling as enabler of future much more performant railfreight, interfaces to urban mobility, and
energy systems.

EU-RAIL will develop the operational concept(s) and functional system architecture with much greater
standardisation, a wider scope, aiming at no variation compared to present.

The Innovation Pillar (IP) will deliver, through research and innovation, advances in, inter alia,
advanced traffic management, digital and automated train operations, and rail freight.

The description of the interaction is found in the EU-Rail Governance and Programme Handbook.

Currently, EU-Rail lead meetings including SPCG and the Flagship projects leaders are achieving further
alignment of milestones and activities during the gap phase of the grant agreement. The main
objective at this phase is to:

 Identify the main technical standardisation areas of collaboration between SP and IP,
 build in the projects the necessary details of the continuous process integration to reach
together the EU-Rail outcomes that will achieve target system complying with the CBO,

33
  include necessary provisions to achieve the Standardisation and TSI input plan together with
all the necessary mature standards and regulation proposals,
 revision that the inputs expected by the Flagship projects from the SP are foreseen to be
achievable on time

From October 2022 until March 2023 more detailed planning will be achieved since the MBSE
processes will have started for the target system in SP and the Flagship projects will have already
started the activities. Additional detail for the way of interaction and specific deliverables between
the SP and IP will be defined then.

2.3.3 The Innovation Pillar

The Innovation Pillar is structured in 7 Flagship Areas leading to large scale demonstration as defined
in the SBA, complemented by Transversal Topics which ensure the engineering integration of the
Programme.

2.3.3.1 Flagship Area 1 (FA1): Network management planning and control & Mobility
Management in a multimodal environment

The main objective of FA1 is to dramatically improve flexibility, efficiency, resilience and capacity
adaptation of the European rail network – supporting the development and operation of a Single
European Rail Area. The objective is to develop functional requirements, associated specifications,
and operational and technological solutions to enable future European Traffic Management. This will
include the requirements to make common train operations and ticketing possible and will enable the
design of future network management, planning, and control.

To achieve the overall objective, several streams of improvement have been identified:
• Operators need to be able to adapt quickly to unforeseen deviations or disruptions and last
minutes changes in demand.
• Increased flexibility paves the way for smarter and tailored door-to-door services and offers, where
mobility solutions meet the expectations of passengers and logistics.
• Maintaining the reliability of rail traffic requires all subsystems that influence the traffic to be
connected to the Traffic Management System, in order to collect information in real time.
• Enhanced integration of the rail networks should allow to extend capacity planning and operation
at European level, enabling capacity optimization and automatic management of cross-border
traffic by predicting and controlling routes of cross-border trains in European networks and
corridors.

The operational outcomes to be achieved in FA1 will be:

• Improved strategic and tactical planning of the rail network
• Increased resilience of the connected, ‘real time’ rail network
• Integrated rail traffic within door-to-door mobility

The main risk preventing or delaying the delivery of the objectives in this Flagship Area remains the
lack of coordination and interactions between the various actors, the organizational framework and
not well defined or implemented deployment strategy, and potentially the lack of European
regulations to enforce it.

Subject to the grant agreement conclusion, 2023 will mark the start of the first EU-Rail Flagship
Project 1 implementing this Flagship Area. It will notably focus on two work-streams, and the first
workstream will deliver the following parts of the FA:

34
WS1: Network management planning and control & Mobility Management in a multimodal
environment
deliver by 2025/2026 innovative solutions to be demonstrated with:
• Tactical and short-term timetable planning including cross-borders with improved models and
functions; use of decision support to support integrated capacity planning of the rail network
and operations for yards, stations, terminals [TRL4/7];
• HMI for TMS with decision support modules, based on User Experience (UX) Design and
human-in-the-loop awareness [TRL4-8]
• Demand-driven predictions to improve operations and service offers, considering information
about events across modes. Effect of cross-regional, multimodal travels in combination with
demand forecast and disruption handling on improvement of daily operations, benefit on
customers (accessibility and attractiveness). [TRL 4-8]

2.3.3.2 Flagship Area 2 (FA2): Digital & Automated up to Autonomous Train Operations

The targeted objective of FA2 is to take the major opportunity offered by digitalization and automation
of rail operation and to develop the respective systems. This includes next generation Automatic Train
Control (ATC), including Automated Train Operation (ATO) Grade of Automation (GoA) 4, building
upon radio-based European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) or above, representing the next
evolution of the system, incorporating the latest technological advances, and with functionalities
enabling full optimisation of performance in line with the Traffic Management improvements
developed in FA1. FA2 will aim at delivering scalable automation in train operations with fully
unattended train operations including setting a train in motion, driving and stopping the train, opening
and closing the doors, remote train control and recovery operations in the event of disruptions.

The expected effects of FA2 are:

• Reduce the cost of capacity, which is a major indirect catalyst for capacity optimisation.
• Allow precise traffic flow management, supporting punctuality, reliability, and productivity
improvements.
• Allow the control of much higher train densities with a significantly reduced Life Cycle Cost (LCC)
of CCS components compared to today.
• Deliver scalable solutions fitting for high- and low-density lines, supporting the generation of large-
scale component markets and standardisable industrial asset management processes as well as to
speed up the deployment and ensure long term evolvability of the system.

Potential restraints by the public to travel with automated trains, or the question of acceptance of
automated cargo trains loaded with hazardous substances, might represent one of the risks associated
with introducing Digital Automated Train Operations (DATO) under FA2.

Another risk is related to the migration to DATO soft- and hardware, where a clear functional
separation between subsystems must be achieved. A clear interface with Traffic Management System
(TMS) is crucial for implementation as well. The migration risk is also linked to the difficulty of the long
lead time of European Train Control System (ETCS) deployment, which shall be mitigated by reducing
the cost and by agreeing on an effective EU deployment process, while research and innovation
advances.

Furthermore, the risk of not having a ‘fit-for-all’ legal sector agreement that will allow for sharing and
reallocating liabilities, risks, costs, and benefits across the stakeholder groups, might decelerate the
implementation of digital and automated train operation technologies. The business risk might be an
issue as well, since the benefits (e.g., capacity increase, mainly for governments) may not be reaped
by the same players that will pay for the costs (Infrastructure Managers, Railway Undertakings, and

35
industry), which might lead to postponements, or even avoidance of future investments. The role of
the System Pillar to anticipate such risks and to deliver the necessary input to FA1 is important in this
respect. Economical, legal, regulatory and organizational implications need to be assessed and jointly
agreed upon in the rail sector, which goes beyond the technical scope of FA2.

Subject to the grant agreement conclusion, 2023 will mark the start of the first EU-Rail Flagship
Project 2 implementing this Flagship Area. It will notably deliver the following by 2025:

 Demonstrate technical and functional enablers such as ATO GoA3/4 over mixed radio based
ETCS levels (TRL6 or higher), Hybrid Level 3, moving block and TIMS (TRL6), connectivity
(TRL6), perception (TRL5/6), train positioning (TRL5/6), automated functions and digital
register (TRL6).
 Demonstration of the remote driving and command in depots and yards, including perception
systems (TRL6).
 A first demonstrator on next generation ATC, with modular onboard and trackside ATC
architectures, at proof-of-concept stage, in close collaboration with the EU-Rail System Pillar.
 A proof-of-concepts and/or validation in laboratory and field (i.e., up to TRL4/5 in Lab and
TRL6 on site) for the following new functions and technical enablers:
o Virtual Coupling Train Set (TRL4/5)
o Self-driving wagon (TRL4/5)
o Autonomous path allocation (linked to input from Destination1) (TRL5)
o Validation and certification (TRL6)
o Demonstrate a Functional Open Coupling System prototype covering all required
subsystems in an operational environment (TRL7)
o Demonstrate a modular hardware platform using architectural software design
patterns and methods (TRL7) allowing SIL2 respective SIL4 (depending on the
application)

2.3.3.3 Flagship Area 3 (FA3): Intelligent & Integrated asset management

This Flagship Area has the objective to provide new innovative technical requirements, methods,
solutions and services – including technical requirements and standards for future developments –
based on the latest leading-edge technologies to minimise asset life-cycle costs or extend life cycles
while meeting the safety and improving the reliability, availability and capacity of the railway system,
addressing both infrastructure and rolling stock.

The expected result will be a common European asset management framework composed by a green,
digital and safe set of solutions for the rail sector, focusing on three interrelated areas:
• Cost-effective asset management addressing short, mid and long-term interventions widely
supported by digital (diagnosis) technologies and data analytics.
• Advanced and high-tech automated execution of construction and interventions supported by
robotics and wearables changing the way of working improving health conditions for workers
involved and increasing quality and consistency of the results.
• Environmentally friendly production of resilient assets, supported by new design principles,
solutions and fabrication techniques.

The risks for FA3 may include extensive cost associated with the market uptake of final solutions due
to missing business cases. Siloed proposals for technologies, not considering overall value chain
demonstration cases and the integrated approach, might represent another issue.

36
A different type of risk for this Flagship Area can result from unfit or underdeveloped reference system
architecture framework and Conceptual Data Model (CDM), preventing from correct integration of
innovations.

Another example of potential risk may lie in the certification processes for new assets, systems, or
processes, as well as in reluctance of human factor to accept human-machine interfaces
(e.g.augmented reality) in the design and utilisation of innovation.

Subject to the grant agreement conclusion, 2023 will mark the start of the first EU-Rail Flagship
Project 3 implementing this Flagship Area. It will notably deliver the following solutions that can be
demonstrated by system approaches of the various developments targeting up to TRL 6 as European
common integrated solutions, by 2025/2026:

 Asset Management & TMS. The main aim of the demonstrator shall be to show the
integration between the Intelligent Asset Management System (IAMS) and the Traffic
Management System (TMS) enabling the share of data and optimising decisions using
common metrics – TRL6.
 Asset Management & Rolling Stock. The main objective of this demonstrator shall be to
present the monitoring of rolling stock (including on board and wayside technologies) leading
to decisions and planning of interventions, and redirecting rolling stock to workshops to
execute the (re)scheduled work both manually as well as by new technologies and solutions
to conduct inspection tasks automatically – TRL6.
 Long Term Asset Management. Development of Life Cycle Cost (LCC) models for
infrastructure and rolling stock. This demonstrator shall include cross-border infrastructure
remaining useful-life analysis and space-time cross-analysis and visualisation – TRL6.
 Asset Management & Infrastructure. The objective shall be to integrate on field and on board
systems with central platforms capable of managing Big Data to enable prescriptive
interventions, minimising dangerous situations and service disruptions during operation –
TRL6.
 Asset Management & Digital Twins. The focus shall be on design, maintenance, upgrade and
renewal interventions driven by Digital Twins for the optimisation of processes, maintenance
planning and involved logistics. This shall enforce the use of BIM to standardise system
configuration and AI tools to execute simulations and predictions. The Digital Twin
demonstrator shall include visualisation, prediction and simulation – TRL7.
 Design & Manufacturing. This demonstrator shall be the showcase of eco-friendly production
of resilient assets supported by new fabrication techniques such as additive manufacturing
(focused on infrastructure assets) – TRL5.
 Robotics & Interventions. The focus of this demonstrator shall be the showcase of high-tech
automated execution solutions for construction and interventions supported by robotics and
wearables, among other devices, building a safer and more automated railway environment -
TRL5/6.

2.3.3.4 Flagship Area 4 (FA4): A sustainable and green rail system

FA4 pursues the objective of providing new innovative products and services based on leading edge
technologies to minimize the overall energy consumption and environmental impact of the railway
system, to make this transportation mode healthier, more attractive and to provide resiliency against
climate change at a reduced total cost of ownership.

This Flagship Area should provide the following solutions:

37
• Developments oriented towards a more integrated and standardised Rail Power Smart Grid,
integrating greener energies, cutting peak of energy consumption and allowing for a better control
and management.
• Developments oriented towards a better energy management at station level (stations as energy
hubs) providing more intelligent and integrated control systems and allowing for a larger energy
flexibility and resilience of the Electrical Smart Grid.
• Technologies for a more sustainable and extreme hazard resilience design of railway
infrastructures and rolling stocks, oriented towards the whole life cycle of the assets and supported
by Digital Twin developments.
• Sector tools or platforms for the efficient implementation of circular economy solutions in the
railway sector (infrastructure, rolling stock and buildings) and for sharing and communicating of
accurate environmental data towards stakeholders.
• Guidelines for the design of modular stations according to size and uses.

One of the main risks associated with FA4 relates to the fact that the relevant technologies for
achieving sustainable and green rail system (e.g. hydrogen solutions, batteries, sustainable
construction technologies) are primarily developed by other industries and under partnerships other
than EU-Rail. This might cause difficulties in transferring these innovations directly to railways for
reasons such as the cost of technologies, incompatibilities of standards, or other technical constraints.

Some risks mentioned under FA3 are relevant for FA4 as well. This applies to the risk of having
extensive cost associated with the market uptake of final solutions due to missing business cases.
Siloed proposals for technologies, not considering overall value chain demonstration cases and the
integrated approach, might represent another issue.

Finally, long and costly homologation procedures for new assets, systems or technologies represents
another risk to achieving the objectives under this Flagship Area.

Subject to the grant agreement conclusion, 2023 will mark the start of the first EU-Rail Flagship
Project 4 implementing this Flagship Area. It will notably deliver the following by 2025/2026:

 Alternative energy solutions for the rolling stock at TRL6, covering:

o High performances Batteries Electric Multi-Unit (BEMU) train (reaching TRL6/7);
o Hydrogen hybrid trains with test of heavy-duty inspection vehicle and loco for freight-
passengers;
o Sub-urban catenary trains with on board Energy Storage Systems (ESS);
o Auto adaptive train energy consumption to various services situations;
 A holistic approach to energy in rail infrastructure (design, production, use and intelligent
management) at TRL6, covering:
o Rail Power Smart Grid in different systems as well as the integration of energy storage
solutions;
o Application of solutions for the production, storage and refuelling of hydrogen for
railway vehicles on the example of a prototype refuelling station;
 Sustainability and resilience of the rail system in a holistic approach to asset management,
delivering more value:
o Development of solutions and models for the reduction of noise and vibrations from
railway infrastructure and rolling stock and to predict the effect of degradation, of
maintenance and of noise perception (TRL6);
 Improvement of electro-mechanical components and sub-systems for the rolling stock, at
TRL6, covering:
o Technological solutions for the migration to the airless train: Electro-mechanical
braking system and novel electro-mechanical pantograph and suspensions;

38
 o Optimised motors and gearboxes, high performance bogies, suspensions and new
materials;
o Eco-friendly HVAC system technologies;
o Aerodynamic certification with experimental and numerical methods;
 Healthier and safer rail system, covering:
o Simulation tools for improving the air quality in trains, stations and tunnels (reaching
TRL7);
 Attractiveness, at TRL6, covering:
o Modular rolling stock interiors providing easy access (incl. PRM) and new
architectures for drivers’ cabin.

2.3.3.5 Flagship Area 5 (FA5): Sustainable Competitive Digital Green Rail Freight Services

The objective of FA5 is to make rail freight more attractive through increased capacity, e.g. with Digital
Automatic Coupler (DAC), which is enabling more functionalities in freight to increase network
capacity in a smart way for all types of rail freight transport, as well as significantly improved cross-
border operations and multimodal customer services. Increased capacity is the key factor to enable
a shift of transport volumes to rail, reducing substantially the related greenhouse gases emissions.

FA5 tackles the challenges by having two clusters which are interlinked but still distinct. The first one
is “full digital rail freight operations”. It is focused on increasing substantially the productivity, quality
and capacity of rail freight by applying digitalization and automation to all possible operational
functions and processes including innovative freight assets. The second cluster, “seamless rail freight”,
is focusing on important aspects to increase the efficiency of the immaterial (information/data) layer
of transport and to gain time and save costs by ensuring a seamless environment (between different
actors/countries/modes for planning/execution/management) in the long term, but also via short-
/medium-term achievements and quick wins.

One of the major risks to the objectives of FA5 is that unclear and changing business cases as well as
varying use-cases could lead to unwanted re-iterations in the development of innovations. Such
iterations may result in failure to achieve authorisation/certification and could lead to higher
investment costs.

In addition, the developments can be hindered by the lack of operational and technical information,
or by the unavailability of data from legacy systems being the starting point for European and
interoperable solutions. Another obstacle may take form of a delay in ERA’s authorisation process or
in the preparation of functional requirement specifications in order to meet TRL targets regarding
technical enablers.

The number of different systems to be connected and the complexity of the systems can pose a risk
to standardising and harmonising of processes, technologies and cross-border systems, which might
delay achieving of the objective of European interoperability of systems. High degree of Integration
with EU harmonized TMS real time data will be key for delivering expected outputs in rail freight
corridors as expected in the “seamless rail freight” workstream.

Finally, the migration from a brownfield environment and underestimation of the complexity of
adaptation may be a risk, especially if combined with missing operational rules and technical
regulations/standards.

Subject to the grant agreement conclusion, 2023 will mark the first steps of the first EU-Rail Flagship
Project 5 implementing this Flagship Area. will notably focus on two work-streams, and will deliver
the following:

39
WS1 Full digital Freight Train Operations with DAC as enabler for full digital freight train operation
deliver by 2025 the following demonstrators:
• European full digital freight train operations: (TRL 8-9) Large-scale demonstrator showing
full digital freight train operations based on DAC Type 4 (incl. energy supply &
data/communication solution and Type 5 upgradability, DAC wagon retrofitting and DAC –
Hybrid for locomotives) in different regions with several train sets under real operational
conditions including technical enablers described in scope section.
• European full digital freight train operations: (TRL 7) Proposals are expected to deliver
within the large scale demonstrator with a lower TRL level for technical solutions for parking
brake system, digital wagon inspection (including rolling stock and infrastructure assets), DAC
based telematic applications for customer requirements (goods monitoring) / for asset
performance management / CBM / for safety related applications, distributed power system
and electro-pneumatic brake.
• European full digital freight train operations: (TRL 8 – some functionalities at lower TRL, see
enabler section) Demonstration of Yard automation equipment, wagon identity system
allowing automated shunting, video gates and way side check points with visual recognition
and AI tools for yard automation.

WS2 Seamless Freight: with easy access and reliable (intermodal) transport service offering digital
solutions.
deliver by 2025 at least the following:
• Seamless freight corridor (TRL 5-8) The comprehensive innovations for planning and
operation of cross-border freight trains should be demonstrated on (parts of) two European
corridors. Freight specific pilot implementations of key enablers for intermodal predictions,
improved cross-border timetable planning, management and path ordering systems taking
into account also last mile service, as well as for real-time interaction between various TMS
(including yards/terminals). Digital technologies for standardized European Railway
checkpoints at borders or other operational stop points. Integrating and connecting the last
mile (accession lines/shunting/yards/ terminals) slot planning directly or via interfaces.
• Seamless multimodal freight (TRL5-8) Seamless planning, management and booking of
multimodal rail-based transport integrating multi-actors, should be demonstrated integrating
rail in modern supply chains. Improved routing engines more responsive to changing demand,
disruptions and customer requirements. This demonstrator will ease end customers to
interface with rail.

2.3.3.6 Flagship Area 6 (FA6): Regional rail services / Innovative rail services to revitalise
capillary lines

The overall objective of FA6 is to ensure long term viability of regional railways by decreasing the total
cost of ownership (TCO), in other words, cost per kilometre both in terms of operational expenditure
and capital expenditure, while offering a high quality of service and operational safety. In addition,
the aspired results aims to increase customer satisfaction and to become an attractive and preferred
choice of transport mode.

These goals are expected to be achieved through a concept tailored to regional railways that includes
digitalization, automation and utilization of mainstream and emerging technologies for signalling and
trackside components, rolling stock and customer information. Cost drivers including infrastructure
and energy components, e.g. trackside train detection (axle counters, etc.) and level crossing control
systems, should be replaced by less costly wireless and energy self-sufficient components. The
foreseen solutions include alignment with System Pillar CCS Reference Architecture, cost efficient
infrastructure and energy components, a light, flexible and modular vehicle concept as well as safety

40
and asset management. In addition, a passenger information system should be introduced, allowing
to benefit from the solutions available for mainline services while integrating data from regional
railways with other modes of transportation and local services, offering added value for customers.

Nevertheless, to enable suppliers to develop technologies at competitive costs and allow an effective
implementation and usage by the operators, several risks have to be taken into account, such as the
lack of standardization and harmonization, insufficient alignment with TSI-revision cycles, or
difficulties with adjusting technologies to specific needs of regional rail, hindering the expected
demonstrations and pilots.

In addition, the migration from a brownfield environment and underestimation of the complexity of
adaptation may be a risk, especially if combined with missing common operational rules and technical
regulations/standards.

Subject to the grant agreement conclusion, 2023 will mark the start of the first EU-Rail Flagship
Project 6 implementing this Flagship Area. It will notably deliver the following by 2025/2026:

Regional Railway System (CCS & Operations) Demonstration

• Demonstrate a single integrated Operations Control Center (OCC) covering interlocking, radio
blocking and traffic management for regional lines that are not functionally/operationally
connected with mainline (TRL 4/5)
• Demonstrate simple on-track radio network based on the findings in destination 2 related
with cost effective communications, supporting all FRMCS applications, minimizing civil works
and energy consumption, to the achievement of cost effective Gigabit Train, the use of public
network coverage and compatibility with main lines (TRL4/5)
• Demonstrate a specific application for Traffic Management Systems for regional lines
improving resilience of a connected rail network, optimizing train operations including
disturbing events taking into account high/low-demand situations (disturbance and
distraction) (TRL 4/5)

Assets Demonstration
• Demonstrate a systemic approach with the implementation of different railway assets in
particular for cost-efficient wireless, energy self-sufficient wayside components in particular
CCS track-side components (e.g. switches, level crossings) and if applicable for track vacancy
detections and signalling shall be evaluated and demonstrated (TRL4/5)

Suitable customer services

• Demonstrate cost-efficient integration of on-board information of multimodal services
integrating regional multimodal services such as carsharing (TRL4/5)
• Demonstrate passenger congestion rate monitoring, flow optimization application as well as
a low-cost passenger information system for regional services developed within this action
(TRL4/5)

2.3.3.7 Flagship Area 7 (FA7): Innovation on new approaches for guided transport modes

The objective of FA7 is to explore non-traditional and emerging flexible and/or high-speed guided
transport systems, as well as to create opportunities for innovators to bring forward ideas for shaping
those future systems via a scientific approach into an existing rail system. This shall provide socio-
economically efficient and long-term sustainable transport for citizens and businesses throughout
Europe. The main aspects for such systems are the reduction of energy consumption, noise and
pollutant emissions and land consumption, the use of sustainable raw materials and energy sources

41
and the sustainable use of existing infrastructures whilst ensuring utmost of accessibility and
inclusiveness for all user groups.

The vision under FA7 is to develop the next generation of railway transport systems as well as guided
transport systems based on a fully automated multi-modal mobility system for passengers and goods
which is sustainable, interconnected, digital, on-demand, standardised, scalable and suitable for all
transport modes. While FA7 is generally open to all innovation on new approaches for guided
transport modes, the focus will be on solutions which allow higher flexibility through multi-modality
such as a transition to intermodal-connected moving infrastructure by centrally coordinated,
innovative purpose-built vehicles and on ultra-high speed energy efficient and environmentally
friendly rail systems. The innovation in this Flagship Area are expected to operate on an Open
Platform, based on common standards and standardised interfaces, connecting all the transport
modes, and be able to provide disruptive Operation and Business Models.

New approaches foreseen under FA7, like moving infrastructures, Pods, magnetic levitation, air
levitation, and vacuum tube technique bring a lot of advantages and can be an important and possibly
unavoidable component of the mobility of the future. However, several risks are associated with their
deployment.

Firstly, a technological maturity is more difficult to be reached for such innovative systems compared
to the evolution of existing systems. One of the particular challenges will be the conversion of the
existing infrastructure of today's modes and railway mobility to above mentioned future solutions in
a more sustainable and non-burdening way for the national economies.

Secondly, a lot of gaps exist related to introduction and consolidation of legislation, as well as
standardisation, for FA7 innovative technologies and solutions. A delicate balance needs to be found
between having the technologies mature enough to define standards and regulations and setting up
a regulatory framework as soon as possible to ensure that the developments fit the required
legislation in matter of safety and to obtain the maximum compatibility, interoperability and
intermodality.

Finally, risks linked to the sustainable construction of intermodal transportation and/or robust
domestic or cross-border transportation lines need to be considered. These include, for example,
handling with many different legislative/administrative processes at national and European level, or
coping with the emerging climate changes when introducitng these new transportation modes.

Pending the resutls of the evalution for proposals submitted under the EU-Rail second call for proposal
2022, the following subjects are expected to be started with project activities in 2023:

- CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATED MULTI-MODAL MOBILITY-SYSTEMS (“MOVING

INFRASTRUCTURES”):
o WS1: Identification of Use Cases, Business Cases / CBA, operational concept
o WS2: “Moving infrastructure” vessel and the operation system
o WS3: “Moving infrastructure” carrier incl. locking system and handling system

- TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MAGLEV DERIVED SYSTEMS:

o WS1: Technical definitions
o WS2: Development of business case analysis, including feasibility studies and use
cases

- HYPERLOOP INDUSTRIAL ROADMAP AND PILOTS:

o WS1: Industrial Roadmap, including business case, in parallel to the regulatory
framework run by the European Commission
o WS2: Pave the way to proof of concept

42
2.3.3.8 Transversal Topic: Digital Enablers

On the path of becoming fully digital and connected, the rail system will be characterized by a complex
landscape comprising multiple heterogeneous enterprise-level mission-critical systems interacting
with a very large number of networked stationary and mobile devices and sensors, generating
requirements for new mechanisms to be embedded in the digital infrastructure.

Digitalisation is of major importance for all the Flagship Areas, hence it is organised as the Transversal
Topic (TT) to have all elements of the system playing together in a coherent and interoperable way.
The digital enablers from this work area – mainly the digital twins13, innovative processes enabled by
interoprable data sharing as including common data model (CDM) will serve various demonstrations
in the FAs.

The objective of the transversal topic on digital enablers will support the operational processes and
activities of the FAs by three aspects: firstly, the Digital Twins support by composition of reusable,
blackbox, compiled, digital interoperable model units of components, subsystems, executing in a
federated simulation runtime environment the DT to provide suitable analysis tools (e.g. root-cause
analysis). Secondly, the TT will develop and provide a Digital Twins Design toolbox (design-time) to
model development tools for design as well as for validation, verification and test; to model registry
and discovery services and to model Interoperability validation tools. Thirdly, the TT will provide a
Federated dataspace to feed digital twins in order to ensure a common Ontology, Identity and Trust
management, Federation Services, Data Assets registry and discovery services, Data Distribution
Services, Data stream management, cyber security etc.

There is a number of risks to the objective of enabling the fitting of individual digital twins in a joined
environment, such as the potential lack of consensus, alignment, access to data or interoperability of
systems. Thus, the risk exists that consolidation with other FAs will not be reached in time or in all
needed areas to a sufficient extent.

Additionally, a lack of an agreed framework on rights and obligations as well as governance associated
with use of a digital twin and federated data could hinder a proper usage of the developed digital
environment.

Another risk associated with digital twin development is finding right complexity as well as granularity
level. On one hand, creating a simple digital twin will mainly result in a digital model that cannot
accurately represent the real system. On the other hand, creating a too complex digital twin will
require substantial amount of work by orders of magnitude and can result in making it difficult to
understand, maintain and debug.

Finally, transversality as such is a risk. Requirements and functionalities need to be collected from the
FAs as well as the architecture developed in LinX4Rail (2019), and further developement in the System
Pillar needs to be considered. In addition requirements from different stakeholders and FAs need to
be accommodated and integrated. Besides the content related challenges, this represents an issue for
project management and governance.

Subject to the grant agreement conclusion, 2023 will mark the start of the first activities implementing
this Transversal Topic. Those activities have been integrated in the second work-stream of Flagship
Project 1. It will deliver the following:

Flagship Project 1, WS2: Digital Enablers

deliver by 2025 the following:

13 A digital twin is a virtual representation which is able to imitate the behaviour of a physical system during the span of its
lifecycle.

43
 • Connectors for Federated Data Spaces [TRL6]
• Common Domain Ontology, building upon S2R works on Conceptual Data Model (CDM) [TRL6]
• Digital Twin support, development and execution environment [TRL5]
• Common Domain Ontology/ Conceptual Data Model [TRL6]

2.3.3.9 Innovation Pillar specific objectives for 2023 and 2024

During 2023, the main objective is to ensure that all the R&I activities that were awarded in 2022 are
running as planned, in particular for the 6 Flagship Projects in view of their demonstrations in 2025
and preparatory research activities in 2026 for the next series of demonstrations. During 2024.
Research and innovation will have to continue at the same pace and, especially, any risk and
opportunity shall be duly managed to avoid jeopardizing the 2025 demos. The exercise conducted in
2022 of alignment between FPs and with the SPs should be operationalised and if needed corrections
will be made. In 2023 the first maturity checkpoints will be conducted for the Innovation Pillar Flagship
Projects (but also for the SP) with the objective to validate the maturity of the requirement
specifications for uses cases, technical solutions and future demonstrations.

Additionally, as part of the Innovation Pillar activities and objectives, the JU will implement the first
series of exploratory and other projects (comprising FA7 projects) that would look into disruptive
technologies or basic research possibly leading to future breakthrough innovation and further R&I
activities towards higher TRLs. The JU, based on the reporting to be provided by the actions on a yearly
basis, based on the maturity checkpoints outputs and on the continuous monitoring of the
performance of the projects, will decide on their continuation on the basis of agreed performance
indicators.

2.3.4 Exploratory Research and Other

The activities relate to the System and Innovation Pillars shall be complemented by blue sky research,
complementary research and other activities to ensure the successful implementation of the
Programme. This will require external professional and independent expertise, support and know-
how.

In this respect, a 2023 Call is planned to be launched in Q4 2023 and its content will be defined on the
input and advice following a large consultation process, starting at the General Assembly of the at the
end of November 2022, ERRAC, the Scientific Committee (or its successor, as established by the
Governing Board), the States Representatives Group, and also based on possible specific needs
identified by the ongoing actions, sector stakeholders or ERA.

The JU will also launch specific tenders to ensure effective Programme Management with sector
expertise but also involve associations of stakeholders not represented in the JU Governance.

The definition of the 2023 Call and the other activities may require the Executive Director to submit
an amended Work Programme to the Governing Board for adoption at the end of Q2 or early Q3.

Another transversal topic for the transformation of rail (freight) towards an automated and digitised
mode of transport is the continued management in 2023 and beyond of the so called European DAC
Delivery Programme (EDDP), established and enabled by Shift2Rail in September 2020. For
a successful and effective implementation of the Digital Automatic Coupler for European rail freight
(DAC), it is of crucial importance for EU-Rail to continue in the already implemented and active open,
close and efficient cooperation between railway undertakings, infrastructure managers and wagon
keepers, as well as the rail supply industry, entities in charge of maintenance, concerned sector

44
organisations, logistics operators, rail research centres and national and European political
institutions, as started in 2020.

2.3.5 S2R R&I Programme

All available budgetary appropriations of the former S2R JU were committed by the end of 2021,
before the entry into force of the SBA. EU-Rail will continue collecting the cash contributions to be
provided by the Members of the former S2R in accordance with the surviving provisions of the relevant
regulation.

During 2023, the work of the former S2R Programme will continue to perform with the objective to
achieve the foreseen last demonstrators and to phase out of the projects entering the final stages. It
is expected that the S2R Programme will end all its R&I activities within the timeframe of this work-
programme. These results will be essential inputs and constitute the baseline of the EU-Rail
Programme’s projects.

Annex IV, Table II provides the list of demonstrators and associated TRL levels expected in 2023. It is
expected that those demonstrators will be presented at InnoTrans 2024.

EU-Rail will supervise, where needed, the implementation of the S2R Projects to ensure their sound
management, in particular to assess their progress to achieve the defined targets and the transition
of results to the successor Programme, in line with the provisions of Article 31.5 of the grant
agreement.

The Programme structure organized by Innovation Programmes and Cross-Cutting Activities is

maintained to ensure that risks and opportunities are addressed properly, while the former ED
Programme Board used under the S2R JU is incorporated into the System and Innovation Programme
Board for EU-Rail.

The estimated amount of activities to be performed in 2023 is EUR 92.0 million in co-funding for the
ongoing projects and tenders.

The S2R R&I Programme implements the revised S2R MAAP adopted by the GB on 14 November 2019
which re-focuses and prioritizes research and innovation activities in line with the MAAP Part A: it
details which innovative solutions resulting from Technology Demonstrators (TDs) deliver the
Innovation Capabilities (ICs), more concretely captured in the Catalogue of Solutions. A 2022 edition
of the Catalogue of Solutions was presented by the JU at the InnoTrans 2022: https://rail-
research.europa.eu/publications/catalogue-of-solutions-2022-edition/

The TDs are organized in the following Innovation Programmes (IPs):

2.3.5.1 Innovation Programme 1 (IP1): Cost-efficient and reliable trains

The design of rolling stock plays a key role for the attractiveness of rail transport. Only trains that are
comfortable, reliable, affordable and accessible can convince passengers to use rail transport instead
of other modes. At the same time, the train design has to meet the requirements of the railway
undertakings and the urban operators, who are the main customers of the rail supply industry, in order
to deliver high quality and cost-efficient services to their customers.

If rail is to integrate more effectively with other modes and attract more passengers to further develop
its role as the backbone of multi-modal mobility in the future, it needs a future generation of
passenger trains that will be lighter, automated, more energy and cost-efficient, while at the same

45
time providing a comfortable, connected, reliable and affordable travel experience for all passengers
at a defined level of safety and security.

The S2R JU identified the following priority research and innovation areas in which activities should
be undertaken with a view to achieving the ambition of IP1:

• Traction (TD1.1)
• Train Control and Monitoring System (TD1.2)
• Carbodyshell (TD1.3)
• Running Gear (TD1.4)
• Brakes (TD1.5)
• Doors and Intelligent access systems (TD1.6)
• Train interiors (TD1.7)
• Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) (TD1.8) (which already ended its activities)

Important areas of attention are those concerning noise and human factors (covered by CCA, and this
IP has a significant contribution to make) and the link with the CCS system, in cooperation with IP2.

2.3.5.2 Innovation Programme 2 (IP2): Advanced traffic management and control

systems

Control, command and communication systems should go beyond being only a contributor to the
control and safe separation of trains, and become a flexible, real-time, intelligent, integrated and fully
automated traffic management system.

Although European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) has already become a worldwide
dominant solution for railway signalling and control systems, it has the potential to offer increased
functionalities and become even more competitive.

Current systems do not sufficiently take advantage of new technologies and practices, including use
of satellite positioning technologies, high-speed, high-capacity data and voice communications
systems, automation, as well as innovative real-time data collection, processing and communication
systems, which have the potential to move towards new traffic management concepts, thereby
delivering improved capacity, decreasing traction energy consumption and carbon emissions,
reducing operational costs, enhancing safety and security, and providing better customer information.

The S2R JU identified the following priority research and innovation areas in which activities should
be undertaken with a view to achieving the ambition of IP2:

• Smart, fail-safe communications and positioning systems (TD2.1 and TD2.4 and TD2.10)
• Automatic Train Operation (ATO) (TD 2.2)
• Moving block (MB) and train integrity (TD2.3 and TD2.5)
• Virtual testing and engineering rules (TD2.6 and TD2.7)
• Virtual coupling (TD2.8) (which already ended its activities)
• Traffic management optimisation (TD2.9)
• Cyber security (TD2.11)

Important areas of attention are those concerning human factors (covered by CCA, but this IP has
a significant contribution to make as well) and the link with shared train equipment, in cooperation
with IP1.

46
2.3.5.3 Innovation Programme 3 (IP3): Cost Efficient and Reliable High Capacity
Infrastructure

The design, construction, operation and maintenance of rail network infrastructure have to be safe,
reliable, supportive of customer needs, cost-effective and sustainable. In order to deliver the benefits
of market opening and interoperability and to reduce the life-cycle costs of rolling stock and on-board
signalling systems, the network diversity needs to be eliminated, notably through a migration towards
common high-performing infrastructure system architecture.

Activities that can support the reduction of infrastructure maintenance costs, such as simplified
procedures or automation, need to be led in priority. They should propose solutions that can be rapidly
and efficiently deployed. Furthermore, the infrastructures have to be managed in a more holistic and
intelligent way, using lean operational practices and smart technologies that can ultimately contribute
to improving the reliability and responsiveness of customer service, as well as the capacity and the
whole economics of rail transportation.

Compatibility between different elements of cross-modal transport infrastructure (such as multimodal

hubs charging points and stations) needs to be ensured and based on principles of interoperability
and standardisation.

The S2R JU identified the following priority research and innovation areas in which activities should
be undertaken with a view to achieving the ambition of IP3:

• New directions in switches and crossings (TD3.1 and TD3.2)

• Innovative track design and materials (TD3.3 and TD3.4)
• Cost effective Tunnel & Bridge solutions (TD 3.5)
• Intelligent system maintenance (TD3.6, TD 3.7 and TD 3.8)
• Energy efficiency (TD3.9 and TD3.10, this latter already ended its activities)
• Improved station concepts (TD3.11)

Important areas of attention are those concerning human factors (covered by CCA, but this IP has
a significant contribution to make as well).

2.3.5.4 Innovation Programme 4 (IP4): IT Solutions for attractive railway services

In order to become more attractive, rail must respond to customer needs to support seamless door-
to-door multimodal journeys encompassing different modes of transport. Rail must achieve
interoperability with other transport modes and mobility services, within different regions, cities and
across borders. In order to achieve this, rail needs to take due advantage of the ever growing
connectivity of people and objects, the availability of European Global Navigation Satellite System
(GNSS) based location and other means of localisation, the advances in cloud computing, Open Data
and Big Data Analytics and the wide dissemination of Internet and social media. Multimodal
integration will also take benefit from existing rail standards as FSM and TAP TSI.

To achieve it The IP4 ecosystem aims to integrate and make interoperable all possible transport modes
and travel services. In early stages of the program, modes such as rail, urban transport (metro, tram,
and buses) and airlines were integrated. Afterwards, the ecosystem was enlarged to include also
transport services that entail private cars (such as the use of toll roads and parking, which have an
associated price) and also shared modes (cars and bikes). Thereby multimodality and the use of public
transport are being fostered, and making it easier for travellers to connect with rail stations and
airports, regardless of where and how they start their journey. For the future, Demand Responsive

47
Transport and Ride Sharing will be included in the ecosystem to ease the access to everyone, even
those living in now well connected areas, to long distance trips.

IP4 Ecosystem has also evolved to implement at European Level the new Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)
paradigm, which considers the mobility system as a whole in order to achieve an optimal and
sustainable transport scheme. This way, the IP4 ecosystems facilitates the task to create formal
contracts that could involve the agreements, business rules and financial compensation that shall
occur between the different stakeholders when combining their services into a joint product. In the
future, this component will be evolved to be used also to create MaaS Packages that integrate a variety
of transport services that could include multiple Transport Service Providers.

The work of 6 TDs deadling with the IT framework, travel shopping, booking and ticketing , trip-tracker
and travel companion functionalities, as well as business analytics tools, is integrated in the integrated
TD 4.7.

2.3.5.5 Innovation Programme 5 (IP5): Technologies for sustainable and attractive

European rail freight

The cost competitiveness and the reliability of freight services need to be considerably improved if the
rail sector is to meet the ambitious objectives that were set in the Transport White Paper14 in terms
of developing rail freight; almost doubling the use of rail freight compared to 2005, achieving a shift
of 30% of road freight over 300 km to modes such as rail or waterborne transport by 2030, and more
than 50% by 2050. Rail freight must be in a position to offer a cost-effective, attractive service to
shippers, helping to take freight away from the already-congested road network, and becoming the
backbone of the Union inland integrated logistic system.

Different market segments with specific technical and operational characteristics and needs have to
be identified in order to direct research and innovation projects towards present and future market
needs. The first segment is the intermodal segment, which mainly relies on the use of
containers/trailer trains and where continued growth can be expected. Reliability, service
characteristics and cost competitiveness in this segment can progress significantly with an increase in
train length, better length utilisation, innovative rolling stock features for value-added services,
progress in the terminal operations, improved real-time customer information to customers and
better data exchange between involved parties in the intermodal transport chain using open
standards and specifications (including TAF TSI). A second market segment is the wagon load activity
segment (either Single Wagon Load (SWL) or Train Load (TL) services), which relies on the use of
specific freight wagon. The SWL services have significantly declined in the past years and its significant
growth potential can only be fully exploited if a step change is made in terms of service quality and
reliability. Solutions such as automated coupling and decoupling and tagging of all wagons with
automatically readable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, provide a huge potential to speed
up and reduce costs in train formation and to improve the overall performance of wagonload services.
An IT framework with high added value needs to be created for all topics described in this section. The
need of comodality/multimodality of freight mobility, i.e. the linkage to other freight modes, has to
be ensured.

During the past years, IP5 has re-prioritized its TDs. IP5 includes the following TDs. The TD5.5.3 ended
already its activities.

14 WHITE PAPER Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport
system /* COM/2011/144 final

48
 TD 5.1 TD 5.2 TD 5.3 TD 5.4 TD 5.5
New Freight Business analytics
Fleet Digitization Digital Transport Smart Freight
DB TRV CEIT BT Propulsion TRV & implementation
and Automation Management Wagon Concepts
Concepts strategies

TD 5.1.1 TD 5.2.1 TD 5.3.1 TD 5.4.1 TD 5.5.1

Impr. methods Last Mile Identification of
Condition based
DB TRV for timetable VVAC Running gear BT propulsion CFW market
maintenance
planning Systems segments

TD 5.1.2 TD 5.2.2 TD 5.3.2 TD 5.4.2 TD 5.5.2

Real time yard
Automatic Long Trains up
CAF DB mgmt & SWL VVAC Core market DB
to 1500m
CFW Development of
coupling wagon Specs and KPIs
syst.

TD 5.1.3 TD 5.2.3 TD 5.3.3 TD 5.4.3 TD 5.5.3

Real-time
Freight ATO / Freight Loco of
DB
DAS
TRV Network CFW Extended BT
the future CFW Migration Plan
Management market wagon

TD 5.2.4 TD 5.3.4 TD 5.4.4

Intelligent
Hybridization of
DB Video Gate CFW Telematics and DB
legacy shunters
Terminals electrification

Important areas of attention are those concerning human factors (covered by CCA, but this IP has
a significant contribution to make as well).

2.3.5.6 Cross-cutting themes and activities

In addition to the five Innovation Programmes, the work of R&I activities will include cross-cutting
activities (CCA) relevant to each of the different sub-systems and taking into account the interactions
between these sub-systems.

These CCA activities will ensure that the R&I activities within the different Innovation Programmes are
closely aligned in terms of their objectives and their requirements, as well as the methodologies for
evaluation and assessment of impacts. These activities include elements already taken into account in
the different Innovation Programmes that require horizontal coordination (such as energy and noise
management) and additional R&I that will be necessary to complement the technical work of the S2R
JU.

The S2R JU identified the following priority research and innovation areas in which activities should
be undertaken with a view to achieving the objectives of the CCA:

• Long-term needs and socio-economic research (which already ended its activities).
• Smart materials and processes (which already ended its activities).
• System integration, safety and interoperability (which already ended its activities).
• Energy and sustainability.
• Human capital (which already ended its activities).

Beyond the technical challenges addressed by IPs and CCA, the market uptake of innovative solutions
shall address barriers such as: product acceptance, development of specific business cases,
development of appropriate charging mechanisms, development of appropriate standards for
innovative products, etc.

49
 In addition to the concept underpinning the S2R JU that contributes to eliminating the aforementioned
barriers, the new solutions will be supported by cost-benefit analyses (CBA). The overall S2R JU
activities will embed, when applicable, suitable work to prepare for future technical
standardisation/regulation related to the proposed innovations.

2.3.5.7 IPx - System Architecture and Conceptual Data Model (CDM)

Since 2018 work started at the initiative of some Infrastructure Managers on the Reference Command
Control Signalling Architecture (RCA) and recently by some Railway Undertakings with an Open CCS
On-board Reference Architecture (OCORA). In addition, the S2R JU during 2019 launched its activities
related to the development of a Conceptual Data Model that will contribute to overcome “data” and
“systems” fragmentation with a view to produce a system of systems approach; this will bbecome the
standardized way for legacy and new systems to interact, ensuring their interoperability.

With the award of the Linx4Rail Project in 2019, the S2R JU has launched research and innovation
activities dedicated to an encompassing Functional System Architecture that cover safety and non-
safety aspects, bringing together the different railway subsystems with a modular approach, standard
interface between key functional components while preserving know-how and competitiveness.

This work results are incorporated and constitute the starting point of the activities of the System
Pillar in the Europe’s Rail integrated Programme.

2.3.6 Other risks

The risks related to the different components of the EU-Rail Programme, some of which are
mentioned in the previous Sections, will be subject to continuous reassessment, taking account of the
practical experience with the Flagship Areas, individual projects and tasks. Risk assessment at the level
of individual Flagship Projects is carried out within the standardized workflows that are part of the
grant management process.

In addition, the table below presents other relevant risks related to the management of projects, as
well as to the corporate management of the JU (such risks could also have indirect impact on
operational activities), together with the corresponding risk-mitigation actions. These risks were
identified as a result of a risk assessment exercise which was performed in the months of September
and October 2022. Within this exercise, current internal and external factors and developments having
influence on JU’s business were duly considered.

The table shows specifically those risks which require, due to their criticality, continuous attention and
treatment of the Executive Director and, where relevant, of the Governing Board.

Risk identified Action plan

Proposals of participants submitted in response to JU's - Continuous Programme monitoring will be

calls do not adequately reflect in the part providing the instrumental to assess the capacity to deliver the
foreseen budget of the action the current and future programme in the determined resources or anticipate
expected inflation rate. the need for prioritization and adjustments.

50
 Risk identified Action plan

Intrinsic to the EU-Rail Staff establishment plan and its - Once the actuall staffing according to the EU-Rail Staff
actual fulfillment, efficiency of operations is impacted by establishment plan is accomplished, the envisaged
extensive workload of JU's staff. In combination with positive effects on workload allocation and back-ups
high staff turnover, difficulties for the JU to attract new should become visible.
people, vacant positions might be filled with delays - Design/apply a replacement plan (back-ups) where
resulting in shortage of resources becoming critical possible.
especially during peak periods. Specific accumulation of - Within the current budget constraints,
tasks and activities following from the transition a career plan for staff has been prepared and business
between the two JUs and from launching of the new continuity is ensured.
Programme may also contribute to difficulties in getting - Enhancing of the overall planning of activities will allow
the work done in time and in the desired quality, for better personnel risk management.
deteriorating employees' motivation and, eventually, - Recruitment of short term resources (interim or
jeopardizing achievement of the JU's objectives. trainees) has been extended.
- Outsourcing of some activities, as applicable, making
use of existing Framework contracts or by executing
own procurements.
- Implementation of back office arrangements among
the JUs might decrease the EU-Rail's internal workload
in some areas.
- Introduction of a multi-annual learning and
development policy will be considered.
- 3 different projects have been organized since 2021 on
strategic support, workload, cultural aspects, and
coaching, with the objective to address internal issues
of work allocation, satisfaction at work, cultural
affiliation, wellness and wellbeing.
- While taking account of the pandemic situation and
the related measures and of the rules on hybrid
working, staff is encouraged to work onsite to
strenghten the team spirit and cohesion.
- Team-building activities are performed to the extent
possible.

Given the interdependencies of complementary R&I - Ensure, through adequate Programme management
projects, considering as well the start up of a complex strengthened monitoring and reporting of projects,
and integrated new Programme (including input/outputs including gate reviews, to determine whether specific
between System and Innovation Pillars), delays and actions need to be taken with regard to a specific
misalignments in the completion of activities may lead to project (re-orientation, early closure, etc.).
negative project cascading effects impacting Programme - Addressing during the GAP any possible alignment
outputs. issues between ongoing and future R&I activities.
- Follow the high-level interactions as detailed in the
MAWP.

The ambitions of the System Pillar sector/EU are not - Controls of requirements and appropriate
matched by the outcomes of EU-Rail Programme due to management of expectations.
the limitation in terms of available resources to cover the - Application of maturity check points.
related activities. This might negatively affect the image - Constant communication on outputs, focusing on
of the JU. concrete results that can be implemented taking into
account the legacy system, migraiton aspects, business
cases, etc.

51
 Risk identified Action plan

Breach of intellectual property rights due to - Communication by the JU about this risk towards the
unauthorised access and misuse of information related Commission.
to EU-Rail's Programme by contractors or subcontractors - Requesting the Commission for formal recognition of
of the Commission, such as service providers maintaining this risk and for confirmation that measures are/will be
the EC-owned IT tools/systems used for Programme applied at their side to mitigate this risk.
management purposes (SyGMa, Compass, Corda,
Cortex, etc.). Even though, if this risk materialized, the
primary responsibility would reside with the Commission
having the contractual relationship with the respective
contractor/subcontractor, the situation could have an
impact on EU-Rail as well, e.g. in terms of disruptions of
good relations with the respective JU's
member/beneficiary, or even financial and reputational
impact (stepping out from the project(s)/Programme,
litigation, etc.).

Due to deployment/application of diverse processes, - Continuous efforts to converge on common

methods and tools, the integration between the Flagship approaches.
Projects and the System Pillar could experience - Correct utilisation of System Pillar tools and processes
problems, including negative effects on inputs for for architecture and specifcation work.
specifcations and standards, and overall architecture. - Clearly defined IT framework.
Therefore, the effectiveness of management of the
Programme as a whole could suffer, eventually
jeopardizing achievement of the Programme objectives.

Unbalanced distribution of personnel and technical - Addressing the potential issues in the GAP phase of the
capacities of the participants to JU's R&I projects new EU-Rail projects.
between the ongoing ones (S2R Programme) and the - Ongoing monitoring of projects and actions and timely
new ones (EU-Rail Programme), e.g. due to unjustified reactions to identified issues at project/participant
preferences of the participant or overall lack of level.
capacities, might result in difficulties with parallel - Formal reminders sent for projects with delay of more
delivering of outcomes of the S2R/EU-Rail Programmes than 30 days.
and thus jeopardizing the JU's key objectives.

Vulnerablities in IT intrastructure or human - Microsoft Direct Access - VPN connection encryption

failures/omissions enabling unauthorized computer based on computer certificates.
network access or cyber-attacks may lead to - Two-way authentication for M365 and EU login.
compromising of data with potential financial losses - VLANs used for LAN segmentation/ separation
and/or reputational damage. Delays might also occur, minimizing attack/connectivity footprint.
e.g. if data relevant to day-to-day operations became - Secured guest Wifi, LAN-independent.
unavailable due to a successful ransomware attack. - Corporate Wifi secured with user authentication.
- Cyber testing with regard to the Cooperation Tool and
website.
- Computer disk encryption in place.
- Internet only for non-corporate devices on the wired
network.
- Lock, change user password remotely; inform the
mobile telephony provider; intunes security policy for
mobile phones.

52
 Risk identified Action plan

- Implementing the mitigation measures resulting from

the DPIA performed with regard to the migration to
Office365.
- Continuous awarenes-raising of JU's staff members
with regard to cyber security and protection of IT tools
and assets.
- Sharing of information with the staff about detected
actual phishing attempts (also from the EC or other EU
bodies) and providing advice on the appropriate way
of procedure in such cases.
- Joint ICT strategic plan for all JUs is in place which
foresees for 2023, i.a. the implementation of the EC
authentication method for the JU infrastructure and
the implementation of a new regulation for a close
cooperation with all EU bodies in terms of
cybersecurity and data protection.

Timely and qualitatively adequate execution of the daily - Increased frequency of meetings between the
Programme management activities may be jeopardized Executive Director and the Heads of Units to monitor
due to accumulation of tasks within the SyGMa/Compass the current status of workflows and possible delays.
workflows (GAP for the new projects in combination with - Increased intensity of the current status monitoring by
REPA for the existing projects). This could result, for the Heads of Units.
example, in late payment or late delivery of approval of - Temporary partial reassignemnt of tasks of some of
reports/deliverables, or even delaying the start of a the existing staff members to support the POs, FOs and
grant. LOs involved in the respective SyGMa/Compass
workflows.
- Potential deployment of temporary external resources
allowing POs, FOs and LOs involved in the respective
SyGMa/Compass workflows transferring some of their
clerical/administrative tasks to such temporary
external resources.

Failure to achieve the reuqirement of Article 13 of the - Utilisation of the flexibility that the SBA provisions
SBA, starting with the assessment of the cost provide regarding BOA so as to find the best possible
effectiveness of the possible services to be included in solutions with regard to their practical establishment.
the back office arrangements (BOA), may result in - Preparing a proper planning of implementation, with
a missed opportunity to achieve efficiencies. It may also efficient monitoring and regular meetings at
represent a non-compliance with the respective appropriate level (EDs, Heads of Units) to discuss the
provisions of the SBA with a negative impact on JU's modalities of BOA, including setting up the SLAs, with
reputation. In addition, the lack of clarity may negatively the support of DG BUDG and DG RTD (CIC).
impact the JU's staff in terms their motivation, should - Involvement of decision making bodies - first BOA
the BOA arrangements experience delays. suggestions were presented in GB meetings of all JUs
in June 2022, further written information to EU-Rail GB
was provided on 6 September 2022, further discussion
foreseen in the GB meeting to be held on 30 November
2022.
- Steering of the process and active guidance is ensured
by the Commission via DG RTD.

53
 Risk identified Action plan

- Early involvement of the respective EU-Rail staff

members who should participate in BOA in terms of
providing services to other JUs.
- Timely launch and execution of recruitment
procedures to hire additional EU-Rail staff for the
purposes of the accounting BOA.

Deficiencies in dissemination of results may develop in - The JU provided a series of guidelines to the projects
vague information to the end-user/interested parties and fostered the use of the H2020 instrument as the
and could compromise the intended JU's impact. That Common Dissemination Booster.
can also negatively impact the overall reputation of the - Proper planning and regular follow up at IPSteCo/SIWG
EU-Rail Programme. and within the projects' control gates.
- Demos at EU-Rail stand at InnoTrans and other
relevant events.
- Everytime possible, involvement of presence of high-
level EU/national (political) representatives in events
presenting EU-Rail's results.
- Communication via social media channels might be
expanded from providing general information about
EU-Rail to also reporting on results of individual
projects.
- Creating an overall dissemination communication plan
at JU-level including the possible handover to the JU of
communication activities of all projects.

Delay or lack of expected inputs from the Flagship - Continuous alignment and interaction between the
Projects into the continuous integration architecture System Pillar and the Innovation Pillar.
activities under the System Pillar. This would also impact - Involvement of the System Pillar steering group in the
the topic on the Standardisation and TSI input plan and grant agreements preparation phase.
the respective specifications that would accompany the
results of the plan. Eventually, effective implemantation
of EU-Rail Programme could be affected.

In March 2023, IAS confirmed to EU-Rail that their engagement planned to be carried out in the JU in
2023 will take form of a new in-depth risk assessment. EU-Rail will grant to IAS full cooperation in
exercising this assessment and will take advantage of its results so that duplication of efforts with
similar internal JU activities are avoided. Further details on the JU’s risk management are provided in
Section 2.6.6.

With regard to risks of fraud, a thorough assessment was performed in 2022 both at Research Family
level and individually by EU-Rail. The identified fraud risks were a starting point for drafting the new
EU-Rail Anti-Fraud Strategy for 2022-2025, and they are depicted in the JU’s comprehensive risk
register. In parallel to the separate attention paid to fraud risks and their mitigation via a dedicated
Anti-Fraud Strategy, their potential amendments will also be part of the ongoing general risk
assessment exercises.

54
2.3.7 Scientific priorities, challenges and expected impacts

The focus of EU-Rail’s Programme as per particular Tasks, Flagship Areas and the Transversal Topic is
presented in Sections 2.3.1, 2.3.2 and 2.3.3. Specific details on the scientific priorities are provided in
EU-Rail’s MAWP.

The most relevant challenges that the future rail system needs to address are defined in EU-Rail’s MP.

They can be grouped in several topics as follows:

• Changing customer requirements

Political, demographic, technological and market trends are changing the needs of passenger and
freight rail customers. These shifts, along with disruptive events like the COVID-19 pandemic,
require rail to be more flexible than in the past. A customer-centric rail system means offering
reliable services that are reactive to demand, adaptable to customer requests, and accessible for
all passengers alike.
• Need for improved performance and capacity
In order to deliver an overall more sustainable transport system, rail must be able to
accommodate increased demand. New infrastructure will be necessary in certain areas, but the
vast bulk of future increased capacity must leverage existing infrastructure, through a systemic
digitalization and automation of operations.
• High cost
Rail is currently often more expensive compared to other transport modes, in some cases
reflected on the intermediaries or passengers/users. To be more competitive and support future
increased usage, rail must deliver more cost-efficient solutions and services when compared to
the present day.
• Climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability
Rail is the most sustainable form of motorised transport. Increased use of rail is necessary to fulfil
the goal of introducing European climate-neutral mobility and transport. In addition, steps have
to be taken to further improve the climate and environmental footprint of rail itself (e.g. reduce
the noise). Rail services and networks must also become more resilient against the impacts of
climate change. In addition, attention will be focused, including re-prioritization, on areas of the
Programme that deal with energy efficiency to answer the ongoing specific crisis risking affecting
the overall performance of rail.
• Legacy systems and obsolescence
Rail system assets have very long lifecycles and are based on global and European requirements;
additionally, legacy national requirements still survive. The incompatibility of certain national
requirements between EU Member States in conjunction with long life cycles results in market
fragmentation, greater complexity in introducing new functions in a coordinated way, and in
a significant increase in costs. Rail must move to common European network with stronger
implementation of the objective of having an increasingly integrated Single European Rail Area,
and be more flexible to introduce and scale up new technological and operational solutions to
deliver new and improved client oriented services.
• Interaction with other modes
Rail networks, and the services associated to them, to a certain extent link well with other
transport modes. But such integration must be improved to better serve the needs of customers,
and to make rail a more attractive mode overall so that it can become central to future mobility.
• Increased competition
The European rail supply industry is world leading. However, it faces many challenges at global
level. Innovative solutions, conceived, designed, and developed jointly creating new products to
be deployed at European level are necessary to strengthen the competitiveness of the European
rail supply industry, including its SMEs, providing major opportunities for system integrated
solutions to be deployed at global level.

55
 By making efforts in addressing the above-mentioned challenges of rail, and by delivering its set
objectives, EU-Rail will strive for the following impacts:

• More flexibility and punctuality for passengers / freight

EU-Rail will support the delivery of much more flexible approaches to planning and traffic
management of rail services, allowing rail to better serve customer needs.
• Improved performance and capacity
Through the development of cutting edge technologies designed to be implemented across the
whole EU rail network, EU-Rail will help increase capacity and make best use of available assets.
• Reduced costs
EU-Rail outputs are expected to help improve the efficiency of the rail system and reduce overall
lifecycle costs, including on the less used lines.
• More sustainable transport
EU-Rail will contribute to a more sustainable transport and mobility system by enabling an increase
in the use of rail services, and improving the sustainability of the rail sector itself.
• Harmonised approach to evolution and greater adaptability
EU-Rail will support the sector in coordinating on a common evolution of the system, and a greater
harmonisation to support the delivery of the Single European Rail Area and improve the rate of
deployment of new technologies.
• Reinforced role for rail in European transport and mobility
EU-Rail work will support smart and cost-efficient rail connectivity, key to future sustainable
mobility systems, to deliver better services for passengers and freight.
• Improved EU rail supply industry competitiveness
Increasing the R&I intensity of the European rail supply industry will enhance its capacity to retain
its global leadership. By supporting the transformation of the current rail system into a central
transport mode of tomorrow’s European mobility, EU-Rail will build unique capabilities in the
European rail industry, supporting its position in global markets.

2.3.8 Calls for proposals

The below table summarizes the values of the operational activities planned in 2023 under
EU-Rail/Horizon Europe, including the different calls (in 2022 commitment appropriations):

Target
contribution
Maximum Indicative
Year 2023 and Value of the Non-funded s from
Type of call EU-Rail co- publication
2024 actions activities Members in
funding date
case of
award
Call for
Proposals–
Exploratory
Research (*) to
be launched Q4 Open 23.3 21.2 2.1 0 Q4
2023 and
activities
starting as from
Q2 2024

56
 Target
contribution
Maximum Indicative
Year 2023 and Value of the Non-funded s from
Type of call EU-Rail co- publication
2024 actions activities Members in
funding date
case of
award
Which includes
- Call for
Proposals – EU-
Rail SESAR
Synergy:
Integrated air
and rail
network
backbone for a
sustainable and
Open 7.1(**) 2.5(**) 0 0 Q4
energy-
efficient
multimodal
transport
system; to be
launched Q4
2023 and
activities
starting as from
Q2 2024

(*) The expected amount of non-funded activities (currently set at zero) will be further clarified
depending on the nature of technical activities associated to the call topics.
(**) Total EU-funding 5.000.000 EUR, of which 2.500.000 EUR by EU-Rail, 2.500.000 from SESAR.
Foreseen as Innovation Action with up to 70% funding.

In accordance with the SBA (recitals 10 and 12 and Article 5(2) c)), to achieve maximum impact, the
joint undertakings should develop close synergies with other Horizon Europe initiatives and other
Union programmes and funding instruments, particularly with those supporting the deployment of
innovative solutions. Following the identification of synergies between them, joint undertakings
should aim to determine budget shares which should be used for complementary or joint activities
between joint undertakings, in particular including by dedicating, where appropriate, a part of the
joint undertaking’s budget to joint calls. EU-Rail and SESAR3 Joint Undertakings will launch a joint call
“Integrated air and rail network backbone for a sustainable and energy-efficient multimodal transport
system” for a total of EUR 5,000,000 of co-funding and EUR 7.143.000 of total costs at 70% funding
rate with a fairly shared contribution between SESAR and EU-Rail (i.e.: EUR 2,500,000). The modalities
of this transfer will be detailed in an arrangement between both organisations.

In accordance with the SBA and HE, EU-Rail makes use of calls for tenders to implement the R&I
Programme, performing studies, seeking for professional support and expertise to the partnership,
and any other relevant activities requested by the Governing Board to complement other R&I
activities. For clarity, in line with previous years’ decisions of the Governing Board, these calls for
tenders are not intended to replace functions entrusted to the Programme Office although from the
pure accounting point of view, some costs are accountend in administrative lines of the general ledger.

57
2.3.8.1 Conditions of the calls and calls management rules

The EU-Rail 2023 Call will follow the rules of the European Union’s Horizon Europe framework
programme and in particular the Horizon Europe rules for participation 15 as well as the General
Annexes to the HE Work Programme 2023-2024, which apply, unless specified otherwise, to EU-Rail
calls for proposals.

Regarding admissibility conditions and related requirements, part A of the Horizon Europe Work
Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies with the following exception: The technical
description Part B of the project proposal should not be longer than 70 pages as described in the
application form template for CSA, RIA and IA topics.

Part B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies for general
eligibility conditions.

With regard to financial and operational capacity, part C of the Horizon Europe Work Programme
2023-2024 General Annexes applies.

Part D of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies regarding the
award criteria, scores and weighting upon which the proposals will be evaluated, with the following
addition:
- Under the criteria “Excellence”, “quality of the proposed joint activities to achieve the
deliverables”
- Under the criteria “Impact”, “quality and credibility of the action to contribute achieving the
EU-Rail Master Plan objectives and the expected impact of the EU-Rail Multi-Annual Work
Programme”.
- Under “quality and efficiency of the implementation”, “Appropriateness of the project
management structure and quality of the proposed coordination”.

With regard to the mandatory documents and annexes to be uploaded in the submission system, Part
E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies.

Part F of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies in regard as to the
type of the one-stage evaluation procedure and other aspects such as budget flexibility,
joint/coordinated calls, indicative timetables for evaluation and signature of the grant agreement(s)
and the evaluation review procedure if a complaint is submitted.

Part G of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies in regard to legal
and financial set-up of the grant agreements, which includes aspects such as starting date,
deliverables, form of grant, maximum grant amount and budget categories.

The standard funding rates of Horizon Europe will apply to the Call 2023. Where private Founding
Members of the EU-Rail would be awarded any activities as a result of the Call 2023, they shall provide
the necessary corresponding contributions in kind (IKOP and/or IKAA) in accordance with their invidual
letter of commitment.

Considering the lessons learned from the implementation of lump sum pilot since 2018, including
evaluation and first reporting periods, EU-Rail Calls for proposals will take the form of lump sums as
defined in Commission Decision https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf.

15 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52018PC0435

58
In order to facilitate the contribution to the achievement of EU-Rail objectives, the option regarding
'linked actions' of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement and the provisions therein, will be
enabled in the corresponding EU-Rail Grant Agreements. Complementarity between particular topics
will be specified within their scope in Annex VII of the Work Programme.

Considering the strategic interest of the expected outcomes of actions funded under this call, EU-Rail
JU reserves the right to object to transfers or licensing up to four years after the end of the action, in
accordance with the conditions set in Annex 5, Article 16 - Granting authority right to object to
transfers or licensing, and Article 18 – Specific rules for carrying out the action – Specific rules for JU
actions.

The outcomes of actions funded under this call are also expected to contribute to European or
international standards wherever possible (refer also to Art. 16 – Exploitation of results – in Annex 5
of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement). In this respect, the actions are also expected to
contribute to the development of EU policies and legislation (including Technical Specifications for
Interoperability and Common Safety Methods), System Pillar documents, and in this respect the
granting authority, the European Commission, European Union Agency for Railways and the other
bodies will require access to the relevant results (i.e. proposals for specifications, requirements, etc.)
in accordance with the provision of Annex 5 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement – Article
16 - Access rights for the granting authority, EU institutions, bodies, offices or agencies and national
authorities to results for policy purposes — Horizon Europe actions.

Regarding the dissemination obligations of the actions that will be funded under this call, considering
that the actions contribute in an integrated manner to the achievement of the EU-Rail objectives
established in the SBA and the Master Plan, there is a need to ensure that also the dissemination
activities - participation to fairs, mid-term and final events, social media, etc. – are consistent and
coherent with the EU-Rail Communication and Dissemination Strategy. Consequently, the actions shall
plan, design, coordinate and contribute to the EU-Rail Programme Communication and Dissemination
activities, in agreement with the Stakeholder Relations and Dissemination structure of the JU. This
additional exploitation obligation starts from the design of the dissemination and communication
activities in the proposal phase; it is established in accordance with Annex 5 art. 17 - Additional
dissemination obligations.

As regards private members and their constituent or affiliated entities established in third countries,
the interests of the Union and the joint undertaking on the grounds of security or public order should
be safeguarded. To that end, the JU should be able to request private members to take appropriate
measures. Such measures could include the appropriate handling of confidential information or
limitation of certain entities in specific operational activities of the private member as stated in recital
16 of Council Regulation 2021/2085.

2.3.8.2 List of countries entrusting the JU with national funds for the calls

During 2023 and 2024, EU-Rail is not expected to be entrusted by any country with national funds.

At this stage, the SRG has not provided any list of national projects that would allow the creation of
synergies between large national investments in rail, including those funded with Regional and
Cohesion resources, and EU-Rail projects.

2.3.8.3 Country specific eligibility rules

The conditions described in part B of the General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme
2023-2024 will be appliead by EU-Rail without exceptions.

59
2.3.9 Calls for tenders and other actions

In 2023, EU-Rail is planning to implement the following call for tenders within framework of the
MAWP:

Procurement Title Scope Indicative Indicative budget

procedure timetable (EUR)
(Q-
quarter)

Implementation Europe's Rail Implementation Q1-Q4 Specific contracts

framework System Pillar of a 6-year 2023 2023:
contracts for framework
services contract (3 lots) 10 000 000 per
following an year
open call for
tenders
procedure with
a total value (3
lots) of EUR 45
million.

`Other Project The Europe's Q4 2023 Contracts

procedures management Rail Joint renewal 2023:
provided for in Undertaking
the EU-Rail has launched in
Financial Rules 2022 a
900 000
procedure
provided in the
Financial Rules
for one or more
contract to set
up a dedicated
management
structure for
projects and
foster synergies
with other
programmes,
European,
national,
regional, etc.

Framework Strategic Implementation Q1 to Q4 1 000 000*

contract’s support to of a 4-year 2023
implementation the EU-Rail framework
and other contract (3 lots)
impact following an
assessments, EURail open call
evaluations, for tenders
foresight, procedure) a
total value (3

60
 Procurement Title Scope Indicative Indicative budget
procedure timetable (EUR)
(Q-
quarter)

analyses and lots) of EUR 3.3

studies million or use of
framework
contracts from
other
institutions or
agencies

Open Locomotive The objective of Q1 2024 3 000 000

Procedure fleet retrofit this tender is to
and obtain
engineering engineering
solutions for solutions for
DAC (and locomotives
ERTMS) retrofitting of
DAC (and
ERTMS) that
will support a
technical,
economical and
coordinated
feasible
deployment of
DAC

Total Value of 14 900 000

commitments
for 2023

* Whilst the System Pillar Framework provides the resource for the majority of the defined tasks within
the System Pillar, there are three identified horizontal support areas outside of the scope, which are
intended to be supported in the short term through this framework contract and LOT 1 Strategy Advice
in particular. The procurement budget is slightly increased to cover in 2023 the activities of
Standardisation and TSI Input planning, Programme Office and Economic Analysis.

Procurement Title Scope Indicative Indicative

procedure timetable budget
(Q- (EUR)
quarter)

Implementation Europe's Rail Implementation Q1- Specific

framework contracts System Pillar of a 6-year Q42024 contracts
for services framework 2024:
contract (3 lots)
following an 10 000 000
open call for per year

61
 Procurement Title Scope Indicative Indicative
procedure timetable budget
(Q- (EUR)
quarter)

tenders
procedure with
a total value (3
lots) of EUR 45
million.

`Other procedures Project The Europe's Q4 2024 Contracts

provided for in the management Rail Joint renewal
EU-Rail Financial Undertaking 2024:
Rules has launched in
2022 a
procedure
900 000
provided in the
Financial Rules
for one or more
contract to set
up a dedicated
management
structure for
projects and
foster synergies
with other
programmes,
European,
national,
regional, etc.

Framework Strategic Implementation Q1 to Q4 800 000

contract’s support to of a 4-year 2024
implementation the EU-Rail framework
and other contract (3 lots)
impact following an
assessments, EURail open call
evaluations, for tenders
foresight, procedure) a
analyses and total value (3
studies; lots) of EUR 3.3
subject to million or use of
the use of framework
the contract, contracts from
a new tender other
procedure institutions or
for a FwC for agencies
a similar
total value
EUR 3.3
million might

62
 Procurement Title Scope Indicative Indicative
procedure timetable budget
(Q- (EUR)
quarter)

be launched,
possibly with
other JUs, or
making use
of
Commission
FwC

Total Value of 11 700 000

commitments
for 2024

As already indicated, in accordance with the SBA and HE, EU-Rail makes use of calls for tenders to
implement the R&I Programme, performing studies, seeking for professional support and expertise to
the partnership, and any other relevant activities requested by the Governing Board to complement
other R&I activities. For clarity, in line with previous years’ decisions of the Governing Board, these
calls for tenders are not intend to replace functions entrusted to the Programme Office although from
the pure accounting point of view, some costs are accountend in administrative lines of the general
ledger.

Additionally, as part of other operational actions, the JU will setup in 2023 all needed elements to
successfully launch, during the first half of 2024, a call for expression of interest with a view to
selecting Associated members in accordance with Article 7 of the SBA, taking into account in particular
the new technological developments or the association of additional countries to Horizon Europe and
following an open and transparent procedure.

2.3.10 Follow-up activities linked to past calls: monitoring, evaluation and impact
assessment

Most of the S2R Programme ongoing projects governed by the Horizon 2020 rules, are getting to the
late stages of their lifecycle. The latest S2R projects are expected to be phased out between 2023 and
early 2024.

The ongoing projects are subject to continuous monitoring and evaluation to follow-up on their
progress and also to be able to deal with different elements which may influence a demonstration to
take place (e.g. necessary authorizations).

To manage the complexity of the EU-Rail Integrated Programme, the Flagship Projects will undergo a
monitoring stage gate as a check launched by the JU, described in the Governance and Process
Handbook16 chapter 7.4 called “Flasghip Project Maturity checkpoint”. This will enable a clear status
to be reached before proceeding to the next phase and facilitate consistency across and interaction
between the Flagship Areas, but also with the System Pillar (which is also expected to undergo a similar
process).

16 https://rail-research.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EU-Rail-Governance-and-Process-Handbook.pdf

63
Table I of Annex IV presents the current impact assessment of ongoing projects using the set of KPIs
originally defined for the S2R Programme:

• a 50 % reduction of the life-cycle cost of the railway transport system, through a reduction of
the costs of developing, maintaining, operating and renewing infrastructure and rolling stock,
as well as through increased energy efficiency;
• a 100 % increase in the capacity of the railway transport system, to meet increased demand
for passenger and freight railway services;
• a 50 % increase in the reliability and punctuality of rail services (measured as a 50 % decrease
in unreliability and late arrivals).

These indicators were designed as a monitoring tool to ensure that the S2R Programme research and
innovation activities contribute to achieving them as far as possible.

In addition, these originally identified KPIs are dependent on segments and implementation in
a situation that is evolving with the evolution of the research and innovation. Hence, the impact
introduced by the results of the S2R Programme might be less visible as many of the technological
components developed in critical areas of the Programme do not wait for the final project end to be
deployed, but they are already introduced in the successive release of products.

It appears clearly from the Table I of Annex IV that the S2R Programme has performed its activities
substantially contributing to the targets and, consequently, setting an opportunity for the future
deployment of innovative solutions making rail more competitive, resilient and reliable.

The current overview of demonstrators for S2R projects with a Technology Readiness Level (TRL)
reaching at least value 6 (=technology demonstrated in relevant environment), is displayed in Table II
of Annex IV, together with the provisional planning for test end.

The specific details on how the outputs and achievements of the past or ongoing Shift2Rail projects
will be applied for EU-Rail’s research and innovation are provided per each Flagship Area and the
Transversal Topic in the MAWP.

2.3.11 Cooperation, synergies and cross-cutting themes and activities

EU-Rail will strive for maximising its impact using also synergies with other European, national and
regional programmes and activities. Beyond the involvement in the overall coordination of Horizon
Europe, the JU will in particular focus on capturing synergies across the following:

Synergies within the “Climate, Energy and Mobility” cluster: EU-Rail will reach out to other mobility
JUs with the aim to build, where possible, consistent projects and demonstrators for climate neutral
mobility solutions. This may also address shared areas of intervention such as multi-modal transport,
automation in vehicles and other assets, decarbonisation, use of alternative fuels, etc. In particular,
specific coordination with the European Partnership for Clean Hydrogen, as well as with the Battery
co-programmed partnership appear to be of key relevance.

Synergies with the “Digital, Industry and Space” cluster: Considering the key challenges related to
the digital transformation of rail, there are major expectations on how this cluster would be
contributing with rail-critical applications. Artificial intelligence, cyber-security and high-performance
computing are cross sectoral issues that require deep coordination especially for the development of
use cases and the application of European standards. In addition, European space policy appears to
be of key relevance, considering the ambition to introduce more and more satellite-based solutions
for localization or data transmission. Here also synergies with EUSPA will be continued building upon
the past experience.

64
Synergies with the Co-Programmed Partnership on AI, Data and Robotics, which could support access
to such technologies and relevant industrial partners and developers will be considered in the
implementation of this Work Programme. Additionally, inspection and maintenance was one of the 4
priority areas defined under the robotics PPP, so there is knowledge to build on, notably project RIMA,
the network of Digital Innovation Hubs for I&M. In addition, EU-Rail will ensure the collaboration with
the ongoing 5Grail Project in relation to FRMCS, which constitutes one of the enabler of rail
digitalization and automation.

Synergies with EU Missions: EU-Rail will explore joint activities with the Climate-Neutral and Smart
Cities Mission contributing to comprehensive climate-neutral and smart urban mobility solutions.
Single ticketing and smart transport hubs integrating sub-urban and long-distance passenger and
freight rail traffic with urban mobility are possible areas of collaboration.

Coherence and synergies in relation to major national (sectoral) policies, programmes and activities:
It is estimated that around 15% of the EU stimulus package called Recovery and Resilience Facility -
RRF- will be invested in different areas of rail national systems. There is a need to ensure maximum
levels of complementarity and impact, including focusing on future-proof investments. This will
require to leverage local, regional and national investments to complement the research and
innovation activities performed at EU-Rail level and vice versa. In this respect, the States
Representatives Group is expected to play a key role.

In carrying out its activities, EU-Rail seeks to establish the necessary international connections in
relation to rail research and innovation, in line with the Commission priorities. In this respect, the JU
will cooperate with third countries and/or international organisations, in particular to contribute to
the competitiveness of the European rail industry at global level.

EU-Rail will continue the cooperation started by S2R JU with a number of key international partners,
such as FRA, APTA, FTA in the US, CUTRIC (CA), Gulf Countries and India. In line with the policy priority
of the Commission in terms of rail international relations, it is also expected that exchanges will take
place with ASEAN, Australia, Japan and Mexico.

The collaboration with the EU neighbouring countries, in particular Western Balkans, will continue
with the aim to further explore the opportunities for joint activities and large scale demonstrations.

2.4 Support to Operations of EU-Rail in 2023

2.4.1 Communication, dissemination and exploitation

Communication

In order to ensure strong engagement from a wide range of stakeholders, communication must be
truly integrated into the overall framework of the EU-Rail Programme and it is intrinsically related to
the level of engagement with the membership, the rail sector and its stakeholders.

Following the identification of the communication objectives performed jointly with the Founding
Members, a new JU Stakeholder Relations, Dissemination & Communication Strategy for 2022-2027
was endorsed end of June 2022.

The Communication activities for 2023 will continue to ensure the mission and objectives, including
the new System Pillar and the Deployment Group as well as the new corporate and visual identity of
the new partnership are communicated and understood widely.

65
Ensuring that the objectives of the new Programme are well understood by the community is
fundamental to have the necessary buying in to prepare since the beginning for the future deployment
of results. Actions in this area aim to support and demonstrate the added value of the ongoing R&I
activities as well as to inform on the new Calls for Proposals and the projects resulting from the Calls.

A stakeholders’ analysis exercise will confirm the existing audiences for EU-Rail and identify new
potential partners who will be invited to join the EU-Rail community, based on the Multi Annual Work
Programme and on other JU’s aims in terms of cooperation and synergies, as presented in Section
2.3.11.

A major point of attention in communication activities will be the need to ensure the involvement of
stakeholders from the entire rail value chain, including actors from outside the traditional rail sector.
This will be achieved through organisation and participation to a number of new events, amongst
other communication activities.

EU-Rail communication activities aims to:

 Continue to raise awareness about the JU among key stakeholders across Europe from the
rail sector and beyond, given the ambition of a better integration of rail with other transport
modes for both passengers and freight managers, and the need to establish bridges with other
thematic areas and sectors as identified in the EU Green Deal.
 Support and promote the recognition of the JU’s results at global level with regard to its
contribution to the competitiveness of the European railway industry.
 Promote stakeholder engagement along and across the value chain in order to facilitate
cooperation and knowledge exchange. This objective will require the organisation of fora and
conferences on specific topics stemming from the new key priority areas and adaptation of key
messages to each stakeholder.
Both of the two aforementioned objectives will require close work with different stakeholders and
their associations.
 Promote the JU within the EU Institutional arena. This objective consists of maintaining and
further developing political support for EU-Rail from the EU institutions and EU Member States
through the promotion of the JU, its objectives and achievements. Target audiences for this
objective include the European Parliament and/or the Council (with particular attention to the
rotating presidencies) and policymakers in EU Member States, the Committee of the Regions, the
European Economic and Social Committee and other EU bodies, such as the European Union
Agency for Railways (ERA), the European Environmental Agency (EEA) and other Joint
Undertakings. This objective might require the organisation of events inside the European
Parliament, participation in visibility events such as exhibitions, Open Days, and the production of
publications and presentations of key achievements. It is essential to maintain efficient
communication channels with DG MOVE and DG RTD and explore all possible collaboration with
other DGs, EU Agencies and bodies (ERA, other JUs) where appropriate to further increase
synergies between EU policy areas and rail transport. EU-Rail will also build synergies with other
transport focused Joint Undertakings through joint initiatives to further reinforce the collaborative
message.
 Lead a coherent dissemination strategy regarding projects’ activities and achievements,
notably via coordinating web, documents and event management of the projects, and their
presence on the EU-Rail website as well as providing information to projects on Horizon Europe
dissemination tools. This will include assisting the projects to disseminate their results through
the JU’s newsletter and social media channels and providing guidelines to the projects on issuing
coherent communication products and activities in line with the JU’s corporate branding and
messages.

66
  Pro-actively publish communication material with regard to external events and meetings
related to the EU-Rail. A broad dissemination of factsheets, leaflets, reports and brochures will
enhance the visibility of the JU towards other stakeholders, including the general public.
 Establish and develop a network of press and media contacts in order to achieve
considerable visibility in both specialised and general media. This network could be useful to
provide visibility to the publication of press releases and specific articles related to EU-Rail’s
activities.
 Manage and revamp the EU-Rail website (streamlining key success stories coming from the
programme and improving the overall user-friendliness), continue publishing the newsletters,
mailshots, various publications and animate the social media platforms in order to stimulate the
public interaction on key issues and improve public awareness on the JU’s activities. To that effect,
bi-annual meetings will be set-up with the Communication Officers of the Founding Members and
other key Partners to identify joint communication activities and channelsand to elaborate and
create synergies on the presence of the JU at major events as well as agree on common practices
regarding the dissemination of project results.

Further to the above, EU-Rail relies on key multipliers:

 JU Founding Members, including JU project coordinators, corporate Communication

managers and project participants, who will communicate the success of the JU to various
audiences;
 ERRAC members, including policy makers and decision-makers;
 Members of the Scientific Committee (SC);
 Local stakeholders;
 Members of the States Representatives Group (SRG);
 Wider stakeholders reached through EU-Rail Information days and online channels Global
stakeholders present at key events, within and outside the Union;
 European railway associations, including those in relation to passengers and staff;
 Rail trade media;
 EU-Rail staff acting as ambassadors.

The implementation of the communication activities will continue to be supported through

a framework contract established with communication agencies as well as through inter-institutional
framework contracts put in place by the European Commission. EU-Rail has established a joint
framework contract for communication services together with two other JUs. The services include
editorial support, events management, digital communication and website support.

Dissemination

Dissemination of project results will be enhanced. A dedicated Teams platform will be set up for
projects to communicate results to the JU and stimulate exchanges between projects. The results of
the ongoing activities and of projects/tenders will be disseminated by EU-Rail via its website (the
platform for Railway R&I), press releases, newsletters, mailshots, presentations at internal (EC,
Governing Board, Scientific Committee, States Representatives Group, System and Innovation
Programme Board) and external (conferences, trade fairs, Info days, dedicated Innovation Days etc.)
stakeholder events, rail press and through social media.

EU-Rail will continue to participate to the different working groups established by the European
Commission on dissemination and exploitation activities, to ensure that R&I results are integrated
with the overall work performed in the rest of Horizon Europe and, where appropriate, in the ERA
activities. It is important to remind that access to information should be always driven by two
principles: the need to be able to track and have access to all past information, while at the same time
creating opportunities for further dissemination.

67
An internal task force has been set up to take stock and expand communication activities related to
the dissemination of project results, taking into consideration the best possible way to exploit the
innovative solutions developed under S2R and the future solutions coming from EU-Rail. The task force
will issue guidelines for projects to lead a coherent communication campaign at project level, ensuring
optimal dissemination of EU-Rail funded R&I. A cross check of main events at European level and
beyond will be undertaken to best advise projects on opportunities for communication at relevant
events. Synergies with the current Programme activities on dissemination will be sought, with
respective roles and responsibilities, objectives, timeframe and Key Performance Indicators.
A template for dissemination actions will be created and communicated to the Projects.

The main events, where EU-Rail will showcase its results in 20232, are the the annual EU-Rail
Innovation Days in December, EU-Rail/ERA/EUSPA joint event (Stockholm, March tbc). Participation
to external events is foreseen at the UIC World Congress on High-Speed Rail (Marrakesh, 7-10 March),
and the UITP Global Transport Summit (Barcelona, 4-7 June). Other probable participations of EU-Rail
include the SIFER in March, the 8th Railway Forum 2023 in September, the UIC – Second African Digital
Rail Congress in October, ExpoFerroviaria in October, World Passenger Festival in October, or Rail Live
in November

During 2024, TRA and InnoTrans will be the major events where EU-Rail will showcase its
achievements.

Internal communications will be in the focus, with the development of a creative Teams environment
to boost the flow of information within the staff. Team buildings will take place twice this year and
regular team meetings will continue to take place weekly.

Exploitation

Although S2R Programme has already contributed to shortening of the innovation cycle in rail via an
integrated research and innovation programme, EU-Rail is expected to accelerate further the
introduction of innovative solutions. In order to deploy novel solutions, the sector needs to move
towards new ways of working enabling the transformation of rail as one European integrated system.

Only via a coordinated and integrated deployment of system integrated solutions can rail reap the
benefits of the investments made, accelerate its transformation and deliver new services to its clients.

In the past years, the deployment of innovative solutions has too often resulted in a patchwork
system, where the intrinsic benefits of investments were lost and even resulted in additional costs as,
in many cases, such solutions have been deployed as additional layers to existing systems. This
resulted in an increase in the maintenance costs, in additional complexities, in a lack of trust in the
new solutions and, de facto, has anchored Europe rail systems to their legacy, missing the opportunity
for a major transformation.

There is a clear and shared sector vision that accelerating the deployment of future technological and
operational solutions requires decisions that will shape also the execution of the future EU-Rail
projects and a different approach: where the introduction of innovative solutions has a clear impact
on rail in its systemic nature, deployment shall be coordinated and consistent to accelerate the return
on investment and phase out legacy products. This new way of working shall be based on more
flexibility and adaptability to user needs, creating solutions much more focused on prototyping and
large scale demonstrations, and increased collaboration integrating new entrants, leading to a shorter
innovation cycle and delivering impactful results.

Basic considerations regarding exploitation and deployment of results of R&I activities as per each
Flagship Area and the Transversal Topic are included in EU-Rail’s MAWP.

68
In terms of the market uptake of the future rail R&I solutions and their deployment, the SBA foresees
an important role of the Deployment Group as an advisory body to the Governing Board. Its tasks are
detailed in Section 2.5.6.

2.4.2 Procurement and contracts

In order to reach its objectives and adequately support its operations and infrastructures, EU-Rail will
allocate funds to procure the necessary services and supplies. In order to make procurement and
contract management as effective and cost‐efficient as possible, EU-Rail makes use of Service Level
Agreements (SLAs) concluded with relevant Commission Services and inter-institutional framework
contracts (FWCs) available to them.

In 2023 and 2024, EU-Rail foresees to run several procurement procedures for middle or low-value
contracts17, to implement existing FWCs and to select individual external experts based on a call for
expression of interest (CEI).

In accordance with the SBA (see section 2.4.3) and the back office arrangements, EU-Rail will continue
to develop synergies and efficiencies in procurement related activities with other Joint Undertakings.

Title Indicative Type of procedure Indicative

budget (EUR) schedule (Q-
quarter)
Communication and 300,000 Middle or low-value contracts or Q1 to Q4
event services and specific contracts/order forms 2023
supplies implementing a FWC
Subscriptions to journals 10,000 Negotiated procedure for low- Yearly
& periodicals value contracts
Assistance and support 50,000 Ad-hoc expert contracts, not for Q1 to Q4
of external experts call evaluation nor review, based 2023
on a CEI
Basic Office Furniture <15,000 Specific Contracts/order forms Q1 to Q4
implementing a FWC 2023
Catering services 35,000 Low-value contracts or specific Q1 to Q4
Contracts/order forms 2023, expected
implementing a FWC to be performed
as part of the
BOA SLA
IT support and supplies 150,000 Specific Contracts/order forms Q1 to Q4
implementing a FWC or 2023, expected
Negociated procedure for to be performed
middle or low value contract as part of the
BOA SLA
Team Building and 20,000 Negociated procedure for low Q1 to Q4
Training value contract or Specific 2023, expected
Contracts/order forms to be performed
implementing a FWC as part of the
BOA SLA and or
DG HR Fwk
Contracts

17 In accordance with Article 43(2) of the EU-Rail’s Financial Rules, for contracts with a value between EUR 60 000 and the
thresholds laid down in Article 175 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 the procedures set out in Section 2 of Chapter
1 Annex I to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 for contracts with a value not exceeding EUR 60 000 may be used.

69
 Title Indicative Type of procedure Indicative
budget (EUR) schedule (Q-
quarter)
Finance and audit 25,000 Specific Contracts/order forms Q1 to Q4
implementing a FWC 2023
Legal Assistance 50,000 Specific Contracts/order forms Q1 to Q4
implementing a FWC 2023
Implementation of the 50.000€ / year Implementation of a Framework Q3 to Q4 2023,
Back Office out of the FwC contract expected to be
Arrangements (BOA) for all JUs External accounting support (lot performed as
1) and Annual Accounts Audits part of the BOA
estimated at
(lot 2) for 10 JUs and for 6 years SLA
440 000 EUR duration
year

This list shall not be considered exhaustive and other procurement procedures may need to be
launched within the budgetary limits approved by the EU-Rail Governing Board and the budget
flexibility clause. The Executive Director shall report to the Governing Board about the procedures put
in place as part of the CAAR 2023 and 2024 respectively.

2.4.3 Other supporting operations

As indicated in the SBA, potential synergies and efficiencies with other Joint Undertakings could be
gained through the set-up of back office arrangements between the European Institutional
partnerships in areas such as HR legal, IT, communication, accounting, audit and anti-fraud strategy
and logistics/events/room management. Joint undertakings shall, within one year following the date
of entry into force of the SBA, operate back office arrangements by concluding service level
agreements, subject to the need to guarantee an equivalent level of protection of the Union’s financial
interest when entrusting budgetary implementation tasks to joint undertakings. Such arrangements
are subject to confirmation of viability and following screening of resources.

Taking also account of guidance received from the Director-General of DG RTD, including general and
specific principles and generic design options for service provision, the JUs’ Executive Directors have
already started working together on particular solutions regarding the back office arrangements, in
accordace with Article 13 of the SBA. These first solutions were presented to the JUs’ Governing
Boards in their meetings held in June 2022 and finally endorsed at the GB meetings at the end of the
year 2022. In particular, EU-Rail suggested to take the role of Lead JU for the back office arrangements
for the accounting services of the JUs, with 3 JUs acting as accounting service providers (EU-Rail, CA
JU, SESAR JU). During 2023, the implementation of the BOA IT, HR and Procurement is expected to
reach full speed, based on the specific models defined in each respective SLA.

2.4.3.1 IT activities

EU-Rail has implemented common ICT tools designed and offered by the European Commission on
the financial management, human resources management and HE call management. These tools are
updated and maintained on a regular basis by the EC; they require continuous input from the side of
the JU, on the one hand, in terms of future developments to meet the expectations of the partnership
and, on the other hand, to correct mistakes. To be noted that at the moment of the preparation of
this Work Programme, the JUs seem not to benefit from all the features available, increasing the need

70
for manual interventions and ad hoc solutions. One of the key examples is that, with the lump sum
grants, the submission of financial data for budget proposals is still done via Excel tables.

Since 2018, the JU has implemented ARES (EC document management system) in order to streamline
document flow as well as to ensure their proper archiving and registration, then implemented SYSPER
for staff administration in 2019 and also implemented SYSTAL to manage the staff recruitment,
thereby leveraging on the existing EC infrastructure and processes. EU-Rail makes use of the trainings
dedicated to the applications offered by the EC (including the ones used in Programme management,
most importantly Compass/SyGMa), to assure their correct usage and implementation by its staff.

EU-Rail shares its ICT infrastructure with other Joint Undertakings located in the White Atrium
building. In order to provide an improved security, availability of the systems and staff mobility, the
physical infrastructure was virtualized in 2017 to a private cloud platform. Since 2019, this service falls
under the inter-agency cloud framework contract led by EFSA in Parma. Another example of
collaboration is the tool for the management of the GDPR Register which EU-Rail has procured also
on behalf of the other JUs and which has been in use since 2020.

EU-Rail collaborates with the other JUs in synergy under a joint strategic ICT plan. This plan includes
for 2023 the transition to the new contract for ICT managed services for which a call for tenders was
launched in 2022; the implementation of the EC authentication method for the JU infrastructure; the
implementation of a new regulation for a close cooperation with all EU bodies in terms of
cybersecurity and data protection; the implementation of a bridge between M365 and the EC
document management system; and the setup of a second fully featured videoconference system in
common meeting rooms.

With the implementation as from 2023 of the BOA ICT, it is expected that one lead JU will take
responsibility for the provision of ICT services to all other JUs based on a catalogue of common services
agreed in the respective SLA. ICT solutions needed specifically for the EU-Rail Programme
implementation, e.g. the system engineering tool, will be acquired and/or developed individually,
while the interest of other JUs to join such activities will always be explored.

Following the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) conducted in 2020, the JUs started to migrate
to Microsoft cloud services (M365) in 2021, to deliver an improved collaborative environment in
combination with an even higher level of ICT security. EU-Rail finalized the migration to M365 in 2022
and started an initiative for 2023-2024 to simplify, modernise and digitalise processes and ways of
working to increase efficiency, using the newly deployed M365 features.

2.4.3.2 Data protection

As regards the processing of personal data, EU-Rail applies Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of 23 October
201818, which entered into force on 11 December 2018.

The role of the Data Protection Officer (DPO) is exercised by the EU-Rail’s Chief Legal Officer assisted
by an external contractor since early 2021.

EU-Rail, as a controller, maintains a record of processing activities under its responsibility in a central
register (GDPR central) and makes this register publicly accessible. In addition, EU-Rail takes
appropriate measures to provide transparent information, communication and modalities for the
exercise of the rights of the data subject. A collection of privacy notices for each specific processing

18 Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of
natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies
and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC.

71
operation is available in the EU-Rail website. More information is available on the EU-Rail data
protection and legal notices pages19.

In accordance with the SBA (see section 2.4.3) and the back office arrangements, EU-Rail will continue
to develop synergies and efficiencies in data protection related activities with other Joint
Undertakings.

2.4.3.3 Accounting

The European Commission’s Accrual Based Accounting system (ABAC) has been rolled out in the JU in
2016 and is used for accounting purposes.

EU-Rail implements its financial rules which define, inter alia, powers and responsibility of EU-Rail’s
Accounting Officer. They also make an explicit reference to the possibility that this function could be
attributed to the Accounting Officer of the EC, and such option was effectively utilised by the JU.

However, in October 2021 DG BUDG announced the intention to terminate their role of the
Accounting Officer of the JU, now confirmed to be effective as of 1 December 2022, except for the
treasury function. The resulting situation is expected to be tackled by applying the back office
arrangements solution for the accounting function of the JUs. In fact, within this solution, EU-Rail will
perform the role of the Lead JU and will also, being one of the respective three JUs, act in the role of
the accounting service provider.

2.4.4 Human resources

2.4.4.1 HR management

In 2023 and 2024, EU-Rail shall be staffed with 29 staff members including 2 Seconded National
Experts (SNEs). In line with the Establishment Plan, recruitment procedures were launched in 2022 in
order to recruit the additional staff members. Where needed, the JU will make recourse to Interim
Staff while the recruitment processes are completed or in case of specific and temporary peaks of
activities. In addition to statutory staff members and the SNE’s already in place, EU-Rail will also make
use of the European Commission’s Bluebook to hire trainees and for the first time will welcome non-
bluebook trainee in the framework of the decision adopted by the Governing Board in 2020 prior to
the COVID-19 pandemic. Further details are provided in the Staff Establishment Plan in the following
Section.

In the upcoming period, the EU-Rail HR function will continue to ensure ongoing improvement of all
HR processes and to develop its internal guidelines, policies and its legal framework, paying particular
attention to how EU Staff Regulations’ Implementing Rules shall apply to the JU’s particularities (in
accordance with Article 110 of the EU Staff Regulations).

Annual appraisal and reclassification exercises will be set up by HR within the limits of the Staff
Establishment Plan and the EU-Rail Financial Rules.

A new staff survey will take place in 2023 with a view to assess the evolution compared to the results
of the previous one.

Further to the adoption of the new decision on working time and hybrid working, EU-Rail will strive
on an continuous basis for ensuring a good working environment and team spirit. For this purpose,

19 https://shift2rail.org/terms-of-use/

72
social events and team building activities will be proposed on regular basis as well as a well-being
programme which will be developed and proposed to the staff in 2023. Individual coaching sessions
will be considered both for staff as well as for the newly established Senior Programme Managers and
the management team.

2.4.4.2 Strategy for achieving efficiency gains and synergies

From the HR perspective, in 2023, the JU’s major challenge will be to ensure smooth implementation
of changes related to the launch of EU-Rail Programme, such as novelties in the organisational
structure and accommodation of new staff members.

EU-Rail is committed to ensuring the well-being of staff and that every staff member reaches their full
potential. Trainings are strongly encouraged and team building activities are organised on regular
basis in order to reinforce the cohesion of the team, the staff engagement and motivation.

The JU will continue to implement the HR recommandations made further to the review of its way of
working, and in this regard will give priority to the following HR aspects:
- Develop a fit-to-purpose competency framework;
- Establish a talent development plan.

In terms of synergies and collaboration with the other Joint Undertakings, in 2023, the JUs will
continue sharing the HR-related IT tools (e.g. the e-recruitment tool SYSTAL, SYSPER) and, where
necessary, common calls for tender, selection procedures, training courses for JUs staff and managers
as well as a common approach to implementing rules of the EU staff regulations. In addition, EU-Rail
will continue sharing information and best practices with the other JUs through meetings and working
groups such as those among the Executive Directors, Heads of Administration, HR officers, Legal
Officers etc. Moreover, in line with the hybrid way of working, further synergies among JUs will also
be possible in facility management as several JUs are located in the same building and share joint
business continuity planning, managing office spaces and organising procurements of common
infrastructure. Finally, in alignment of the SBA and the back office arrangements, close collaboration
among the JUs is expected to improve. To this end, a joint analysis on possible synergies and cost-
efficiencies among the JUs has been conducted in 2022 with the support of an external consultant,
and will be fully implemented in 2023.

In addition to the above mentioned, the intended application of lump sum form of grants in the
EU-Rail Programme creates further space for increasing efficiency, in particular by enabling in the area
of controls to refocus part of the capacities from activities related to costs actually incurred by the
beneficiaries to controls aimed more on the qualitative aspects of the projects.

2.4.4.3 Staff establishment plan20

The Authorized Budget indicated in the tables below refers to the staffing of EU-Rail which started its
activities on 30 November 2021 and may therefore differ from the actually filled positions due to the
fact that it was not possible to recruit all the staff by the end of 2022. Recruitments have been
launched and all vacant positions are expected to be filled by Q1 2023.

Further to the termination of DG Budget’s accounting services to Joint Undertakings and the
communication made by the Commission services to take over this function as part of the back office
arrangements (BOA) based on SBA Article 13, EU-Rail proposed to be the lead JU for this part of BOA.
The Commission services confirmed that 3 additional contract agents could be recruited to increase

20 2023, 2024 and 2025 staff number are presented based on the Legal Financial Statements annexed to the SBA but are
subject to the adoption of the EU General Budget for 2023, 2024 and 2025.

73
the reinforcement of the BOA, therefore on top of the 17 contract agents foreseen in the LFS attached
to the Commission Proposal for a Council Regulation establishing EU-Rail.

2022 2023 2024 2025

Filled
Authorised budget Authorised budget Authorised budget Authorised budget
as of 31/12/2022
Function
group and
Permanent

Permanent

Permanent

Permanent

Permanent
Temporary

Temporary

Temporary

Temporary

Temporary
grade
posts

posts

posts

posts

posts
posts

posts

posts

posts

posts
AD 16
AD 15 1 1 1 1
AD 14 1
AD 13
AD 12
AD 11 2
AD 10 2 2 2 2 1
AD 9 1 1 1 1 1
AD 8 1 1 1 1
AD 7 4
AD 6 4 4 4 4 1
AD 5 1 1 1 1
AD TOTAL 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 10
AST 1-11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AST
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL
AST/SC 1-
0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 10
6
AST/SC
TOTAL
TOTAL
GRAND
10 10 10 10 10
TOTAL

FTE FTE FTE FTE

corresponding Executed FTE Headcount as corresponding corresponding corresponding
Contract Agents to the as of of to the to the to the
authorised 31/12/2022 31/12/2022 authorised authorised authorised
budget 2022 budget 2023 budget 2024 budget 2025
Function Group IV 15 8 8 15 15 15
Function Group III 1 7 7 1 1 1
Function Group II 1 2 2 1 1 1
Function Group I
TOTAL 17 17 17 17 17 17

FTE FTE
Seconded corresponding Executed FTE Headcount corresponding FTE corresponding FTE corresponding
National to the authorised as of as of to the to the authorised to the authorised
Experts budget 2022 31/12/2022 31/12/2022 authorised budget 2024 budget 2025
budget 2023
TOTAL 2 1 1 2 2 2

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 Recruitment forecasts for 2023 following retirement/mobility or new requested posts

TA/Official CA

Job title in Function group/grade of

the JU Type of contract (Official, CA, TA) recruitment internal Recruitment
(Brackets) and external (single Function Group (I,
grade) II, III and IV)
foreseen for publication

Due to foreseen
New post requested Internal External
retirement/
due to additional tasks (brackets) (brackets)
mobility
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

2.5 Governance activities

After the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking was successfully set up, the governing, consultation and
advisory bodies of the JU became operational as well.

As follows from the provisions of the SBA, the JU is composed of the following bodies: the Governing
Board, the Exective Director, the States’ Representatives Group, the System Pillar Steering Group, the
Deployment Group and the Scientific Committee. In addition to these bodies, the System and
Innovation Programme Board (ED-SIPB)21 supports the Executive Director.

In the field of governance, the JU will continue in the process of the revision and updating of its key
internal guiding documents, most importantly the Governance and Process Handbook.

2.5.1 Governing Board

The Governing Board (GB) of EU-Rail was established after the Founding Members of EU-Rail other
than the Union signed a letter of commitment detailing the scope of the membership in terms of
content, activities and duration, as well as their contributions to the joint undertaking, including an
indication of the envisaged additional activities referred to in Article 11(1), point (b) SBA.

Concomitantly to the signature of the letters of commitment, the Founding Members of EU-Rail other
than the Union nominated their representatives and alternates to the Governing Board. The first
Governing Board meeting was held on 21 December 2021 where the GB adopted its Rules of
Procedure22. In the same meeting, the GB adopted the so-called “omnibus decision”23, i.e the list of
decisions adopted by the S2R JU that will continue to apply for EU-Rail in accordance with Article
174(12) of the SBA.

The GB of EU-Rail is the decision-making body, having the overall responsibility for the strategic
orientation, coherence with relevant Union objectives and policies, and operations of the JU. It shall
also supervise the implementation of JU activities.

The body is composed of two representatives from the Commission on behalf of the Union and one
representative from each of the Members other than the Union.

21 The ED-SIPB provides advice to the Executive Director on resources, schedule, planning and synchronization,
implementation, change management and monitoring of the Programme progress, as well as delivers strategic guidance
and recommendations with regard to the management of the JU programme.
22 GB Decision n°01/2021
23 GB Decision n°02/2021

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Representatives of the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and of the European Rail Research
Advisory Council (ERRAC) shall be invited to attend meetings of the Governing Board as observers and
take part in its deliberation, but shall have no voting rights.

The GB shall hold ordinary meetings at least twice a year. Extraordinary meetings may be convened
at the request of the chairperson, the Executive Director, the Commission or a majority of the
representatives of the members other than the Union or of the participating states. In addition, the
GB shall meet once a year in a general assembly and all participants to the research and innovation
activities of EU-Rail shall be invited to attend. The purpose of such assembly will be to stimulate
reflection on the overall direction of the JU activities, while conducting an open and transparent
discussion on the progress of the Master Plan implementation. Such meeting in a general assembly
composition is foreseen to be held once the new projects are launched and running.

In 2023, it is foreseen that the EU-Rail’s Governing Board will hold three meetings, in March, June and
December, the latter to be held as a General Assembly.

One of the particular tasks of the GB as per SBA Article 17(2) point (a1) is adopting by the end of 2023
a plan for the phasing-out of the joint undertaking from Horizon Europe funding. The Executive
Director will ensure that the related supporting documents and the respective recommendation
towards the GB is prepared in due time.

The GB’s key planned activities are listed below:

Key activities in 2023 – timetable

2022-02 Call award Q1
Adoption of the 2022 CAAR and Final Annual Accounts Q2
Adoption of the 2024 Work Programme and General Assembly Q4

2.5.2 Executive Director

The Executive Director is the chief executive responsible for the day-to-day management of the JU in
accordance with the decisions of the Governing Board. The Executive Director is the legal
representative of EU-Rail. The Executive Director is accountable to the Governing Board. He is
supported by the JU staff.

The mandate of the current Executive Director was renewed in 2021 for a period of five years until 15
May 2026.

2.5.3 Scientific Committee

In line with the SBA, EU-Rail continues to use a structured scientific advice of the Scientific Committee
by means of re-confirming the S2R Scientific Committee by the Governing Board via the “omnibus
decision”.

During 2023, on a proposal from the Executive Director, the Governing Board will decide on the set-
up of scientific advice to be established for EU-Rail for the future years.

Three meetings of the Scientific Committee will be held in 2023.

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2.5.4 States’ Representatives Group

Members States and countries associated to the Horizon Europe framework programme were asked
to nominate their representatives to the States’ Representatives Group (SRG).

The SRG shall be consulted, and in particular review information and provide opinions on the matters,
such as:

 programme progress of the JU and achievement of its targets and expected impacts as part of
Horizon Europe, including the information on calls for proposals and on the proposal
evaluation process;
 updating of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda in line with the Horizon Europe
strategic planning and with other Union and Member States funding instruments;
 links to Horizon Europe and other Union, national and, where relevant, regional initiatives,
including cohesion policy funds in line with smart specialisation strategies;
 draft work programmes and consolidated annual activity reports;
 involvement of SMEs, start-ups, higher education institutions and research organisations, and
measures taken for promoting participation of newcomers;
 actions taken for dissemination and exploitation of results along the value chain.

In addition, the Member States shall ensure that their respective representatives present
a coordinated position that reflects their Member State’s views expressed in:

 the committee established by Article 51 of Directive (EU) 2016/797;

 the Programme Committee under Horizon Europe configuration ‘Climate, Energy and
Mobility’;
 the Single European Rail Area Committee, established by Article 62 of Directive 2012/34/EU
of the European Parliament and of the Council.

One of the key roles of the SRG is to ensure the interface with the JU on integration between the
EU-Rail Programme and national, regional and local programmes and initiatives, in relation to R&I as
well as dissemination and communications. This role was not performed during 2022 and it will have
to be implemented as from 2023.

Further to the above, the SRG may also issue, on its own initiative, opinions, recommendations or
proposals to the Governing Board or the Executive Director on technical, managerial and financial
matters as well as on work programmes and other documents, in particular when those matters affect
national or regional interests.

For the year 2023, three meetings of the SRG are planned (in Q1, Q2 and Q4).

The tentative key activities are listed below:

Key activities in 2023 – timetable

1st Meeting of the SRG in which it would:
 Provide advice on the results achieved in the previous years and the Q1
alignment with the work programme.
2nd Meeting of the SRG in which it would:
 Provide advice on the priorities to be addressed in the 2024 Work
Programme, including links with similar research activities carried out
Q2
for example in HE;
 Provide advice to the GB on the EU-Rail Programme progress and on
other strategic issues;

77
 
Provide updated information and discuss initiatives on: regional and
national research and innovation programmes to allow synergies;
dissemination and communication activities; deployment activities in
relation to EU-Rail.
3rd Meeting of the SRG in which it would:
Q4
- Provide opinion on the 2024 Work Programme

2.5.5 The System Pillar steering group

The System Pillar steering group (SPSG) shall be an advisory body of the Europe’s Rail Joint
Undertaking in charge of providing advice on System Pillar issues.

It shall be composed of representatives of the Commission, representatives of the rail and mobility
sector and of relevant organisations, the EU-Rail’s Executive Director, the chairperson of the SRG and
representatives of the ERA and of the ERRAC. The body is chaired by the Commission.

It is the task of the SPSG to provide advice to the Executive Director and Governing Board on matters,
such as the following:

 the approach to operational harmonisation and the development of system architecture,

including on the relevant part of the Master Plan;
 delivering on the specific objective regarding introducing a unified operational concept and a
functional, safe and secure system architecture; as well as an integrated European rail traffic
management, command, control and signalling systems, including automated train operation;
 carrying out the task related to developing within the System Pillar a system view that reflects
the needs of the rail manufacturing industry, the rail operating community, Member States
and other rail private and public stakeholders, including bodies representing customers, such
as passengers and freight and staff, as well as relevant actors outside the traditional rail
sector;
 monitoring the progress of the System Pillar.

Four meetings of the SPSG are foreseen in 2023, one each quarter.

2.5.6 The Deployment Group

The role of the Deployment Group shall be to advise the Governing Board on the market uptake of rail
innovation developed under EU-Rail. It shall provide recommendations on issues related to the
deployment of rail innovative solutions, either upon request of the Governing Board, or on its own
initiative.

The Deployment Group should consist of European rail representatives, in particular of Infrastructure
Managers and Rail Operators, but also of suppliers, to ensure the preparedness of products and to
advise the JU on how a coordinated and integrated deployment can be organised. The composition of
this group may be variable, considering the scope of its activities.

More specifically, the Deployment Group should:

• Examine and provide recommendations on alternative scenarios for the rollout of innovative
solutions;
• Prepare a roadmap for the coordinated and integrated deployment of the relevant rail
research and innovation results, where relevant in cooperation with other modes of transport;

78
 • Examine the human factor elements and the behavioural and organisational changes resulting
from deployment;
• Ensure consideration of diversity of situations across the Union, including most cost-effective
possibilities of retrofitting from a medium and long-term perspective;
• Contribute to the alignment of deployment and investment plans also including other modes
of transport and other relevant infrastructures;
• Assess the risks and opportunities associated to uncoordinated initiatives;
• Contribute to phasing out of existing legacy systems and consideration on the necessary
accompanying funding and financial measures, from public and private sources, including EIB;
• Suggest a performance scheme that would contribute to accelerating deployment and/or any
other relevant measures;
• Examine any other relevant matter that would contribute to shortening of the innovation
lifecycle and increasing the performance of rail, while maintaining the same or even higher
level of its safety.

It is expected that the activities of the Deployment Group will start formally in Q1 2023.

2.6 Strategy and plans for the organisational management and internal control
systems

2.6.1 EU-Rail organization

EU-Rail is organized in Units managed by their Heads, complemented with some other functions
reporting directly to the Executive Director. The Programme Unit is further broken into two parts: the
Innovation Pillar and the System Pillar. The Head of the System Pillar Unit reports to the Executive
Director, but he/she also remains functional reporting to the Head of Programme. EU-Rail organization
is depicted in the chart provided in Annex II.

The Programme management falls under the remit of the Head of Programme, who reports to the
Executive Director, and has direct responsibility for the Innovation Pillar, while ensuring coordination
with the System Pillar as well. The Head of Corporate Services reports to the Executive Director, and
is responsible for providing the necessary financial, administrative and compliance support in relation
to the activities of the JU. Other functions of the Programme Office, such as the Internal Control
Coordinator, the HR Officer and the Chief Officer for Stakeholders’ Relations and Dissemination, report
directly to the Executive Director.

The organization has established its way of working, the “EU-Rail ingredients”, which builds on a series
of elements defining the commitment of the staff to strive for a values-based organization.

2.6.2 Internal Control Framework

In 2019, the JU started the process of implementing the new Internal Control Framework (ICF)
reflecting also the practices applied in this respect by the Commission, and being based on the COSO24
Internal Control – Integrated Framework, with five basic components further broken into seventeen
principles. Introduction of this new ICF aimed, besides other, at introducing a more pro-active
approach in the design and implementation of internal controls, rather than focusing mostly on the
compliance aspects. This process resulted in 2020 in the adoption of a revised ICF by means of the
Executive Director’s Decision ED-20-08. The ICF will continue to be subject to ongoing amendments

24 COSO = Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, where the sponsoring organizations are:
Amerincan Accounting Association, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, Financial Executives
International, The Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals in Business, The Institute of Internal Auditors.

79
and fine-tuning, as deemed appropriate, in order to reflect the developments in the internal and
external environment of the JU. Further details on the relevant JU’s control components are provided
in the following Sections.

The EU-Rail’s ICF is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of the
following objectives:

 Effectiveness, efficiency and economy of operations;

 Reliability of reporting;
 Safeguarding of assets and information;
 Prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud and irregularities;
 Adequate management of the risks relating to the legality and regularity of the underlying
transactions, taking into account the multiannual character of programmes as well as the nature
of the payments concerned.

The achievement of these ICF objectives are built, besides other elements, on:

- procedures for selecting the best projects through independent evaluation, and for translating
them into legal instruments;
- project and contract management throughout the lifetime of every project/contract;
- ex-ante checks of claims, including receipt of audit certificates and ex-ante certification of cost
methodologies;
- ex-post certification by independent auditors of costs representing the in-kind contributions to
additional activities provided by the private members of the JU;
- ex-post audits on a sample of claims as part of the Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe ex-post audit
strategy;
- qualitative evaluation of project results.

Furthermore, the adherence to ethical and organisational values will continue to be one of the key
roles of the Joint Undertaking, subject to monitoring by the Commission. The Executive Director, as
the Authorising Officer, will promote a cost-effective system of internal control and management and
will be required to report to the GB in this respect. The JU will monitor, with the oversight of its GB,
the risk of non-compliance through the developed reporting system, as well as by following up on the
results of ex-post audits on the recipients of EU funds from EU-Rail, as part of the common ex-post
audit strategy covering the whole of the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe framework programmes.
In the application of its control system, the JU will strive for striking a balance between attaining an
acceptable error rate on one hand, and a reasonable control burden on the other hand. In other
words, the need to manage the budget in an efficient and effective manner and to prevent fraud will
be combined with the effort of avoiding of the Union's Research programme becoming less attractive
for the stakeholders from the industry.

In Q1 2023, an annual assessment of the EU-Rail ICF will be conducted both at the level of its individual
17 principles, and from the perspective of the framework as a whole. The assessment will also take
into account recommendations from the Audit on H2020 grant implementation and closing conducted
by the Internal Audit Service of the Commission, as well as possible recommendations of the European
Court of Auditors. The results of the ICF assessment will be presented in the EU-Rail 2022 Consolidated
Annual Activity Report.

2.6.3 Financial procedures

EU-Rail shall fully comply with the requirements of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 (the Financial
Regulation). In compliance with its Article 71, the Joint Undertaking will respect the principle of sound
financial management. EU-Rail shall also comply with the provisions of the Model Financial Regulation

80
applicable to the Joint Undertaking. Any departure from this Model Financial Regulation, required for
the purpose of the Joint Undertaking’s specific needs, shall be subject to the Commission’s prior
consent. Monitoring arrangements, including through the Union representation in the Governing
Board, as well as reporting arrangements, will ensure that EU-Rail can meet the accountability
requirements both to the College and to the Budgetary Authority.

With regard to ICT tools applied to support its financial procedures, since 2016, the JU has utilizied
ABAC Workflow. At the time of deployment of this tool, the JU adopted its Manual of Financial
Procedures including the applicable Financial Circuits. This Manual of Financial Procedures was further
revised in a new version in 2017, and amended again later in 2019.

The Manual of Financial Procedures has been designed to guarantee a segregation of duties and to
apply the four eyes principle in JU’s financial transactions. It describes in detail the financial circuits
the EU-Rail implements per type of transactions and the roles and responsibilities of each actor
involved. To a lesser extent, it also describes the basic principles on main procedures (grants &
procurements).

During the past years, the processes and procedures have been further reinforced with the
introduction of the JU Cooperation Tool (including for in-kind contribution declarations and
certifications), the Governance and Process Handbook, implementation of ICT tool ABAC Assets and
different specific procedures that enhance the sound financial management in the implementation of
the activities. The functioning of the JU’s financial procedures will continue to be subject to regular
assessments of the Internal Control Famework adopted in 2020, and adjustments may be introduced
in the future, also taking into account practical experience gained with the implementation of these
processes and procedures.

The JU has commenced the process of its key internal guiding documents underpinning its day-to-day
activities, such as the Governance and Process Handbook, to adapt them to the new Programme and
organizational framework. This process will continue also in the upcoming period.

2.6.4 Ex-ante and ex-post controls

With the new Programme under Horizon Europe only launched in 2022, the main focus of ex-ante and
ex-post controls will remain with the ongoing projects governed by the Horizon 2020 rules. For these
projects, EU-Rail will continue to follow the procedures for ex-ante and ex-post controls established
in its Financial Rules as well as in common guidelines applicable to Horizon 2020. With regard to the
proposals received in response to the first call under the Horizon Europe Programme and the
subsequent GB approval of the list of actions selected for funding, EU-Rail performed the checks within
the grant agreement preparation workflows, as required by the common Horizon Europe guidance
documents.

EU-Rail follows the Article 21(1) of its Financial Rules providing that “each operation shall be subject
at least to an ex-ante control relating to the operational and financial aspects of the operation, on the
basis of a multiannual control strategy which takes risk into account”. The ex-ante controls are
considered essential to prevent errors and to avoid the need for ex-post corrective actions. They take
the form of checking contracts and grant agreements, initiating, checking and verifying invoices and
cost claims and carrying out desk reviews (such as mid-term reviews carried out by external experts
on JU’s projects and other). In addition to the processes defined internally, EU-Rail is implementing
the Horizon 2020 ex-ante control framework for its grants.

In accordance with Article 22 of the EU-Rail Financial Rules, ex-post controls are defined as the controls
executed to verify financial and operational aspects of finalised budgetary transactions. The main
objectives of the ex-post controls are to ensure that the principles of legality, regularity and sound

81
financial management (economy, efficiency and effectiveness) have been respected and to provide
the basis for corrective and recovery activities, if necessary.

The ex-post controls of EU-Rail’s projects include financial audits which are covered by the Horizon
2020 Audit Strategy and carried out by the Common Audit Service (CAS) of the Commission. In July
2022, CAS confirmed the selection of the local representative audit sample for the JU with the target
closure year 2023. EU-Rail will report the outcome of the ex-post audits performed in 2022 in its
Consolidated Annual Activity Report. This reporting will include the error rates identified and
applicable to the JUs population.

With the application of the lump sum form of grants under the new EU-Rail Programme, the above-
mentioned financial audits performed by the CAS used for grants based on reporting costs actually
incurred by the beneficiaries, will no longer be applicable to the new actions funded by EU-Rail. The
JU has therefore already launched activities aiming at establishing a framework for the conduct of
reviews or audits of qualitative (technical) nature, that is reviews/audits focused on the assessment
of whether the agreed work was performed, and whether it was performed in line with the grant
agreement provisions. In the establishment of this framework, EU-Rail will seek support from other
interested JUs and from the external stakeholders involved in auditing activities (e.g. the Court of
Auditors), as relevant. The JU also intends to cooperate with external contractors/experts in this
activity. The establishment of the review/audit framework is foreseen in the first half of 2023, with its
subsequent testing by means of pilot reviews/audits.

Further to the above-mentioned types of controls, the JU has introduced since 2018 an internal
mechanism of ex-post controls on financial transactions related to administrative expenditure as
another element in the control framework to provide assurance on the effective functioning of the
system. In 2023, the ex-post review on administrative expenditure will continue to be organised as an
annual exercise.

2.6.5 Audits

In accordance with Article 28 of the EU-Rail Financial Rules, the internal audit function shall be
performed by the Commission's Internal Audit Service (IAS).

The internal auditor shall advise EU-Rail on dealing with risks, by issuing independent opinions on the
quality of management and control systems, and by issuing recommendations for improving the
implementation of operations and promoting sound financial management. Following a risk
assessment performed at the JU during 2020, the Internal Auditor drew up the Strategic Internal Audit
Plan for 2021-2023 which will be the basis for the internal audit work to be carried out as of 2021. In
view of establishing their new audit plan for the JU, IAS decided to perform a new in-depth risk
assessment in 2023. In Q4 2022 the JU provided IAS with an update on the internal and external
developments having influence on its business, as well as with its updated version of the risk register.

The IAS’ Audit on H2020 grant implementation and closing, which started in 2021, was finalized in
September 2022 by issuing the final audit report. IAS concluded that the management and internal
control system in EU-Rail with regard to the H2020 grant implementation and closing process is
adequately designed and effectively and efficiently implemented. While the audit work did not result
in the identification of any critical or very important issues, IAS identified room for further
improvement in relation to:

 JU’s risk-based monitoring strategy for the projects and beneficiaries,

 Dissemination and exploitation aspects of the grant management,
 JU’s anti-fraud policy and annual exercise for collecting declarations of interests from its staff,
 Implementation of workflows in the respective IT tools within the grant management process.

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In response to the above-mentioned final audit report, EU-Rail provided to IAS the action plan for
addressing the identified issues. These actions will be implemented and followed up in the course of
2023.

The financial audit of the JU’s annual accounts is performed by an external audit firm that has been
chosen under the Framework contract of DG Budget, on the basis of the joint tendering of the services
by the EC, agencies and other JUs.

Each year, the European Court of Auditors shall prepare a specific annual report on the JU in line with
the requirements of Article 287(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In
preparing the report, the Court shall consider the audit work performed by the aforementioned
independent external auditor and the action taken in response to their findings.

In its annual report on EU Joint Undertakings for the financial year 2021, no major issue was reported
by the ECA for EU-Rail itself.

One observation was raised for follow-up regarding the implementation rate for the JU’s 2021
payments available under the operational budget, including operational unused and reallocated
appropriations, that decreased to 61%, compared to the 76% of 2020. With regard to the operational
payment implementation, the JU confirmed the importance of the quality of the beneficiaries’
reporting and the need for beneficiaries to comply with deadlines in the submission. This was duly
followed up with the Governing Board in November 2021 and will continue to be thoroughly followed
up in 2022 and 2023 as well, until the S2R Programme is fully completed.

Furthermore, the ECA also issued horizontal observations common to all JUs. The most relevant one
deals with the fact that, as from January 2016, JUs which are only partly financed from the EU budget,
should have paid the part of the employer’s contributions to the EU pension scheme, corresponding
to the ratio of their non-EU subsidised revenues to their total revenues25. As the Commission has
neither provided for this expenditure in the JU’s budgets, nor formally requested the payments,
EU-Rail (and its predecessor the S2R JU) had not yet paid such contributions.

EU-Rail agrees to pay its employer’s pension contributions in line with the calculation to be provided
by the Commission’s services, once de jure aspects are ascertained and invoices are issued by the
PMO. Although the JUs have no mandate to accept that a contradiction exists between the estimation
approach provided by Commission’s services and the referenced provisions of the SBA, EU-Rail is open
and willing to resolve the matter in cooperation with the Commission’s services. This issue will be
followed-up together with the relevant Commission services and with the other concerned JUs in the
course of 2022 and 2023.

With regard to the ex-post audits of grants, the actions funded by the JU are subject to the Horizon
2020 common Audit Strategy implemented by the CAS, as mentioned in Section 2.6.4.

2.6.6 Risk Management

EU-Rail has an established process of risk management reflecting also the practices applied by the
Commission, and being based on the COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework in which risk
assessment represents one of the five basic components of the internal control system. It is
a continuous process involving clear communication to governance, staff and stakeholders on how
EU-Rail positions itself in the management of risks and opportunities that can affect the achievement
of its objectives, taking into consideration the assessment of the level of uncertainty that the JU is

25 Article 83a of Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC) laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of
Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community.

83
willing to accept (risk appetite). The Executive Director approves the policy and sets the tone, staff at
the different levels implement the policy in the day-to-day operations. The Governing Board endorses
the JU’s risk register brought to its attention by means of the Consolidated Annual Activity Report.

In the months of September and October 2022, in accordance with the JU’s policy for risk management
as defined in its Governance and Process Handbook, the JU performed a risk assessment exercise with
the aim of updating the elements related to risks and opportunities already included in its risk register,
as well as identifying potential new ones. Within this exercise current internal and external factors
and developments having influence on JU’s business were taken into account. Due attention was given
also to the fraud risks.

The management of risks during 2023 will be based on the results of the above mentioned risk
assessment exercise carried out during 2022 (see also Section 2.3.6 titled “Other risks”), taking into
consideration the most recent developments. In March 2023, IAS confirmed to EU-Rail that their
engagement planned to be carried out in the JU in 2023 will take form of a new in-depth risk
assessment. EU-Rail will grant to IAS full cooperation in exercising this assessment and will take
advantage of its results so that duplication of efforts with similar internal JU activities are avoided.
Further insight into risks related to individual Flagship Areas, projects and beneficiaries, will be part of
the new risk assessment, as relevant. This activity is expected to contribute also to the process of
further formalization of EU-Rail risk-based monitoring strategy, as was recommended by IAS in result
of their Audit on H2020 grant implementation and closing.

2.6.7 Anti-fraud strategy

In July 2022, EU-Rail adopted its new Anti-Fraud Strategy for 2022-202526 which replaced the previous
one initially introduced in 2017. The adoption was preceeded by a thorough specific fraud risk
assessment. Part of this assessment, in particular the one pertaining to the grant management fraud
risks, was conducted commonly at the level of the entire Family of the EU Research & Innovation
Services, Agencies and Joint Undertakings (Research Family) and steered by DG RTD. This was
complemented at EU-Rail lelvel with the assessment of other risks of fraud, such as those related to
procurement, recruitment, misuse of internal information, misuse of JU’s reimbursement schemes,
etc.

By means of its current Anti-Fraud Strategy, similarly to the previous one, EU-Rail will continue to
cover, to the applicable extent, all four elements of the anti-fraud cycle, namely: prevention,
detection, investigation and correction.

The main anti-fraud objectives of the JU for the period of 2022-2025 will be the following:
1) keeping the JU’s internal legal framework related to anti-fraud policy up to date,
2) fostering an anti-fraud culture throughout the organisation,
3) maintaining a high level of awareness and knowledge among the staff members on the subject
matter,
4) ensuring high level of reactivity towards OLAF/EPPO,
5) preventing the misuse of internal information/data.

These objectives will be pursued by means of particular measures and actions listed in the related
action plan. The actions will be followed up and the action plan will be assessed for potential updates
regularly, as a minimum, once a year. To assess the actual conduct and quality of performance of
individual EU-Rail anti-fraud activities, several indicators will be used and the results presented in the
Consolidated Annual Activity Report for the respective year.

26 https://rail-research.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/ED-DECISION_ED-22-02_Anti-Fraud-Strategy-2022-
2025_Annex_AFS.pdf

84
In performing the above-mentioned activities, EU-Rail will continue in taking advantage of knowledge
and experience gained by participating in the Fraud and Irregularities in Research Committee (FAIR)
and its substructures. Developments with regard to the anti-fraud policies of the European
Commission, of the Research Family, and of the JU’s parent Directorate General - MOVE – will be
considered as well.

Since the JU considers conflict of interest a potential prerequisite for possible fraudulent behaviour,
various established measures will continue to be applied at EU-Rail to mitigate this inherent risk, such
as:
- declarations on non-existence of conflict of interest by the staff members;
- utilization of independent experts in selection procedures who will be obliged to declare any
potentially conflicting interests;
- annual declaration of interests by the Governing Board members, as well as declaration of
confidentiality and conflict of interest by all attendees to each EU-Rail’s Governing Board meeting.

85
3. BUDGET 2023-2024 27,28

In accordance with the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024
(European Commission Decision C(2022)7550 of 6 December 2022), with regard to budget flexibility,
the budgets set out in the calls and topics are indicative. Unless otherwise stated, final budgets may
change following evaluation. The final figures may change by up to 20% compared to the total budget
indicated in each individual part of the Work Programme. Changes within these limits will not be
considered substantial within the meaning of Article 110(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom)
No 2018/1046.

Budget Amendment nr 1 (A1) – Statement of Revenue

Compared to Work Programme 2022-2024 and Budget, this amendment recognises and balance
(Revenue and Expenditure) unused appropriations on S2R Programme operational expenditure due in
relation to the previous budgetary years, in accordance with EU-Rail Financial Rules Article 6.5.
Are entered in addition to the estimate of revenue:
- EUR 0.08 million in commitment and payment appropriations recovered from S2R Programme
project that had to be re-paid throught the EC Guarantee Fund
- EUR 26.1 million in payment appropriations due in relation to the unused appropriations of
previous budgetary years that are required in 2023 in order to pay S2R Programme grants
interim and final payments, following an action plan of “REPA 2023” discussed and agreed
with the EU-Rail SIPB and project coordinators between January and May 2023.

In accordance with the SBA (recitals 10 and 12 and Article 5(2) c)), to achieve maximum impact, the
joint undertakings should develop close synergies with other Horizon Europe initiatives and other
Union programmes and funding instruments, particularly with those supporting the deployment of
innovative solutions. Following the identification of synergies between them, joint undertakings
should aim to determine budget shares which should be used for complementary or joint activities
between joint undertakings, in particular including by dedicating, where appropriate, a part of the
joint undertaking’s budget to joint calls. EU-Rail and SESAR3 Joint Undertakings will launch a joint call
“Integrated air and rail network backbone for a sustainable and energy-efficient multimodal transport
system” for a total of EUR 5.000.000 of co-funding and EUR 7.143.000 of total costs at 70% funding
rate with a fairly shared contribution between SESAR and EU-Rail (i.e.: EUR 2.500.000). The modalities
of this transfer will be detailed in an arrangement between both organisations.

The 2 500 000 is appearing in the section “EU Contribution” in accordance with the structure of the
EU-Rail budget, but is coming from SESAR 3 JU and not from the Union.

In accordance with the Single Basic Act Article 10.4, the 2.500.000 € new revenue in 2023 are
considered as additional Union funds complementing the contribution allocated to the EU-Rail
Programme implementing Horizon Europe29. In this respect, and in accordance with SBA Article 10.6,
this additional contributions from Union programmes corresponding to additional tasks entrusted to
EU-Rail shall not be accounted for in the calculation of the Union maximum financial contribution to
the EU-Rail Programme.

27 2023 and 2024 Budget (Commitment and Payment appropriations) are subject to the adoption of the EU General
Budget for 2023 and 2024. All figures may be updated during both of these adoption procedures.
28 The EFTA rate used for 2024 is the one known and applicable for the year 2022. This could be subject to revision when
the EFTA rate 2024 will be available.
29 The increase relates to the Pilot Project, as indicated in accordance with the specific provision of the SBA, and no EFTA
contribution apply to this added funds. We refer to “pilot” for this joint call which is meant for the implementation of
synergies between JUs that have never been implemented previously, not as a “pilot action” requested and funded by
the European Parliament.

86
Budget Amendment nr 1 (A1) – Statement of Expenditure

Title I and II:

Minor adaptation of the Budget appropriation per line is proposed considering the evolution of budget
needs identified since the estimates made in Octobre 2022.

The increase of payment appropriations in Title 2 is to ensure the implementation via interim and final
payments of JU activities agreed with the GB in 2022, mainly about the support of the initial activities
of the System Pillar – on the transition to the full System Pillar running, on the setting up of the System
Pillar programme and project management plan, and on the drafting of the Standardisation and TSI
input plan.

This increase is covered by the administrative unused appropriations coming from the Title 5
“Unused”.

Title III (Operational S2R Programme):

Increase of the S2R Programme operational payment appropriations of 26.2m€, in order to pay the
S2R Programme grants interim and final payments expected for the year 2023.

This increase is covered by the entering in addition to the estimate of revenue, the unused payment
appropriations from the previous budgetary years.

Title IV (Operational EU-Rail Programme):

The commitment appropriations are increased by EUR 2.500.000 for the joint call between EU-Rail
and SESAR 3 JU.

87
 STATEMENT OF REVENUE
Title
Financial Year 2023 - A1 Financial Year 2024
Chapter
Hea Estimate
ding Estimate Estimate Estimate
Payment
Commitment Payment In % Commitment In %
Appropriation
Appropriations Appropriations Appropriations
s
EU contribution (excluding
EFTA and third countries 94.234.167 83.767.283 70% 104.420.806 71.764.329 89%
contribution)[2]
of which (fresh C1)
2.346.053 3.578.712 3% 2.405.582 2.929.548 4%
Administrative (Title 1&2)
of which frontloaded
commitments (Title 1 and - - - -
Title 2)
of which Operational (Title
91.888.114 80.188.571 67% 102.015.224 68.834.781 85%
3)
Of which related to
additional entrusted tasks
EFTA and third countries
2.651.117 2.370.050 2% 2.579.194 1.770.693 2%
contribution
of which Administrative
67.801 98.001 0% 59.418 70.474 0%
EFTA(Title 1&2)
Of which administrative
third countries excluding
EFTA (Title 1&2)
of which Operational EFTA
2.583.316 2.272.049 2% 2.519.776 1.700.219 2%
(Title 3)
Of which operational third
countries excluding EFTA
(Title 3)
Financial Members other
than the Union 3.676.713 3.676.713 3% 3.000.022 3.000.022 4%
contribution
of which Administrative
3.676.713 3.676.713 3% 3.000.022 3.000.022 4%
(Title 1&2)
of which Operational
(Title 3)
Financial Contributing
partners contribution
Interest generated
Unused appropriations
1.877.449 30.313.831,51 25% 2.988.647 4.543.287 6%
from previous years
Of which administrative 1.795.420 3.652.641,42 3% 2.988.647 3.114.220 4%
Of which operational 82.029 26.661.190,09 22% - 1.429.067 2%
TOTAL ESTIMATE
102.439.446 120.127.878 100% 112.988.669 81.078.330 100%
REVENUE

88
 STATEMENT OF REVENUE - AMENDED - VARIANCE A1
Title
Financial Year 2023 Financial Year 2023 - A1 VARIANCE
Chapter
Heading Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate
Commitment In % Payment In % Commitment Payment In % Commitment Payment In %
Appropriations Appropriations Appropriations Appropriations Appropriations Appropriations
EU contribution (excluding
EFTA and third countries 91.734.167 92% 83.767.283 89% 94.234.167 83.767.283 70% 2.500.000 - 100%
contribution)[2]
of which (fresh C1)
2.346.053 2% 3.578.712 4% 2.346.053 3.578.712 3% - - 100%
Administrative (Title 1&2)
of which frontloaded
commitments (Title 1 and - - - - - -
Title 2)
of which Operational (Title
89.388.114 90% 80.188.571 85% 91.888.114 80.188.571 67% 2.500.000 - 100%
3)
Of which related to
- -
additional entrusted tasks
EFTA and third countries
2.651.117 3% 2.370.050 3% 2.651.117 2.370.050 2% - - 100%
contribution
of which Administrative
67.801 0% 98.001 0% 67.801 98.001 0% - - 100%
EFTA(Title 1&2)
Of which administrative
third countries excluding - -
EFTA (Title 1&2)
of which Operational EFTA
2.583.316 3% 2.272.049 2% 2.583.316 2.272.049 2% - - 100%
(Title 3)
Of which operational third
countries excluding EFTA - -
(Title 3)
Financial Members other
than the Union 3.676.713 4% 3.676.713 4% 3.676.713 3.676.713 3% - - 100%
contribution
of which Administrative
3.676.713 4% 3.676.713 4% 3.676.713 3.676.713 3% - - 100%
(Title 1&2)
of which Operational
- -
(Title 3)
Financial Contributing
- -
partners contribution
Interest generated - -
Unused appropriations
1.795.420 2% 4.148.868 4% 1.877.449 30.313.831,51 25% 82.029 26.164.964 731%
from previous years
Of which administrative 1.795.420 2% 3.652.641 4% 1.795.420 3.652.641,42 3% - - 100%
Of which operational - 0% 496.226 1% 82.029 26.661.190,09 22% 82.029 26.164.964 5373%

TOTAL ESTIMATE REVENUE 99.857.417 100% 93.962.914 100% 102.439.446 120.127.878 100% 2.582.029 26.164.964 128%

The EUR 2.500.000 increasing the section “EU Contribution” in accordance with the structure of the EU-Rail budget, is coming from SESAR 3 JU and not from the Union.

89
 STATEMENT OF EXPENDITURE

Financial Year 2023 - A1 Financial Year 2024

% Ratio % Ratio % Ratio % Ratio

Title Chapter Heading Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate
Commitment [Year N/year Payment [Year N/year Commitment [Year Payment [Year
Appropriations N-1] Appropriations N-1] Appropriations N+1/year N] Appropriations N+1/year N]

1- Staff
Salaries & allowances
- Of which establishment
110 1.310.360,00 116% 1.310.360,00 116% 1.703.520,00 130% 1.703.520,00 130%
plan posts
- Of which external
111 1.700.000,00 106% 1.700.000,00 106% 1.539.200,00 91% 1.539.200,00 91%
personnel
Expenditure relating to
Staff recruitment
Mission expenses 130 153.000,00 102% 153.000,00 102% 156.060,00 102% 156.060,00 102%
Socio-medical
infrastructure
Training 150 51.000,00 102% 51.000,00 102% 52.020,00 102% 52.020,00 102%
External Services
Receptions, events and
representation
Social welfare
Other Staff related
190 361.080,00 102% 361.080,00 102% 368.301,60 102% 368.301,60 102%
expenditure
2-Infrastructure and operating
Rental of buildings and
200 351.900,00 102% 351.900,00 102% 358.938,00 102% 358.938,00 102%
associated costs
Information,
communication technology 210 195.000,00 100% 250.000,00 63% 195.000,00 100% 195.000,00 78%
and data processing
Movable property and
220 10.000,00 100% 10.000,00 100% 10.000,00 100% 10.000,00 100%
associated costs
Current administrative
230 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100%
expenditure
Postage /
240 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100%
Telecommunications
Meeting expenses 250 50.000,00 100% 50.000,00 100% 50.000,00 100% 50.000,00 100%
Running costs in
connection with 260 140.000,00 37% 660.000,00 37% 50.000,00 36% 50.000,00 8%
operational activities

Information and publishing 270 345.000,00 55% 300.000,00 65% 550.000,00 159% 550.000,00 183%

Studies
Other infrastructure and
290 200.000,00 100% 160.000,00 100% 200.000,00 100% 200.000,00 125%
operating expenditure
TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE
4.897.340,00 98% 5.387.340,00 98% 5.263.039,60 107% 5.263.039,60 98%
(1+2)
3-Operational

TOTAL OPERATIONAL (3) 94.553.458,94 56% 111.626.317,98 50% 104.535.000,00 111% 72.499.088,81 65%

Unused Appropriations

TOTAL Unused 2.988.646,84 166% 3.114.219,53 87% 3.190.629,00 107% 3.316.201,69 106%

ESTIMATE TOTAL EXPENDITURE 102.439.445,78 58% 120.127.877,51 52% 112.988.668,60 110% 81.078.330,10 67%

90
 STATEMENT OF EXPENDITURE - AMENDED - VARIANCE A1

Financial Year 2023 Financial Year 2023 - A1 VARIANCE

% Ratio % Ratio % Ratio % Ratio % Ratio % Ratio

Title Chapter Heading Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate Estimate
[Year Estimate Payment [Year [Year [Year [Year [Year
Commitment Commitment Payment Commitment Payment
N/year N- Appropriations N/year N- N+1/year N+1/year N+1/year N+1/year
Appropriations Appropriations Appropriations Appropriations Appropriations
1] 1] N] N] N] N]
1- Staff
Salaries & allowances
- Of which establishment
110 1.670.760,00 116% 1.670.760,00 116% 1.310.360,00 116% 1.310.360,00 116% - 360.400,00 0% - 360.400,00 0%
plan posts
- Of which external
111 1.509.600,00 106% 1.509.600,00 106% 1.700.000,00 106% 1.700.000,00 106% 190.400,00 0% 190.400,00 0%
personnel
Expenditure relating to
0 0 0 0
Staff recruitment
Mission expenses 130 153.000,00 102% 153.000,00 102% 153.000,00 102% 153.000,00 102% - 0% - 0%
Socio-medical
0 0 0 0
infrastructure
Training 150 51.000,00 102% 51.000,00 102% 51.000,00 102% 51.000,00 102% - 0% - 0%
External Services 0 0 0 0
Receptions, events and
0 0 0 0
representation
Social welfare 0 0 0 0
Other Staff related
190 361.080,00 102% 361.080,00 102% 361.080,00 102% 361.080,00 102% - 0% - 0%
expenditure
2-Infrastructure and operating
Rental of buildings and
200 351.900,00 102% 351.900,00 102% 351.900,00 102% 351.900,00 102% - 0% - 0%
associated costs
Information,
communication technology 210 150.000,00 100% 150.000,00 63% 195.000,00 100% 250.000,00 63% 45.000,00 0% 100.000,00 0%
and data processing
Movable property and
220 10.000,00 100% 10.000,00 100% 10.000,00 100% 10.000,00 100% - 0% - 0%
associated costs
Current administrative
230 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% - 0% - 0%
expenditure
Postage /
240 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% 15.000,00 100% - 0% - 0%
Telecommunications
Meeting expenses 250 50.000,00 100% 50.000,00 100% 50.000,00 100% 50.000,00 100% - 0% - 0%
Running costs in
connection with 260 100.000,00 37% 100.000,00 37% 140.000,00 37% 660.000,00 37% 40.000,00 0% 560.000,00 0%
operational activities

Information and publishing 270 300.000,00 55% 300.000,00 65% 345.000,00 55% 300.000,00 65% 45.000,00 0% - 0%

Studies - 0% - 0%
Other infrastructure and
290 160.000,00 100% 160.000,00 100% 200.000,00 100% 160.000,00 100% 40.000,00 0% - 0%
operating expenditure
TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE
4.897.340,00 98% 4.897.340,00 98% 4.897.340,00 98% 5.387.340,00 98% - 0% 490.000,00 0%
(1+2)
3-Operational

TOTAL OPERATIONAL (3) 91.971.430,00 56% 85.461.354,04 50% 94.553.458,94 56% 111.626.317,98 50% 2.582.028,94 0% 26.164.963,94 0%

Unused Appropriations

TOTAL Unused 2.988.646,84 166% 3.604.219,53 87% 2.988.646,84 166% 3.114.219,53 87% - 0% - 490.000,00 0%

ESTIMATE TOTAL EXPENDITURE 99.857.416,84 100% 93.962.913,57 100% 102.439.445,78 103% 120.127.877,51 128% 2.582.028,94 3% 26.164.963,94 22%

91
 Table of Financial programming per year until 2027 (incl annual instalments)

Ratio vs maximum Union

2022 2023 2024 Total contribution (art10 SBA) - max 50% Total 2022-2024
Total amount to be assigned via annual instalments (Calls) 232.764,7
Amount of annual instalments 2022-1 135.707,2 57.936,1 39.121,3 232.764,7 40,1%
Amount to be assigned on annual budget (other calls/tenders/experts) 28.800,0 36.535,3 12.100,0 77.435,3
Available Commitment appropriations 53.313,7
Total annual budget (operational EU-Rail Programme) 164.507,2 94.471,4 104.535,0 363.513,7

Ratio cumulative budget of the

2025 2026 2027 Total residual years (min 20%) Gran total 2022-2027
Total amount to be assigned via annual instalments (Calls) 141.750,0
Available Commitment appropriations 53.313,7
Amount of annual instalments 73.263,0 15.173,3 88.436,3
Amount to be assigned on annual budget (other calls/tenders/experts) 18.200,0 62.202,7 48.347,3 128.750,0 59,3%
Total annual budget (operational EU-Rail Programme) 91.463,0 77.376,0 48.347,3 580.700,0

92
4. ANNEXES

Annex I - IKAA plan

The IKAA plan has been provided following the outcome of the first Call 2022 as the additional
activities proposed by the Founding Members in their letter of commitment are related to the future
EU-Rail Projects.

The IKAA Plan follows the award decision of the Governing Board on the first Call 2022; it is based on
the input received from all the Private Founding Members by 29 November 2022.

Estimated
Estimated
annual value
annual value
OVERVIEW ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF IKAA FOR 2023 (in €) - Link to
(in €) - Link to
JU objectives
JU project
/ KPIs
1. Support to additional R&I 5.348.900,49 37.086.673,97
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 337.648,76 4.570.144,21
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 1.018.116,44 8.358.184,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 1.493.556,85 8.965.770,84
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 4 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 393.688,09 7.108.793,93
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 179.098,77 4.783.666,67
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 44.218,12 1.023.447,67
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 7 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 10.000,00
CFD Simulations and Real operations 1:1 scale tests to determine the admissible pressure load in a freight train during the crossing
with a HST in a tunnel 281.069,80 -
High efficiency power electronics and electromagnetic machines, rare earth recovery sustainable processes
400.000,00
Infrastructure degradation models of metallic components and customized powder manufacturing for AM 200.000,00 1.000.000,00
Low costs signalling system for train collition avoidance (e.g. EGNSS) 200.000,00 1.000.000,00
Maintenance of ETCS lab Quality system for ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation and Internal activities/projects to maintain ERTMS labs 75.403,68 -
OCORA: Non-funded activities 150.000,00 -
R&D internal projects related to and complementary to ERJU FAs topics. 100.000,00 -
Reduced models for efficient optimization processes 200.000,00
Smart Structural Health Monitoring for High Speed Railway Bridges, including Predictive Maintenance of these infrastructures through
Intelligent Systems. 40.000,00 -
SW development to automatize ETCS tests, ETCS simulation tools to be adapted to the new TSI releases, Development of a Robot
actuator for remote tests, Image Processing system to process images at ETCS DMI to perform automatic tests analysis 36.100,00 -
System Pillar: Non-funded activities 200.000,00
TT - Project NGT Fun System dynamics: Simulation digital Twin concept 266.666,67
2. Scale up of technologies 1.174.295,00 3.756.428,24
Acount based ticketing and new validation systems 200.000,00 -
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 2.412.655,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 469.651,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 160.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 529.922,24
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 184.200,00
ATO Functionality GoA3/4 200.000,00 -

Implementation Methodology for Cloud-based native Architecture. Developing Work Model Definition. Digital Enterprise Architecture 25.000,00 -

Innovative system to perform digital visits to the railway network and support asset management and infrastructure maintenance. 249.295,00 -
Moving Block -TRL 5 to 7 500.000,00 -

93
3. Demonstrators 1.512.209,74 8.046.001,31
Activities for the definition of the basic equipment for the detection of elements of infrastructure and its digitization, equipment for
the monitoring trains, track measurement campaign with inspections train. 68.983,49 -
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 544.932,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 848.654,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 952.400,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 4 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 791.815,31
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 4.353.200,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 555.000,00
ASTP - Absolute safe train positioning 150.000,00 -
Carrying out tests lab test on models, at a 1:1 scale, in the railway track box to analyze and assess any development or technological
innovation considered necessary to quickly upgrade track behavior as a whole or to individual track components 95.680,00 -

Compile the information available from tests in which have simulated the passage of trains at a speed greater than 300 km/h (Very
High Speed Trains) and extract the relevant conclusions regarding the maximum vertical deflection and levels of acceleration that
might be expected in the rail and the sleeper for the improved commercial, nominal and future design speeds, among others. 59.000,86 -
Construction of zero emission areas around the stations, to promote sustainable mobility in the first and last mile of travelers (transfer
from the initial origin to the station and from the station to the final destination), including implementation of Electric Charging Points
fed by DC-powered Railway Network 90.772,65 -
Deepen the knowledge of the network, through the characterization of the parameters influencing the vertical dynamics of the track,
to optimize the standards for design, construction and maintenance of track superstructure 105.487,83 -
Development of demonstrators at TRL 7 level for early detection of rail defects or broken rails. Human Machine Interface (HMI) and its
Integration in the Central Supervision Post, including development of
Web platform and mobile APP for real-time data viewing and alarm notification 313.286,19 -
Onboard Platform HW prototype developmt 200.000,00 -

Rock fall detection system based on DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) Technology, supported by the use of CCTV cameras. Also, with
a Human Machine Interface (HMI) including development of a Web platform for real-time data viewing and alarm notification 268.282,14 -
Solution for the digitization of the linear infrastructure in BIM 3d format from the massive capture of data from Lidar sensors, 360º RGB
cameras, GNSS, inertial positioning systems and automatic processing. 160.716,58 -
4. Creating new business opportunities 26.962,00 -
Software DISC EMAN 26.962,00
5. Training & skills development 22.402,51 1.200.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 1.200.000,00
Training activities to maintain the level of skills of the ETCS experts and SW development 22.402,51 -
6. Contribution to the development of new standards, regulations and policies 66.836,70 -
Participation in both Spanish UNE Standardisation and CEN (JTC-20) frameworks and WGs for Hyperloop 11.040,50 -
Participation in the European Group modifying SubSet SS-076 (ETCS Test Specs) to the new TSI releases 55.796,20
7. Supporting ecosystem development 506.100,00 2.880.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 2.500.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 4 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 120.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 260.000,00
Implementation of LL-type brake blocks shoes on freight wagons minimizing noise emission to replace phosphorous cast iron brake
blocks shoes are noisier and exceed the limits set by noise regulations. Likewise, with this type of brake blocks shoes, part of the
unwanted fires that are produced by sparks from phosphorous cast iron shoes are avoided. 356.100,00 -
Participation in national organisations and possible pilots and support of inniatives in the shape of contributions towards new
concepts and ideas (Railforum, Energy Roundtable, etc.)
150.000,00
8. Communication, dissemination, awareness raising, citizen engagement 29.243,08 50.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 8.333,33
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 8.333,33
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 8.333,33
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 4 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 8.333,33
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 8.333,33
Events, conventions and articles on BIM and Digital Twin internal research activities and applications. 10.000,00
Participation in Conferences and/or Seminars to communicate and disseminate lab knowledge 19.243,08 -
TT - Participation with own Stand at Innotrans 8.333,35

94
 9. Others 630.000,00 1.824.200,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 370.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 450.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 330.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 644.200,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in the
context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 30.000,00
Preliminary design for the implementation of an IT platform, for use by all actors in the supply chain 280.000,00
Participation in meetings and active input into WP2, 3 and 4 of EDDP. DAC4EU, DACcellerate, participation in meetings. 350.000,00
TOTAL ALL PLANNED IKAA 9.316.949,52 54.843.303,52

Estimated Estimated
annual value (in annual value
Country - Estimated All planned IKAA 2023 €) - (in €)
Link to JU Link to JU
objectives / KPIs project/ topic
Austria 200.000,00 3.371.685,71
Belgium 717.500,00
France 3.016.327,01 2.491.375,00
Germany 850.000,00 14.291.584,00
Hungary - 529.922,24
India - 76.000,00
Italy 1.290.000,00 9.600.569,00
Norway - 870.000,00
Portugal 30.000,00
Spain 3.433.660,51 10.522.416,31
Sweden 3.646.875,00
Switzerland - 2.666.000,00
The Netherlands 150.000,00 2.594.200,00
Czech Republic 376.962,00 760.000,00
USA 640.000,00
Poland 2.035.176,26
Grand Total 9.316.949,52 54.843.303,52

Additional Activities can be accounted for as Private Members’ In-Kind Contributions for Additional
Activities, when they contribute to the objectives of EU-Rail and are directly linked to its activities,
including non-eligible costs of indirect actions funded by EU-Rail, where this is provided for in the
present annual additional activities’ plan. Subject to the compliance with the aforementioned
definition, the adoption of the present annual additional activities’ plan and the signature of the
respective grants, Additional Activities shall be considered eligible as In-Kind Contributions from the 1
March 2022, and up to two years following the end of the action.

95
The following tables present the planned IKAA for the years 2024:

Estimated
Estimated
annual value
annual value
OVERVIEW ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF IKAA FOR 2024 (in €) - Link to
(in €) - Link to
JU objectives /
JU project
KPIs

1. Support to additional R&I 4.735.357,80 33.396.244,86

Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 337.648,76 5.733.662,91
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 1.018.116,44 5.858.123,33
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 1.493.556,85 7.237.748,49
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 4 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 393.688,09 5.855.929,13
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 179.098,77 5.088.666,67
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 44.218,12 1.345.447,67
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 7 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 10.000,00
High efficiency power electronics and electromagnetic machines, rare earth recovery sustainable processes
400.000,00 -
Infrastructure degradation models of metallic components and customized powder manufacturing for AM 200.000,00 1.000.000,00
Low costs signalling system for train collition avoidance (e.g. EGNSS) 200.000,00 1.000.000,00

Maintenance of ETCS lab Quality system for ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation and Internal activities/projects to maintain ERTMS labs 56.980,80 -
OCORA: Non-funded activities -
R&D internal projects related to and complementary to ERJU FAs topics. 100.000,00 -
Reduced models for efficient optimization processes 200.000,00 -
Smart Structural Health Monitoring for High Speed Railway Bridges, including Predictive Maintenance of these infrastructures
through Intelligent Systems. 40.000,00 -
SW development to automatize ETCS tests, ETCS simulation tools to be adapted to the new TSI releases, Development of a Robot
actuator for remote tests, Image Processing system to process images at ETCS DMI to perform automatic tests analysis 72.050,00 -
TT - Project NGT Fun System dynamics: Simulation digital Twin concept 266.666,67
2. Scale up of technologies 1.174.295,00 4.290.296,24
Acount based ticketing and new validation systems 200.000,00 -
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 2.292.655,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 560.951,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 70.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 1.164.690,24
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 202.000,00
ATO Functionality GoA3/4 200.000,00 -
Implementation Methodology for Cloud-based native Architecture. Developing Work Model Definition. Digital Enterprise
Architecture 25.000,00 -

Innovative system to perform digital visits to the railway network and support asset management and infrastructure maintenance. 249.295,00 -
Moving Block -TRL 5 to 7 500.000,00 -
3. Demonstrators 966.567,92 5.509.618,96
Activities for the definition of the basic equipment for the detection of elements of infrastructure and its digitization, equipment
for the monitoring trains, track measurement campaign with inspections train. 68.983,49 -
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 390.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 1.172.939,30
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 10.000,00 1.316.150,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 4 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 848.929,66
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 1.416.600,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 365.000,00

96
 ASTP - Absolute safe train positioning 150.000,00 -
Carrying out tests lab test on models, at a 1:1 scale, in the railway track box to analyze and assess any development or
technological innovation considered necessary to quickly upgrade track behavior as a whole or to individual track components 95.680,00 -
Compile the information available from tests in which have simulated the passage of trains at a speed greater than 300 km/h
(Very High Speed Trains) and extract the relevant conclusions regarding the maximum vertical deflection and levels of
acceleration that might be expected in the rail and the sleeper for the improved commercial, nominal and future design speeds,
among others. 59.000,86 -
Construction of zero emission areas around the stations, to promote sustainable mobility in the first and last mile of travelers
(transfer from the initial origin to the station and from the station to the final destination), including implementation of Electric
Charging Points fed by DC-powered Railway Network 90.772,65 -
Deepen the knowledge of the network, through the characterization of the parameters influencing the vertical dynamics of the
track, to optimize the standards for design, construction and maintenance of track superstructure 105.487,83 -
Development of demonstrators at TRL 7 level for early detection of rail defects or broken rails. Human Machine Interface (HMI)
and its Integration in the Central Supervision Post, including development of
Web platform and mobile APP for real-time data viewing and alarm notification 186.643,09 -
Onboard Platform HW prototype developmt 200.000,00 -
4. Creating new business opportunities 600.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 300.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 7 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 300.000,00
Software DISC EMAN
5. Training & skills development 7.467,50 1.022.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 1.000.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 22.000,00
Training activities to maintain the level of skills of the ETCS experts and SW development 7.467,50 -
6. Contribution to the development of new standards, regulations and policies 66.836,70 -
Participation in both Spanish UNE Standardisation and CEN (JTC-20) frameworks and WGs for Hyperloop 11.040,50 -
Participation in the European Group modifying SubSet SS-076 (ETCS Test Specs) to the new TSI releases 55.796,20
7. Supporting ecosystem development 506.100,00 2.910.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 2.500.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 4 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area - 150.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 260.000,00
Implementation of LL-type brake blocks shoes on freight wagons minimizing noise emission to replace phosphorous cast iron
brake blocks shoes are noisier and exceed the limits set by noise regulations. Likewise, with this type of brake blocks shoes, part
of the unwanted fires that are produced by sparks from phosphorous cast iron shoes are avoided. 356.100,00 -
Participation in national organisations and possible pilots and support of inniatives in the shape of contributions towards new
concepts and ideas (Railforum, Energy Roundtable, etc.)
150.000,00
8. Communication, dissemination, awareness raising, citizen engagement 29.243,08 250.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 41.666,67
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 41.666,67
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 41.666,67
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 4 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 41.666,67
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 41.666,67
Events, conventions and articles on BIM and Digital Twin internal research activities and applications. 10.000,00
Participation in Conferences and/or Seminars to communicate and disseminate lab knowledge 19.243,08 -
TT - Participation with own Stand at Innotrans 41.666,65
9. Others 321.000,00 2.516.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 1 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 370.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 2 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 450.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 3 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 330.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 5 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 1.336.000,00
Additional activities are part and contribute to the Member’s activities performed and described within the Flagship Project 6 in
the context of achieving the objectives and KPIs of the related Flagship Area 30.000,00
Input into EDDP, DAC4EU, DACcellerate 321.000,00
TOTAL ALL PLANNED IKAA 7.806.868,01 50.494.160,06

97
 Estimated Estimated
annual value (in annual value
Country - Estimated All planned IKAA 2024 €) - (in €)
Link to JU Link to JU
objectives / KPIs project/ topic
Austria 200.000,00 1.906.600,00
Belgium 757.500,00
France 3.016.327,01 2.535.125,00
Germany 500.000,00 10.425.390,00
Hungary - 1.164.690,24
India - 126.000,00
Italy 1.010.000,00 9.680.096,00
Norway - 870.000,00
Portugal 30.000,00
Spain 2.609.541,00 8.053.129,96
Sweden 8.682.675,00
Switzerland - 2.080.000,00
The Netherlands 150.000,00 2.004.000,00
Czech Republic 321.000,00 670.000,00
USA 800.000,00
Poland 708.953,86
Grand Total 7.806.868,01 50.494.160,06

Estimated annual Estimated annual

MULTI-ANNUAL OVERVIEW ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF IKAA FOR
value (in €) - Link to value (in €) - Link to TOTAL
2023-2024
JU objectives / KPIs JU project

TOTAL ALL PLANNED IKAA 17.123.817,53 105.337.463,58 122.461.281,11

98
Annex II - Organisational Structure of the Programme Office of EU-Rail

99
Annex III – Key Performance Indicators for Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking30

TABLE I - Horizon Europe Common Key Impact Pathway Indicators

PARTICULAR INDICATORS AND THEIR TARGET VALUES NOT YET DEFINED

TABLE II - Horizon Europe Partnership Common Indicators

PARTICULAR INDICATORS AND THEIR TARGET VALUES NOT YET DEFINED

30 Current insights on how individual partnerships, such as EU-Rail, will contribute to Horizon Europe Key Impact Pathways, and how the partnerships will be monitored using common indicators, can
be obtained from the document “Performance of European Partnerships: Biennial Monitoring Report 2022 on partnerships in Horizon Europe” available here: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/a6cbe152-d19e-11ec-a95f-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-search
Partial list of common indicators for European Partnerships is provided in the document “A framework for the Biennial Monitoring Report on European Partnerships - second interim report”, Section
4.3, available here: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/8c558fae-ec57-11ec-a534-01aa75ed71a1

100
TABLE III - Key Performance Indicators specific for EU-Rail

A number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been identified in the Multi-Annual Work Programme for each Flagship Area. Each JU project will produce
consistent quantitative and qualitative metrics during its implementation, so as to determine the actual R&I progress and results achieved.

Starting from this comprehensive list of KPIs that will constitute the basis for the Layer 1, a selection of the most relevant ones by Impact areas is presented in the
table below. It is to be noted that further consolidation of KPIs, accompanied by modelling of the rail system/sub-systems impacts, will be performed in the course of
the Programme.

This selection, using as a reference baseline the state of the art in 2020 (including results from S2R), will allow a more focused transformation of the operational work
delivered with Projects technical and operational results into more tangible Societal Impact qualifications.

The Societal Impact measurement methodology will be developed in the first two years of the functioning of the Joint Undertaking on the basis the technical and
operational KPIs provided here. The calculations of the impact will be provided after each round of demonstrators that is in 2025, 2027 and 2031.

101
102
103
Annex IV – KPIs and TRLs for Shift2Rail Programme

TABLE I – Estimation of Release 5 - of the Key Performance Indicators of the Shift2Rail Programme

104
TABLE II – Overview of demonstrators for S2R JU projects with a Technology Readiness Level
reaching at least value 6

Specific characteristics
Technological Testing Testing
IP Research Area Overall high level focus/objective
demonstration of Market time - time - Country TRL
YEAR start YEAR end

TD1.2 Incorporate wireless technologies to the train

communication network solutions (i.e. train
Train Control & Wireless TCMS Regional 2022 2023 DE 6
backbone, consist network and train to ground
Monit. System communication).
Full high speed intermediate coach interfacing
New materials in with the adjacent coaches and the running gear,
TD1.3 Carbody
train carbody High Speed 2022 2023 ES 6 together with the internal interfaces of the main
Shell structures representative equipment of the train (HVAC, etc.)
and integrated in a high speed train
New health monitoring systems that allows a
condition based maintenance of the track with
Urban/Subu
2022 2023 ES 6/7 Novel sensor system (hardware), Wireless
rban
communication of some sensor, Innovative
Sensoring
TD1.4 Running Gear algorithms
functionality
Wi rel es s on-boa rd, i n-s ervi ce moni tori ng s ys tem
IP1 wi th a cces s to externa l i nforma tion tha t provi des
Regional 2022 2023 HU 6/7
the requi red da ta for a condi tion-ba s ed
ma i ntena nce.
El ectro Mecha ni c
TD1.5 Brakes Bra ke
Generic 2022 2023 HU or DE 6 Mechatronic brake actuator

New door functionalities like platform detection,

PRM a cces s a nd
TD1.6 Regi ona l 2022 2023 FR, ES 7 passenger detection, passenger protection
communi ca ting door
Door and during boarding aid deployment and retract…
Intelligent Access Opening and closing mechanism and the leaves
system new innovative design:
Li ght a nd hi gh
Regi ona l 2022 2023 FR and/or ES 6 - one door will be based on metallic solutions
comfort door
- another door will be based on composite
solutions
New Pa s s engers New users experiences on board thanks to
TD1.7 Interiors Interi ors
Regi ona l 2022 2023 N/A 6
modular interiors

Specific characteristics
Technological Testing Testing
IP Research Area Overall high level focus/objective
demonstration of Market time - time - Country TRL
YEAR start YEAR end

Mainline/Hi
markets applications 2021 2023 FR/DE tbc 6/7 The demonstrators will be used to validate
TD2.1 Advanced gh Speed
aspects and capabilities defined in the ACS
Communication Urban/Subu specification documents (incl. support VoIP
markets applications 2021 2023 UK 6/7
rban communication) and assess them in the context
System Regional/Fr
markets applications 2021 2023 IT 6/7 of related FRMCS specifications.
eight
Demons tra te the Urba n/Hi gh
For GoA3/4, to check the behaviour of the system
TD2.2 Automatic fea s i bi l i ty of GoA3/4 Speed/Regi
2022 2023 DE, IT, NL 6/7 (ATO on board and ATO trackside) in a real pilot
Train Operation s ol ution on a ctua l ona l /Frei gh
line.
pi l ot tra i n a nd l i ne t
Urban/Subu
Higher Capacity 2021 2023 UK 6/7 Moving Block Demonstration for Urban /
rban
Suburban, High Speed and Low traffic railway,
High Speed
IP2 TD2.3 Moving Block Higher Capacity Railways
2021 2023 DE, FR 6/7 aiming to show capacity increase on existing
infrastructure, compared with traditional
Low Traffic
Lower Cost 2021 2023 SE, IT 6/7 signalling, in lab environment
Railway
Simulation and Corridor 1 of ETCS System could be used for
TD2.6 Zero on-site testing environment Mainline/R verification of the testing activities with
able to support egional/Frei 2021 2023 N/A 6 distributed test environments connected to each
testing automated ght other from different trackside and on-board
laboratory testing suppliers + Human Factors testing
Conflict Prediction Prototype demons tra ting compl ex Confl i ct
2022 2023 CZ 6
TD2.9 Traffic System Predi ction Sys tem.
management Generic Cons tituents needed for ATO GOA2 opera tion
Wayside ATO
system 2022 2023 SE, PL 6 ba s ed on da ta ma na gement ba s ed on the
constituents
i ntegra tion La yer.

105
 Specific characteristics
Technological Testing Testing
IP Research Area Overall high level focus/objective
demonstration of Market time - time - Country TRL
YEAR start YEAR end
TD3.1 Enhanced Monitoring programme foe S&C including:
Switch & Crossing Geometry and overrunning, casting, novel rail
RAMS optimised S&C Generic 2019 2023 AT 6/7
System grade, resilient pads, rail fastening system, base
Demonstrator plates, switch roller system, etc.
Low N&V Tramway Urban/Subu Test overall performance of a girder rail swing
2021 2023 TBD 6/7
TD3.2 Next Crossing rban nose crossing in service for the reduction of N&V
Generation Switch Materials and Next generation S&C materials and components
2019 2023 UK, SE, FR 4/7
& Crossing System Components tests (i.e. adjustable fastening systems)
Generic
Demonstrator A site trial for demonstration to assess future
Asphalt Track 2021 2023 UK 6/7
assessment of asphalt performance.
TD3.3 Optimised test of a Modular Slab track solution reducing
new slab track Generic 2019 2023 SE 7
Track System maintenance costs
TD3.4 Next
Thermocouple instrumented trials on process for
Generation Track Rail Defect Repair 2020 2023 UK 7
different rail steel grades
System
Reduce track and tunnel closure by offsite
2020 2023 FR, UK 7
Tunnel improvements Generic manufacturing and increase quality
TD3.5 Proactive 2020 2023 AT 7 Predict calcite clogging over time
IP3
Bridge and Tunnel Urban/Subu Efficient monitoring of noise emission and
2020 2023 DE 6
Assessment, rban installation of passive noise dampers.
Repair and 2020 2023 UK 7 Extend bridge service life by lowering fatigue
Upgrade Bridge improvements Generic Increase bearing capacity and remaining fatigue
2021 2023 SE 7
Demonstrator life of concrete bridges and increasing safety.
Make high speed traffic possible on existing
High Speed 2020 2023 SE 7
bridges with proven dynamic properties
Test of a strategical decision support tool based
Integrated Strategic long-term 2021 2023 PT, UK 6
on the tactical planning tool
Technological Tactical and Generic maintenance process and strategies through
UK, SE DE NL,
Demonstrators Operational short 2021 2023 6/7 knowledge extracted from information coming
ES, FR
Asset Management term from available data and monitoring systems
(TD3.6, TD3.7, Demonstrator focusing on minimising
Metro/ Tram Asset Urban/Subu
2021 2022 IT 7 maintenance costs, optimising the use of
TD3.8) Management rban
resources while maximising network
TD3.9 Smart Power Electric
SMART Control of Rail Demonstration of functionality, capacity,
Supply Railways 2020 2022 DE 7
Power Supply application and integration in the systems.
Demonstrator all Systems

106
 Specific characteristics
Technological Testing Testing
IP Research Area Overall high level focus/objective
demonstration of Market time - time - Country TRL
YEAR start YEAR end

Test of a scalable eco-systems which enables

pan European multimodal travels and MaaS.
Shared Demonstration of the functional ecosystem with
Towards the MaaS
modes and 2021 2023 GR,IT,FI,CZ 6/7 the full integration of Ride-sharing and MaaS.
concept
on-demand Scalable (near-) market ready eco-systems
enables pan European intermodal travels and
MaaS, including cross-plattform approaches.
Integrated TDs of
IP4
all IP4 ecosystem

Demonstrations of IP4 technologies in 6

Multimodal
Fully dynamic door- IT, GR, HR, ES, different locations involving different transport
(rail, bus, 2022 2023 6/7
to-door travel CZ, PL operators, translating/combining IP4 solutions
metro,…)
into specific demo sites solutions:

A gate equipped with intelligence as part of a

connected decision platform optimizing the work
TD5.2 Digital process in a terminal. Sata exchange platform to
ensure efficiency and security (of data handling)
Transport Improved terminals 2021 2023 SE 6
in the transport chain. Equipment prototypes
Management with HMI interface validated in live
demonstration for a selected large and complex
IP5 Freight terminal.
Modular, logistics-capable and cost-efficient,
Core market wagon 2022 2023 SK 7 low weight, high-payload and aerodynamically
TD5.3 Smart Freight optimised freight wagons
Wagon Concepts Modular, logistics-capable and cost-efficient,
Extended Market
2022 2023 TBD 5/6 low weight, high-payload and aerodynamically
Wagon
optimised freight wagons

107
Annex V – List of Founding Members of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking

NAME OF MEMBER REGISTRATION DETAILS

Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF), public corporate company registered under Spanish law (registration number: Q2801660H),
1
Entidad Pública Empresarial with its registered office at Calle Sor Ángela de la Cruz, 3, 28020 Madrid, Spain
registered under French law (registration number 389 191 982), with its registered office in
2 Alstom Transport SA
48, rue Albert Dhalenne, 93482 Saint-Ouen, France
registered under Italian law (registration number: 05033050963), with its registered office in
3 ANGELRAIL consortium led by MER MEC S.p.A.
Via Oberdan 70, 70043 Monopoli (BA), Italy
registered under Czech law (registration number: 48029483), with its registered office in
4 AŽD Praha s.r.o.
Žirovnická 3146/2, Záběhlice, 106 00, Praha 10, Czech Republic
registered under Spanish law (registration number: Volume 983, Folio 144, Sheet number SS-
5 Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A. (CAF) 329, entry 239ª), with its registered office in calle José Miguel Iturrioz nº 26, 20200, Beasain
(Gipuzkoa), Spain
registered under Spanish law (registration number: 28/1986 Registry of Associations of the
6 Asociación Centro Tecnológico CEIT government of the autonomous community of the Basque Country), with its registered office
in Paseo Manuel Lardizabal, nº 15. Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
registered under Czech law (registration number: 70994226, entered in the Commercial
7 České dráhy, a.s. Register kept by the Municipal Court in Prague, section B, insert 8039), with its registered
office in Prague 1, Nábřeží L. Svobody 1222, postal code 110 15, Czech Republic
8 Deutsche Bahn AG established in Potsdamer Platz 2, 10785 Berlin, Germany
registered under German law (registration number: VR 2780 at Amtsgericht Bonn), with its
9 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)
registered office in Linder Höhe, 51147 Cologne, Germany
European Smart Green Rail Joint Venture (eSGR JV),
registered under Spanish law (registration number: A-29021334), with its registered office in
10 represented by Centro de Estudios de Materiales y Control
Benaque 9, 29004 Málaga, Spain
de Obra S.A (CEMOSA)
registered under French law (registration number 323 288 563 RCS Nanterre), with its
11 Faiveley Transport SAS
registered office in 3, rue du 19 mars 1962, 92230 Gennevilliers, France
registered under Italian law (registration number: R.E.A. 962805), with its registered office in
12 Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. (FSI)
Piazza della Croce Rossa 1, 00161 Roma, Italy

108
 NAME OF MEMBER REGISTRATION DETAILS
registered under Italian law, registration number R.E.A. GE421689, with its registered office
13 Hitachi Rail STS S.p.A.
in Genova, Italy
INDRA SISTEMAS S.A & PATENTES TALGO S.L.U.:
registered under Spanish law (registration number: A-28599033), with its registered office in
14 INDRA SISTEMAS S.A.
Avenida de Bruselas nº 35, 28108 Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain
registered under Spanish law (registration number: B-84528553), with registered office in
PATENTES TALGO S.L.U.
Paseo del tren Talgo, nº 2, 28290 Las Rozas de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
15 Jernbanedirektorate (Norwegian Railway Directorate) established in Biskop Gunnerus gate 14A, 0185 Oslo, Norway
registered under German law (registration number: HRB91181), with its registered office in
16 Knorr-Bremse Systeme für Schienenfahrzeuge GmbH
Moosacher Str. 80, 80809 München, Germany
Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft registered under Austrian law (registration number: FN 247642f), with its registered office in
17
(ÖBB-Holding AG) Am Hauptbahnhof 2, 1100 Wien, Austria
registered under Polish law (registration number: 0000019193), with its registered office in
18 Polskie Koleje Państwowe Spółka Akcyjna (PKP)
Aleje Jerozolimskie 142A, 02-305 Warszawa, Poland
ProRail B.V. & NS Groep N.V.
registered under Dutch law (registration number: 30124359), with its registered office at
ProRail B.V.
19 Moreelsepark 3, 3511 EP, Utrecht, The Netherlands
registered under Dutch law (registration number: 30124358), with its registered office at
NS Groep N.V.
Laan van Puntenburg 100, 3511 ER, Utrecht, The Netherlands
registered under German law (registration number HRB 237219), with its registered office in
20 Siemens Mobility GmbH
Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, 81739 Munich, Germany
registered under French law (registration number: 552 049 447), with its registered office in
21 Société nationale SNCF, société anonyme
2 Place aux Étoiles, 93200 Saint-Denis, France
registered under Dutch law (registration number: 30139439 Chamber of commerce Utrecht),
22 Strukton Rail Nederland B.V.
established in Westkanaaldijk 2, Utrecht Postbus 1025, 3600 BA Maarssen, The Netherlands
registered under French law (registration number: 383 470 937), with its registered office in
23 THALES SIX GTS France SAS
4 Avenue des Louvresses, 92230 Gennevilliers, France
registered under Swedish law (registration number: 202100-6297), with its registered office
24 Trafikverket, a Public Sector Body
in 781 89 Borlänge, Sweden

109
 NAME OF MEMBER REGISTRATION DETAILS
registered under Austrian law (registration number: FN 126714w), with its registered office
25 Voestalpine Railway Systems GmbH
in Kerpelystrasse 199, 8700 Leoben, Austria

110
Annex VI – System Pillar milestones and planning

To note – there are ongoing scoping and milestone discussions since the Task and Domain teams have
been in place since the beginning of October. It is expected that these discussions will be finalised by
the end of the year. Therefore the following information should be treated as indicative and subject
to change.

The milestones and planning of the SP has different levels of detail and addresses different purposes.

The following indicative table includes the dates identified during the System Pillar ramp up phase and
included in the roadmap for the first wave of standardisation. This will be updated through the initial
planning phases of the System Pillar.

Nr. Task Area Standardisation Area Priority Difficulty Maturity date

Very
1. 4 DAC DAC architecture and interfaces to CCS High Low 2023
High

2. 1-2 Security Security systems services for CCS/TMS High High Low 2024

3. 1-2 Yards/Term. Coordinated capacity planning with TM Medium High Low 2025

4. 1-2 Yards/Term. Coordinated traffic control with TM Medium High Low 2025

CCS/TMS<>Station interfaces for ATO

5. 1-2 Stations Medium Medium Low 2025
Processes

CCS Very
6. 2 Operational concept (harmonized) Medium Low 2023
operations high

CCS Very Very

7. 2 Operational processes (harmonized) Low 2024
operations high high

CCS Very Very

8. 2 Operational rulebooks Low 2026
operations high high

Interface between Traffic Management and Very

9. 2-3 CCS core Medium Medium 2024
Traffic Control. high

Interfaces between Traffic Control and Train

Control. (e.g. way of using SS26/126 for Very
10. 2 CCS core Medium Medium 2024
level R; and additional channels e.g. for high
onboard digital maps).

Cross-company/cross-installation/cross- Very Very

11. 2 CCS Core Low 2024
border interfaces for Traffic Control High High

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 Interfaces between Traffic Control and Very
12. 2 CCS core Medium Medium 2023
Trackside Asset Control. high

Interfaces Traffic Control and Mobile

Very
13. 2 CCS core CCS/TMS applications (e.g. for trackworker Medium Medium 2026
high
safety)

Very Medium-
14. 2-3 CCS assets Engineering, asset and topology data Medium 2023
high High

Asset condition and intervention

management (Integrated diagnostics
15. 1-2 CCS assets protocols, analytics, event channelling, and High Medium Low 2025
smart/integrated event pattern
recognition)

Vehicle CCS internal modularisation and Very

16. 2 CCS vehicle High Medium 2024
interfaces to the train high

17. 2 CCS config Integrated configuration management High Medium Low 2025

Standardisation of integrated workbenches

18. 2 CCS UI High Medium Low 2024
/ UI

Standard (safe) computing environments

19. 2 Computing Medium Medium Medium 2025
(e.g. API and communication methods)

FRMCS incl. vehicle/trackside architecture Very

21. 2 FRMCS High High 2024
V2 High

FRMCS incl. vehicle/trackside architecture Very

22. 2 FRMCS High High 2026
V3 High

Traffic Management – internal interfaces

23. 3 TM (for example between Planning, Deviation High High Low 2025
Management, and Incidence Management)

TM common service APIs (e.g. to company Very

24. 3 TM Medium Low 2024
systems or customer requirement) High

Cross-company / cross-border /Multimodal

Traffic Management (Deviation
Very
25. 3 TM management, planning synchronisation and High Low 2026
High
managed planning partner networks for
railway production

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Deliverables and milestones

The following sections sets out for horizontal services and the different tasks the current planning for
the deliverables and milestones. This is still indicative and will will be confirmed and potentially
amended in the initial stages of the System Pillar process, which has begun from the start of October
2022 (with the signature of the Lot 2 contract).

1. Central Modelling Service

1.1 Deliverables

First 12 months

 Finalize the System Engineering Management Plan V2 (full version)

 Install and train tool target platform
 Define and start the synchronisation process with TT

Running Tasks

 Maintain and update the high level requirements, operational concept, and architecture
based on the input of the sector or the SP tasks. Allocate requirements and functions to the
System Pillar Tasks.
 Integrate and consolidate in the master model the different operational concepts and
architectural designs to one solution that fulfils the decided requirements.
 Define, assign, and coordinate tasks for design of interfaces and design on interactive
operational processes between System Pillar tasks 2,3,4 (ff) and their domains
 Provide the central modelling service that integrates form- and requirement-compliant
conceptual inputs or external model fragments into the master model.
 Design tests and perform model proving for the overall model validation
 Define, train, continuously improve, and supervise a homogenous and integrated System
Engineering Management plan for SP level, tasks and domains. Design and describe the
engineering process in the System Pillar (according to INCOSE/ISO15288) with roles, working
steps and type of artefacts; processes change requests and proposals to the processes and
methods
 Choose, develop and provide the documentation, concept, architecting and modelling
handbook (MBSE), the ontology, the architecting framework, and the Railway Dictionary
 Design, hosts and maintains the central tool platforms and the master concept/model/CDM
databases and edits and consolidates their content as a central service
 Manage relevant licences and technical support for the necessary technical modelling
software.
 Requirements management platform (for all requirements) and methods and moderation of
the creation, negotiation and CCM process for requirements
 Assure the coherence, quality, and completeness of the full requirement implementation in
the specification (requirements from all sides, like from sector, Task 1 or between other
Tasks or domains), as well as for the processes and interfaces between tasks
 Provide document management platform and methods, such as the repository for
conceptual documents, coordination of the translation of concepts into formal models and
derived views and exports like for CDM

113
  Guide and support appropriate MBSE-training to contributors to the SP

1.2 Indicative milestones

Training prepared and executed TBD

Existing functional models translated, imported and consolidated TBD
Modelling rules defined TBD
First complete set of requirements for the system currently in scope based on
Q3 2023
contributions of the tasks and domains
Work breakdown plan, assigned tasks and coordination for an integrated operational
Q3 2023
concept and process set (work assigned to the tasks),
Operational analysis model based on the inputs of the tasks and domains according to
their milestone structure Work breakdown plan, assigned tasks and coordination for an Q4 2022
integrated systems architecture (work assigned to the tasks)
Maintain and update the high level requirements, operational concept, and architecture
TBD
based on the input of the sector or the SP tasks.
Allocate requirements and functions to the System Pillar Tasks. TBD
Tool Platform Administration TBD
CDM consolidated for running SP domains TBD
Collaboration tool established TBD
Concept editing /content management / ALM established: TBD
MBSE platform established, TBD
Document version/release Mgt. Platform established, TBD
SP Publishing platform established (Website) TBD
(Central)
Modelling System architecture model based on the inputs of the tasks and domains according to
TBD
Service their milestone structure System Engineering Management Plan V1 defined and trained,
Integrate and consolidate in the master model the different operational concepts and
TBD
architectural designs to one solution that fulfils the decided requirements.
Define, assign, and coordinate tasks for design of interfaces and design on interactive
TBD
operational processes between System Pillar tasks 2,3,4 (ff) and their domains
Provide the central modelling service that integrates form- and requirement-compliant
TBD
conceptual inputs or external model fragments into the master model.
Design tests and perform model proving for the overall model validation TBD
o Define, train, continuously improve, and supervise a homogenous and integrated
System Engineering Management plan for SP level, tasks and domains. Design and
describe the engineering process in the System Pillar (according to INCOSE/ISO15288) TBD
with roles, working steps and type of artefacts; processes change requests and proposals
to the processes and methods
o Choose, develop and provide the documentation, concept, architecting and
modelling handbook (MBSE), the ontology, the architecting framework, and the Railway TBD
Dictionary
o Design, hosts and maintains the central tool platforms and the master
concept/model/CDM databases and edits and consolidates their content as a central TBD
service
Manage relevant licenses and technical support for the necessary technical modelling
TBD
software.
Requirements management platform (for all requirements) and methods and
TBD
moderation of the creation, negotiation and CCM process for requirements

114
 Assure the coherence, quality, and completeness of the full requirement
implementation in the specification (requirements from all sides, like from sector, Task 1
TBD
or between other Tasks or domains), as well as for the processes and interfaces between
tasks
Provide document management platform and methods, such as the repository for
conceptual documents, coordination of the translation of concepts into formal models TBD
and derived views and exports like for CDM
Guide and support appropriate MBSE-training to contributors to the SP TBD

2. PRAMSS

2.1 Deliverables

First 12 months

 Development of harmonized approaches and strategies for PRAMSS at European level – for
example overall safety levels
 Defining strategies (e.g. safety strategy), policies, methods (e.g. concerning security design)
in cooperation with the Tasks and Domains
 Security:
o Security in the light of new system design approach (modularization, standard
interfaces, ..)
o Security and Domains:
 All domains: every domain has to work on Security - doing "security by
design" in all steps.
 Task 2 Transversal (Security dedicated team): Designing the Security
systems, network protocols (Identity management, security monitoring,
etc.)
 Safety:
o Establish the principles to be followed in the system design (e.g. Identify and
‘isolate’ Vital components)
o Elaborate new (simplified) authorization processes (steps needed to put system
in service and for update) to simplify the introduction of the railways products in
the European Member States:
 As is Analysis (countries processes).
 How to introduce full automatic Operation (ATO GoA3/4)
 How to remove barriers linked to the different countries safety
authority.
 PRAM:
o Performance target: e.g. Systems response time according to the system
configuration (Scalability)
o RAM: Define Redundancies evaluation criteria, Maintenance aspects on the base
of Modularization, Standardization, Scalability design guidelines
 PRAMSS definitions (From existing to target) on top-level
 Assure requirement implementation in the System Pillar Tasks
 Support the consideration of applicability and the development of new approaches for
example - Model based safety analysis (MBSA); generic safety cases as the prerequisite of
harmonized engineering and subsequent operational rules; development of flexible and
configurable system for different rail environments

115
  Coordinate and support Tasks and Domain Teams in the break-down process for the
PRAMSS requirements.

2.2 Indicative Milestones

Development of harmonized approaches and strategies for PRAMSS at EU

Q3 2023
level - for example, overall safety levels
Defining strategies (e.g. safety strategy), policies, methods (e.g. concerning
Q3 2023
security design) in cooperation with the Tasks and Domains
Safety plan Q3 2023
Security Plan Q3 2023
PRAM plan Q3 2023
PRAMSS PRAMSS definitions (From existing to target) on top-level
Management
Non-functional requirements, Q3 2023
& Assurance
Concept, Q3 2023
Team
Assure requirement implementation in the System Pillar Tasks Q3 2023
Support the consideration of applicability and the development of new
approaches for example:
- Model based safety analysis (MBSA);
- Generic safety cases as the prerequisite of harmonized engineering Q3 2023
and subsequent operational rules
- Development of flexible and configurable system for different rail
environments

3. Task 1 Railway System

3.1 Deliverables

First 12 months

 As-is railway system architecture view, considering operational, functional, logical & physical
assets
 Diagnosis of the pain points for selected operational interaction processes and derive target
performance of railways system functions and the requirement set reflecting the Common
Business Objectives

As is architecture task 1 should provide analysis for to be architecture using identified enablers
and innovation to improve railways process or to reach collectively European ambitions.

Different activities should fit the international standard of System engineering/architecting (ISO
15288 or, later, ISO 29110). The main activities should include

o Identification of the system perimeter

 Identification of business (CBO) and stakeholder requirements along life
cycle from their need.
 Expected deliverable: Identification at EU railways system of main
internal and external stakeholders of railways system and their
requirement

116
  Identification of main system concepts (ConOps and OpsCon) that
define capability, quality and performance needed in the system
(stakeholder alignment).
o Requirement analysis of as-is railways system for layer 1 and 2 should be based on
defined use cases
 Describe technical as-is railways system including functional boundary,
performances objectives, non-functional requirements
 Identification of as-is external and internal interfaces requirement (eg.
function flow diagram) and requirements flow-down
 Identify the pain points for selected operational interaction processes
 Derive a requirement set reflecting the Common Business Objectives
 Input to CMS

 High-level Business Process Architecture view and Operational Design (Organisational needs,
Generic automation needs, …) for the (to-be) Railway System

The high level business process architecture view and operational design for the to be railway system
should include:

o Consideration to layer 2 of all main railways subdomain and sub-systems including

infrastructure (Track, Energy, Telecom, Civil Works), rolling stock, railways operation and
services,
o Identification from CBO of expected system performance for each function at layer 1-2
o Analysis of concept candidate for target performances and describe functional and
performance requirement for to-be system
o Identification of main system concepts (ConOps and OpsCon) that define capability, quality
and performance needed in the system (stakeholder alignment).
o Input to CMS
o Identification of internal interfaces and requirements flow-down for to be
o Identification of critical external interfaces to the railway system, in particular as part of the
integration of rail within the transport system
o Alignment with relevant Flagship Project activites.
o Proposition of future architecture that can reach CBO objective by analysing new concept in
SP domain and IP ongoing project in to be architecture suitable for specific objectives

3.2 Indicative milestones

Operational Analysis (ORS)

Definition of uses cases of the railway system, also to be consistent with domain,
Q4 2022
considering external interfaces of Task 2, 3, 4 and FP
Domain
Identification of the system perimeter
Task 1
Identification of business (CBO) and stakeholder requirements along life cycle
Q2 2023
from their need

Identification and modelling of use cases focus on those who include SP domain

117
 Identification of main system concepts (ConOps and OpsCon) that define
capability,

As-is analysis of the railway system, considering Operational assets, Functional assets,
Logical assets Physical assets

Technical as-is railways system including functional boundary, performances

objectives, non-functional requirements

Identification of as-is external and internal interfaces requirement (eg. function Q3 2023
flow diagram) and requirements flow-down

Identify the pain points for selected operational interaction processes

Derive a requirement set reflecting the Common Business Objectives Q4 2023

Specify the high-level Business Process Architecture and Operational Design for the (to-
be) Railway System

Identification from CBO of expected system performance for each function at

Q1 2024
layer 1-2

Analysis of innovation concept candidate for target performances and describe

Q2 2024
functional and performance requirement for to-be system

Identification of internal interfaces and requirements flow-down for to be Q3 2024

Proposition of future architecture that can reach CBO objective by analysing new
concept in SP domain and IP ongoing project dans to be architecture suitable for Q4 2024
specific objectives.

Organizational Needs; Generic Automation needs TBD

Operational Capabilities TBD

Assign high-level input requirements to other tasks TBD

Define requirements, including reduction of total cost of ownership TBD

Assess migration roadmap of the Tasks 2…n Regarding overall Business Process
TBD
Architecture and Operational Design consistency

For physical assets, start with the inventory of existing tools/repositories before making
TBD
the analysis

Assess migration roadmap of the Tasks 2…n

TBD
Regarding overall Business Process Architecture and Operational Design consistency

4. Task 2: CCS. Domain Operational Design

4.1 Deliverables

First 12 months

118
  Collection of existing operational designs from Railways
 Transfer existing documentation from the Ramp Up
 Request additional examples (from EUG/NPM) for Level 2/3
 Create a short overview document that explains the existing content
 Consolidate (“copy and paste”) a first raw description as a starting basis for the
operational design
 Create a first complete collection of “basic” operational requirements
 Clarify the need / process for border signals protecting supervised areas

 Collection of operational improvement requirements

(SEMP processes)
 Collect and consolidate operational improvement requirements from
o Common business objectives
o Sector input documents (Ramp Up)
 Refine problem descriptions
 Create problem analysis
 Design process improvements

 Operational design down to SEMP process 2.5

 Transfer the raw description to a structured operational analysis description (CONUSE,
CONEMP, CONOPS for CCS, based on ARCADIA method as described in the SEMP) as a
basic structure (mission, capabilities, process structure) and
 Describe the operational design (up to SEMP process 2.5) while applying the
improvement requirements and completing the list of operational requirements.

4.2 Indicative milestones

Collection of existing operational designs from Railways

Transfer existing documentation from the Ramp Up
Request additional examples (from EUG/NPM) for Level 2/3
Create a short overview document that explains the existing content
Consolidate (“copy and paste”) a first raw description as a starting basis for the
operational design
Create a first complete collection of “basic” operational requirements
Clarify the need / process for border signals protecting supervised areas

Operational Collection of operational improvement requirements (SEMP processes)

Collect and consolidate operational improvement requirements from Before Q4
Design
2023
Teams Common business objectives
Sector input documents (Ramp Up)
Refine problem descriptions
Create problem analysis
Design process improvements
Operational design down to SEMP process 2.5
Transfer the raw description to a structured operational analysis
description (CONUSE, CONEMP, CONOPS for CCS, based on ARCADIA method as described
in the SEMP) as a basic structure (mission, capabilities, process structure) and

119
 Describe the operational design (up to SEMP process 2.5) while applying
the improvement requirements and completing the list of operational requirements.
Operational Analysis for the system ( “OCS”): Operational Concept Harmonized
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Q3 2023
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardization specification: Operational Concept
Operational Analysis for the system ( “OCS”): Operational Processes
As-Is Analysis
CBO: Translate business objectives into operational target processes (business re-
engineering)
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories Q4 2024
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
HSI Plan
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Rule Books
Operational rulebooks (Harmonized): Human Interaction. Driver-system-
Q4 2026
signalman-maintainer
Operational rulebooks (Harmonized): Signaling Rules
· Work on the root cause of different operational concepts of radio based ETCS:
Planning
Projecting TBD
Implementation engineering rules
Timely harmonization on EU-level
· Support and guide technical design teams for functional requirements & harmonization Periodical
according to target operational processes

5. Task 2 CCS. Domain Architecture Release and Coordination

5.1 Deliverables

First 3 months

 Define the strategy to be followed to design the and release the fully integrated system
architecture

120
 o Refined version of the high-level logical architecture from the ramp up as a basis
o Sequence and priorities in the interface catalogue
o Workaround for the missing operational analysis
 Coordination with the Transversal Domain Teams to ensure overall consistency regarding
architecture and release coordination
o Architecture guideline for transversal systems (protocols on network level)
o Dependency management for independent component releases

First 12 months

 Collect and evaluate existing work (research projects, state-of-the-art documents) as input
to design the System architecture.
o Model import
o Document Import and restructuring
o Fast approval process
 Continuous Interaction with IP and SP Core group and SP domains to provide and receive
inputs and mediate conflicts
o Prioritized and transparent architecture issue list with important open points
assigned to workgroups or teams
o Strategy to get a fast clarification process
 Design/Develop/Maintain the System Architecture on System Level 3 according to the
defined principles, the existing work and to the Operational concept into Logical architecture
 Design architectural roadmap and migration, ensuring “integrity per migration step”
o Design architecture migration steps based on the requirement input of the
migration team
o Define architecture strategy for legacy adapters
 End2End integration of functional chains, assure architectural quality on Task level
o Efficient quality assessment method and process

 Ensure and verify architecture consistency on functional and logical level

o Trace validation method and criteria
 Manage the input to the standardization and TSI plan for Task activities and issue the input
according to the “TSI and Standardization input plan”
o Maturity management process for the release preparation
o Design to time management process for the architectural domain work

5.2 Indicative Milestones

Define the strategy to be followed to design the and release the fully integrated system
TBD
architecture
Collect and evaluate all the existing work (research projects, state-of-the-art documents) TBD
Architecture as input to design the System architecture.
and Release Coordinate the work and inputs of the Tasks Architecture-linked Domain Teams and cross TBD
Coordination cutting teams
Team Continuous Interaction with IP and SP Core group and SP domains to provide and receive TBD
inputs and mediate conflicts
System Analysis (FRS), Functional Requirement Specification)
System Definition

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 Actor description and roles
TBD
System capabilities
Before Q4
Functional chains per use case 2023
Function details (with external relevance)
Design/Develop/Maintain the System Architecture (SRS) according to the defined
principles, the existing work and to the Operational concept into Logical architecture
TBD
Structure of contained systems of the next system level
Before Q4
Logical Components Description 2023
Physical architecture
Technical and physical hazards and risks
Design architectural roadmap and migration, ensuring “integrity per migration step” TBD
End2End integration of functional chains, assure architectural quality on Task level TBD
Ensure and verify architecture consistency on functional and logical level TBD
Manage the input to the standardization and TSI plan for Task activities and issue the input TBD
according to the “TSI and Standardization input plan”
Coordination with the Cross Cutting Domain Teams of other Tasks to ensure overall TBD
consistency regarding architecture and release coordination
Organize plenary meetings with all Domain leadership teams to share status reports
TBD
between all teams
Manage releases TBD

6. Task 2 CCS: Domain Migration and roadmap

6.1 Deliverables

First 12 months

 Analyse national situations, product, and deployment constraints

o What are the quantitative drivers for cost, duration, and constraints
o What are the reasons for the specific strategies
o What are the planned migration steps from architecture perspective
 Design standard architectural migration roadmaps, principles and derive system
requirements
o Create overview over migration roadmaps and big rollouts
o Design main migration variants/steps (architecture + operations) --> define migration
related requirements for the architecting process in Task 2
o Identify interfaces for whom special migration features make sense
o Design technical strategy and derive requirements for the upgradeability of current and
future investments, including the evolveability of future systems
 Design operational process migration roadmap, principles, and process requirements (including
initial intermediate scenarios)
o What are the quantitative drivers for cost, duration, and constraints
o Define principles, means, and requirements that shall be integrated into the SP
engineering process to simplify operational migration (e.g. simplify deployment or
training)
 Propose generic interface forward and backwards compatibility principles and requirements for
migration and safe investments

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 o Enhanced version management
o Extensible interface architecture (simplify connection of “old with new”
o Self-declaration of services
o Remote upgrades
o Simplification of upgrades

6.2 Indicative Milestones

· Analyze national situations, product, and deployment constraints TBD

· Design standard architectural migration roadmaps, principles and derive TBD
system requirements
Migration · Design operational process migration roadmap, principles, and process TBD
and Road requirements (including initial intermediate scenarios)
Map Team · Propose interface forward and backwards compatibility for migration and TBD
safe investments
· Continuous interaction with Architecture and Release Coordination Team TBD
· Defining migration concepts for existing vehicle design. TBD

7. Task 2 CCS: Domain Trackside Assets Control and Supervision

7.1 Deliverables

First 12 months

 The Trackside Assets Interfaces standardisation

o The target for 2023 is to fully release an agreed Trackside Assets interface specification
for the System Pillar target architecture (based on EULYNX BL4 V2 roadmap) and to bring
it to the standardisation process via ESO and /or TSI.
o Agree on scope of Trackside Assets interfaces for the standardization process as input to
the Standardization and TSI Input plan
o Import relevant EULYNX documentation into SP engineering environment
o Assess and propose the grade and channel of standardisation (TSI versus ESO)
o Finalise and propose the scope of connected trackside assets
o What type of trackside assets
o Just the interface interlocking<>OC, or also the interface OC<>TA?
 Ensure alignment and close cooperation with Innovation Pillar Flagship Area 2
o Integrate the specification into the demonstrator developments
 Evaluate ETCS-compliant interface and protocol solution (together with Traffics CS) for border
signals, fallback signals, and overlayed signals
o The approach to be evaluated is “showing ETCS DMI information also trackside” (very
basic, no traditional signalling logic, with or without trackside ATP equipment).
o Evaluate and assess use cases, operational requirements, and basic system design

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7.2 Indicative Milestones

Trackside Internal Interfaces Standardization TBD

The Trackside Assets Data sharing Management/Maintenance TBD
Ensure alignment and close cooperation with Innovation Pillar Flagship Area 2 TBD
Operational Analysis (=ORS, Operational Requirement Specification) Q4 2022
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Trackside Asset Control
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Q4 2022
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardization specification
Layer with Trackside Assets and respective Object Controllers
As-Is Analysis
Trackside
Common business objectives
Asset
control & Process Innovations
supervision Application definition and categories
Domain Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
TBD
Before Q4
Operational Capabilities
2023
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardization specification
Integrated possession management (Task 1/2) Q4 2022
Trackside Asset Internal Interfaces TBD
System Analysis (=FRS, Functional Requirement Specification) Q4 2022
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Trackside Asset Control
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities
Q4 2022
Functional chains per use case
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
System Requirements

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 Functional standardization Specification
Layer with Trackside Assets and respective Object Controllers
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities TBD
Functional chains per use case Before Q4
Function details (with external relevance) 2023
Functional hazards and risks
System Requirements
Functional standardization Specification
Integrated possession management (Task 1/2) Q4 2022
Trackside Asset Internal Interfaces TBD
System Architecture (=SRS, System Requirement Specification or FFFIS for interfaces) Q4 2022
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Trackside Asset Control
Structure of contained systems of the next system level
Logical Components Description
Physical architecture
Technical and physical hazards and risks
Q4 2022
Technical migration strategy
Technical functional Requirements
Non-functional requirements
Interface specification (system/user/physical interfaces)
Technical standardization specification
Layer with Trackside Assets and respective Object Controllers
Structure of contained systems of the next system level
Logical Components Description
Physical architecture
Technical and physical hazards and risks
TBD
Before Q4
Technical migration strategy
2023
Technical functional Requirements
Non-functional requirements
Interface specification (system/user/physical interfaces)
Technical standardization specification
Integrated possession management (Task 1/2) Q4 2022
Trackside Asset Internal Interfaces
Application Specification Q4 2022
configuration 1
Application configurations
Application conditions
Application lifecycle and its requirements Q4 2022
System user handbook
Engineering and maintenance rules
Engineering and maintenance handbook
configuration 2
Application configurations Q4 2022
Application conditions

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 Application lifecycle and its requirements
System user handbook
Engineering and maintenance rules
Engineering and maintenance handbook
configuration 3
Application configurations
Application conditions
Application lifecycle and its requirements Q4 2022
System user handbook
Engineering and maintenance rules
Engineering and maintenance handbook
configuration n
Application configurations
Application conditions
Application lifecycle and its requirements Q4 2022
System user handbook
Engineering and maintenance rules
Engineering and maintenance handbook
Validation, Model proving, Test Specification (VMT) Q4 2022
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Trackside Asset Control Q4 2022
Integrated possession management (Task 1/2) Q4 2022
Layer with Trackside Assets and respective Object Controllers
Validation method, model proving, test cases
Result documentation of model proving Q4 2022
Specification of simulations/test environment
Result of simulation / test
Release, Standardization and Publication process documentation (RSP)
Layer with Trackside Assets and respective Object Controllers
Standardization process documentation Q4 2022
Quality assurance, approval and decision documentation
Change Management Process Documentation

8. Task 2 CCS. Domain Traffic Control and Supervision

8.1 Indicative Milestones

Prioritization analysis: Complete scope definition for release1 in Q1 Q1 2023

Analysis if and how specific issues are considered, inter alia:
APS vs HL3, Event recognition, Virtual coupling, C-DAS, Voice communication” and “future
TBD
communication strategy, Enhanced backwards compatibility by “switching between major
releases”
Traffic control Communication (Radio) Analysis of if and how: Voice communication” and “future
& supervision communication strategy TBD
Domain Ensure aligment and close cooperation with Innovation pillar FA2 TBD
Yard/Depot/Terminals System Interfaces standardization Management/Maintenance
TBD
(interface yard to CCS)
Operational Analysis (=ORS, Operational Requirement Specification)
Traffic Control – internal interfaces (e.g. between ATP and ATP processes) Q3 2023

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 As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Operational hazards and risks
Traffic Control legacy adapters
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Q4 2023
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Operational hazards and risks
Concept for operational migration
Interface between Traffic Management and Traffic Control
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Q4 2023
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Operational hazards and risks
Concept for operational migration
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Train Control. (e.g. way of using SS26/126
for level R; and additional channels e.g. for onboard digital maps).
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements Q4 2023
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Operational hazards and risks
Concept for operational migration

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Cross-company/cross-installation/cross-border interfaces for Traffic Control
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Q4 2023
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Operational hazards and risks
Concept for operational migration
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Trackside Asset Control
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Q4 2023
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Operational hazards and risks
Concept for operational migration
Interfaces Traffic Control and Mobile CCS+ applications (e.g. for trackworker safety)
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Q4 2023
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Operational hazards and risks
Concept for operational migration
CCS<>Station interfaces for ATO Processes (Task 1/2)
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Q4 2023
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes

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 Operational hazards and risks
Concept for operational migration
Computing Platform: Standard (safe) computing environments (e.g. API and
TBD
communication methods)
Communication (Radio): FRMCS incl. vehicle/trackside architecture TBD
System Analysis (=FRS, Functional Requirement Specification)
Traffic Control – internal interfaces (e.g. between ATP and ATP processes)
System definition
Q2 2024
Detailed system actor descriptions and roles
System capabilities
Traffic Control legacy adapters
Q1 2025
System definition
Interface between Traffic Management and Traffic Control
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities Q4 2023
Functional chains per use case
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Train Control. (e.g. way of using SS26/126
for level R; and additional channels e.g. for onboard digital maps).
System Definition
Actor description and roles
Q4 2023
System capabilities
Functional chains per use case
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
Cross-company/cross-installation/cross-border interfaces for Traffic Control
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities Q4 2023
Functional chains per use case
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Trackside Asset Control
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities Q4 2022
Functional chains per use case
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
CCS<>Station interfaces for ATO Processes (Task 1/2)
Q2 2024
System Definition
Communication (Radio): FRMCS incl. vehicle/trackside architecture TBD
Computing Platform: Standard (safe) computing environments (e.g. API and
TBD
communication methods)
System Architecture (=SRS, System Requirement Specification or FFFIS for interfaces)

129
 Traffic Control – internal interfaces (e.g. between ATP and ATP processes) Q4 2025
Traffic Control legacy adapters Q4 2026
Interface between Traffic Management and Traffic Control Q4 2024
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Train Control. (e.g. way of using SS26/126 for
level R; and additional channels e.g. for onboard digital maps). Q4 2024
Cross-company/cross-installation/cross-border interfaces for Traffic Control Q4 2024
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Trackside Asset Control Q4 2022
Interfaces Traffic Control and Mobile CCS+ applications (e.g. for trackworker safety) Q4 2026
CCS<>Station interfaces for ATO Processes (Task 1/2) Q4 2025
Communication (Radio): FRMCS incl. vehicle/trackside architecture TBD
Release, Standardization and Publication process documentation (RSP) TBD
APS vs HL3: TBD
Describe the additional requirements of APS compared to HL3 TBD
Describe the additional business case of APS compared to HL3 TBD
Assess the difference for the migration paths (HL3, APS, APS via HL3) TBD
Virtual coupling: TBD
Traffic CS + Analyze S2R results for virtual coupling TBD
Train CS Compare the 3 solutions relative to ETCS Level 3 incl. business case and describe the
TBD
recommendation
Enhanced backwards compatibility by “switching between major releases”: TBD
Analyze the use and business cases for safe systems, using the “dynamic RBC” as an
TBD
example.
Analyze the consequences for the functional architecture (impacts/complexity) and TBD
design a recommendation for enhanced backwards compatibility
C-DAS TBD
Identify the reasonable future needs, use cases and business cases for enhanced C-
TBD
DAS
Traffic CS + Compare different architecture strategies for an economic solution TBD
Train CS+T3
Event recognition: TBD
Analyze needs, potential and business case for event recognition TBD
Design operational and functional concept TBD
Traffic CS + Voice communication” and “future communication strategy: TBD
Train CS+ Define the future communication architecture strategy that simplifies the
communication communication architecture, reduces the cost, and defines an optimized (perhaps TBD
fix radio+T3 strongly reduced) footprint for voice applications.

9. Task 2 CCS. Domain Train Control and Supervision

9.1 Deliverables

First 3 months

 Prioritisation analysis
o Complete the scope definition of the domain that will be included for the release 1 of
the SP target architecture and the respective deliverables, standards, and regulations
o Clarify the work split for OA with the function team OD-F (what are purely domain
specific processes)

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 First 12 months

 Domain responsibilities for the agreed scope

o Train CS System Functional Architecture and requirements Management/Maintenance
o Train CS System Logical Architecture and requirements Management/Maintenance
o Train CS System Physical Architecture and requirements Management/Maintenance
o Train CS System Data sharing Management/Maintenance
o Train CS System functional specification and requirements Management/Maintenance
 Ensure alignment and close cooperation with Innovation Pillar Flagship Area 2
o Close collaboration with FP2 WP26

9.2 Indicative Milestones

Prioritization analysis: Complete scope definition for release1 in Q1 Q4 2022

Trackside Assets Data sharing Management/Maintenance TBD
Ensure alignment and close cooperation with Innovation Pillar Flagship Area 2 TBD
Analysis if and how specific issues are considered, inter alia:
APS vs HL3, Event recognition, Virtual coupling, C-DAS, Voice communication” and “future
TBD
communication strategy, Enhanced backwards compatibility by “switching between major
releases”
Operational Analysis (=ORS, Operational Requirement Specification)
Vehicle CCS and TMS/CMS internal modularization and interfaces to the train
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Q2 2023
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Train control &
Operational Processes
supervision
Domain Process hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardization specification
Onboard legacy adapters Q4 2023
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Train Control. (e.g. way of using SS26/126
for level R; and additional channels e.g. for onboard digital maps).
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Q2 2023
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks

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 Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardization specification
Diagnosis and monitoring; configuration and maintenance Q2 2023
External CCS interfaces Q2 2023
DAC vehicle architecture and interfaces to CCS+
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Q2 2023
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardization specification
System Analysis (=FRS, Functional Requirement Specification)
Vehicle CCS and TMS/CMS internal modularization and interfaces to the train
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities
Functional chains per use case Q3 2023
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
System Requirements
Functional standardization Specification
Onboard legacy adapters Q1 2025
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Train Control. (e.g. way of using SS26/126
for level R; and additional channels e.g. for onboard digital maps).
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities
Q3 2023
Functional chains per use case
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
System Requirements
Functional standardization Specification
Onboard legacy adapters
Diagnosis and monitoring; configuration and maintenance Q3 2023
External CCS interfaces Q3 2023
DAC vehicle architecture and interfaces to CCS+
System Definition Q3 2023
Actor description and roles

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 System capabilities
Functional chains per use case
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
System Requirements
Functional standardization Specification
System Architecture (=SRS, System Requirement Specification or FFFIS for interfaces)
Vehicle CCS and TMS/CMS internal modularization and interfaces to the train Q4 2024
Onboard legacy adapters Q4 2026
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Train Control. (e.g. way of using SS26/126
Q4 2024
for level R; and additional channels e.g. for onboard digital maps).
Diagnosis and monitoring; configuration and maintenance Q4 2024
External CCS interfaces Q4 2024
DAC vehicle architecture and interfaces to CCS+ Q4 2024
Application Specification
configuration 1 TBD
configuration 2 TBD
configuration 3 TBD
configuration n TBD
Validation, Model proving, Test Specification (VMT)
Vehicle CCS and TMS/CMS internal modularization and interfaces to the train TBD
Onboard legacy adapters TBD
Interfaces between Traffic Control and Train Control. (e.g. way of using SS26/126
TBD
for level R; and additional channels e.g. for onboard digital maps).
Diagnosis and monitoring; configuration and maintenance TBD
External CCS interfaces TBD
DAC vehicle architecture and interfaces to CCS+ TBD
Release, Standardization and Publication process documentation (RSP) TBD
APS vs HL3:
Describe the additional requirements of APS compared to HL3 TBD
Describe the additional business case of APS compared to HL3 TBD
Trafic CS + Assess the difference for the migration paths (HL3, APS, APS via HL3) TBD
Train CS Virtual coupling:
Analyze S2R results for virtual coupling TBD
Compare the 3 solutions relative to ETCS Level 3 incl. business case and describe the
TBD
recommendation
C-DAS
Traffic CS + Identify the reasonable future needs, use cases and business cases for enhanced C-
TBD
Train CS+T3 DAS
Compare different architecture strategies for an economic solution TBD
Traffic CS + Voice communication” and “future communication strategy: TBD
Train CS+ Define the future communication architecture strategy that simplifies the
communication communication architecture, reduces the cost, and defines an optimized (perhaps TBD
fix radio+T3 strongly reduced) footprint for voice applications.

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10. Task 2 CCS: Domain Transversal CCS

10.1 Deliverables

First 12 months

 Prioritisation analysis
 Complete the scope definition of the domain that will be included for the release 1 of
the SP target architecture and the respective deliverables, standards, and regulations
 Define the architectural solution to include TMS in the transversal domain, including
links to FP3.

 Domain responsibilities for the agreed scope

 Engineering and asset data, functional network topologies(maps)
o Define in cooperation with the other SP Domains and IP the standardized set of
data
o Define methods and tools to prepare and share the data between systems and
stakeholders;
 Provide Asset Condition data and technical intervention management to
o Specify the minimal standard functionality, interfaces and protocols to collect
asset condition data from CCS-external asset management systems and provide
them as a service for the CCS systems.
o Provide a system specification for an integrated technical diagnostic system on
CCS level
 Configuration Management
o Define methods/protocol/data to be shared by the system components;
o Define the configuration management set of functions to be provided as a basis
for a standardized management process on network level for CCS systems (both
trackside and onboard) and TMS systems
o Remote upgrade interface, operational process, saftey concept.
 Security systems for systems and persons
o Specify the standard functionality, interfaces and protocols for security systems
like identity and access management, security monitoring, etc.
o Requirements (Security, roles) definition to access the system;
o Define methods and tools to interact with the whole Railways system;
o Propose priorities and get validation regarding Security Management Systems,
e.g.
 Security Logging
 Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 Identity Management (PKI)
 Identity and Access Management (IAM)
 control and monitor access to CCS/TMS systems and data to manage
security
 Security Backup
 Provide integrated user interface
o Specify a workbench system that integrates different user interfaces services
from different CCS systems

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 o Define a user interface framework to include all the components user interfaces;
o Define methods and tools to be integrated in the framework.
o Define rules, tools and guidelines concerning human and organisational factors
 Ensure alignment and close cooperation with Innovation Pillar Flagship Area 2

10.2 Indicative Milestones

Provide integrated user interface TBD

o Specify a workbench system that integrates different user interfaces services from
TBD
different CCS systems
o Define a user interface framework to include all the components user interfaces; TBD
o Define methods and tools to be integrated in the framework. TBD
o Define rules, tools and guidelines concerning human and organizational factors TBD
Prioritization analysis Q4 2022
Operational Analysis (=ORS, Operational Requirement Specification) TBD
Engineering, asset and topology data
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Q1 2023
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks
Transversal
CCS Rule Books
systems Operational Migration
Domain Operational standardization spcification
Asset condition and intervention management (Integrated diagnostics protocols,
analytics, event channeling, and smart/integrated event pattern recognition)
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Q3 2023
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks
Integrated configuration management
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Q3 2023
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements

135
 Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks
Q2 2023
Standardization of integrated workbenches / UI
(TBD)
Q2 2023
Security Management System
(TBD)
System Analysis (=FRS, Functional Requirement Specification)
Engineering, asset and topology data
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities
Functional chains per use case Q1 2023
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
System Requirements
Functional standardization Specification
Asset condition and intervention management (Integrated diagnostics protocols,
analytics, event channeling, and smart/integrated event pattern recognition)
System Definition Q3 2023
Actor description and roles
System capabilities
Integrated configuration management
System Definition
Q3 2023
Actor description and roles
System capabilities
Q2 2023
Standardization of integrated workbenches / UI
(TBD)
Q2 2023
Security Management System
(TBD)
System Architecture (=SRS, System Requirement Specification or FFFIS for interfaces)
Engineering, asset and topology data
Structure of contained systems of the next system level
Logical Components Description
Physical architecture
Technical and physical hazards and risks
Q4 2023
Technical migration strategy
Technical functional Requirements
Non-functional requirements
Interface specification (system/user/physical interfaces)
Technical standardization specification
Asset condition and intervention management (Integrated diagnostics protocols,
Q4 2025
analytics, event channeling, and smart/integrated event pattern recognition)
Integrated configuration management Q4 2025
Q4 2024
Standardization of integrated workbenches / UI
(TBD)

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 Q4 2024
Security Management System
(TBD)
Application Specification TBD
configuration 1 TBD
configuration 2 TBD
configuration 3 TBD
configuration n TBD
Validation, Model proving, Test Specification (VMT) TBD
Engineering, asset and topology data TBD
Asset condition and intervention management (Integrated diagnostics protocols,
TBD
analytics, event channeling, and smart/integrated event pattern recognition)
Integrated configuration management TBD
Standardization of integrated workbenches / UI TBD
Security Management System TBD
Release, Standardization and Publication process documentation (RSP) TBD

11. Task 2 CCS. Domain Communications

11.1 Deliverables

First 12 months

 Coordinate FRMCS related aspects

 Standardisation for FRMCS (according to agreed TSI roadmap)
 Import and uplink existing specification, especially requirements, services and
applications (e.g. voice applications)

 Concept for a flexible IP network based on fixnet and multiple radio carriers
 Identify together with all other SP domains, as well as relevant Innovation Pillar FAs, all
the Railways system interfaces and needed services
 Derive the generic communication topology
o Define/propose communication solutions (Media, protocols,..)
o Ensure alignment and close cooperation with Innovation Pillar Flagship Area 2

11.2 Indicative Milestones

Identify together with all other SP domains, as well as relevant Innovation Pillar FAs, all
the Railways system interfaces and needed services, and derive the generic TBD
communication topology and strategy for fix net and radio
Analysis of if and how "Voice Communication" and "future communication strategy" Q4 2022
Communication Coordinate FRMCS related aspects TBD
(Fix/Radio) Ensure alignment and close cooperation with Innovation Pillar Flagship Area 2 TBD
Domain Operational Analysis (=ORS, Operational Requirement Specification)
FRMCS incl. vehicle/trackside architecture
As-Is Analysis
Q4 2022
Common business objectives
Process Innovations

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 Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration

Operational standardization specification

Fix communications TBD

System Analysis (=FRS, Functional Requirement Specification)
FRMCS incl. vehicle/trackside architecture
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities
Functional chains per use case Q2 2023
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
System Requirements
Functional standardization Specification
Fix communications TBD
System Architecture (=SRS, System Requirement Specification or FFFIS for interfaces)
FRMCS incl. vehicle/trackside architecture
Structure of contained systems of the next system level
Logical Components Description
Physical architecture
Technical and physical hazards and risks
Q4 2023
Technical migration strategy
Technical functional Requirements
Non-functional requirements
Interface specification (system/user/physical interfaces)
Technical standardization specification
Fix communications TBD
Application Specification
configuration 1 TBD
configuration 2 TBD
configuration 3 TBD
configuration n TBD
Validation, Model proving, Test Specification (VMT)
FRMCS incl. vehicle/trackside architecture TBD
Fix communications TBD
Release, Standardization and Publication process documentation (RSP)
Traffic CS + Voice communication” and “future communication strategy: TBD
Train CS+ Define the future communication architecture strategy that simplifies the
communication communication architecture, reduces the cost, and defines an optimized (perhaps TBD
fix radio+T3 strongly reduced) footprint for voice applications.

138
12. Task 2 CCS. Domain Computing Environment

12.1 Deliverables

First 12 months

 Input Business Analysis

Economically viable use cases for SW/HW independency or measure for reduced integration
effort) to support the decision if and how to setup a standardization Domain Team and
propose standardization scope of the Computing Environment

12.2 Indicative Milestones

The table below reflects the milestones as per the Request for Services for deliverables for the first 12
months.

Note: for full scope on the long-term expected delivery dates, see Roadmap.

Input Business Analysis (economically viable use cases for SW/HW independency or
measure for reduced integration effort) to support the decision if and how to setup a
Q3 2023
standardization Domain Team and propose standardization scope of the Computing
Environment
Operational Analysis (=ORS, Operational Requirement Specification)
Standard (safe) computing environments (e.g.) API and communications
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Computing tbc
Operational Requirements
Environment
Domain Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Process hazards and risks
System Analysis (=FRS, Functional Requirement Specification)
Standard (safe) computing environments (e.g.) API and communications
System Definition tbc
Actor description and roles
System capabilities

13. Task 3 Traffic Management/Capacity Management

13.1 Deliverables

First 3 months

 Prioritisation analysis
 Complete the scope definition of the domain that will be included for the release 1 of the
SP target architecture and the respective deliverables, standards, and regulations

139
 First 12 months

First steps included clarification of the terms and functions, then the catalogue of the possible
interfaces and the scope in detail for the minimum viable product including the considerations. In
addition, included in the RfS there are the following specific analysis considerations:

 Multi-tier architecture, back-end/front-end architecture

o Answer the question on the functions within the scope and how they will work at
EU level. Is it necessary a European coordination activity or not?
 Analyse external TMS interfaces for data exchange with foreign actors and applications
that help in the management of deviations
o Interface prioritisation activity to answer the data exchange
 List and describe the planning partners and the interactions
o Planning partners and interactions related to interfaces
o operational design to include the needs and responsibilities for each of the
planning partners
 Detailed information structure of the “operational plan”
o Detailed structure of operational plan (interfaces TMS-traffic CS) including the
first list of operational commands and their description to be sent to traffic CS

13.2 Indicative Milestones

Ensure alignment and close cooperation with Innovation Pillar Flagship Area 1 TBD
Prioritisation analysis Q1 2023
Analysis if and how specific issues are considered, inter alia:
Event recognition
C-DAS
Voice communication” and “future communication strategy
Multi-tier architecture, back-end/front-end architecture Q1 2023
Analyse external TMS interfaces for data exchange with foreign actors and
applications that help in the management of deviations
List and describe the planning partners and the interactions
Detailed information structure of the “operational plan”
Specific analysis
TMS Multi-tier architecture, back-end/front-end architecture Q3 2023
Domain Analyse external TMS interfaces for data exchange with foreign actors and
Q 2023
applications that help in the management of deviations
List and describe the planning partners and the interactions Q3 2023
Detailed information structure of the “operational plan” Q3 2023
Cross cutting activities
Operational concept (harmonized)
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Q3 2023
Application desinition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities

140
 PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Prozess hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardisation spcification
Operational processes (harmonized)
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application desinition and categories
Q4 2024
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Operational rulebooks Q4 2026
Architecture
o Define the strategy to be followed to design the and release the fully
integrated system architecture
o Collect and evaluate all the existing work (research projects, state-of-the-art
documents) as input to design the System architecture.
o Coordinate the work and inputs of the Tasks Architecture-linked Domain
Teams and cross cutting teams
o Continuous Interaction with IP and SP Core group and SP domains to provide
and receive inputs and mediate conflicts
o Design/Develop/Maintain the System Architecture according to the defined Q3 2023
principles, the existing work and to the Operational concept into Functional & Logical
architecture
o End2End integration of functional chains, assure architectural quality on Task
level
o Ensure and verify architecture consistency on functional and logical level
o Manage the input to the standardization and TSI plan for Task activities and
issue the input according to the “TSI and Standardization input plan”
o Coordination with other Tasks to ensure overall consistency regarding
architecture and release coordination
Migration path TBD
o Analyse national situations, product and deployment constraints TBD
o Design standard architectural migration roadmaps, principles and derive
TBD
system requirements
o Design operational process migration roadmap, principles and process TBD
requirements (including initial intermediate scenarios)
o Decide interface forward and backwards compatibility for migration and safe
TBD
investments
o Continuous interaction with Architecture and Release Coordination Team TBD
Operational Analysis (=ORS, Operational Requirement Specification)
Multimodal traffic management (Planning, deviation management, production
information management) Q3 2023
As-Is Analysis

141
 Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application desinition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Prozess hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardisation spcification
Traffic Management – internal interfaces (for example between Planning,
Deviation Management, and Incidence Management)
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application desinition and categories
Q3 2023
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Prozess hazards and risks
TM common service APIs (e.g. to company systems or customer requirement)
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application desinition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Q2 2023
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Prozess hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardisation spcification
Cross-company/cross-installation/cross-border interfaces for Traffic Control
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Q3 2023
Application desinition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities

142
 PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Prozess hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardisation spcification
Traffic Management legacy adapters
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application desinition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Q3 2023
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Prozess hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardisation spcification
Interface between Traffic Management and Traffic Control
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application desinition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Q2 2023
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Prozess hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardisation spcification
Synchronized catenary control CCS/EN (Task 1/2) TBD
Synchronized energy planning CCS/EN (Task 1/2) TBD
Coordinated capacity planning with TM (Task 1/2) [yards and terminals]
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application desinition and categories
Q3 2023
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes

143
 Prozess hazards and risks
Coordinated traffic control with TM (Task 1/2) [yards and terminals]
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application desinition and categories
Operational Requirements
Q3 2023
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
Operational Processes
Prozess hazards and risks
System Analysis (=FRS, Funcitonal Requirement Specification)
Multimodal traffic management (Planning, deviation management, production
Q1 2025
information management)
Traffic Management – internal interfaces (for example between Planning,
Deviation Management, and Incidence Management)
System Definition Q2 2024
Actor desciption and roles
System capabilities
TM common service APIs (e.g. to company systems or customer requirement)
System Definition
Actor desciption and roles
System capabilities
Functional chains per use case Q3 2023
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
System Requirements
Functional standardisation Specification
Cross-company / cross-border planning synchronisation and managed planning
Q1 2025
partner networks for railway production
Traffic Management legacy adapters Q1 2025
Interface between Traffic Management and Traffic Control
System Definition
Actor desciption and roles
System capabilities
Functional chains per use case Q3 2023
Function details (with external relevance)
Functional hazards and risks
System Requirements
Functional standardisation Specification
Synchronized catenary control CCS/EN (Task 1/2) TBD
Synchronized energy planning CCS/EN (Task 1/2) TBD
Coordinated capacity planning with TM (Task 1/2) [yards and terminals]
System Definition
Q2 2024
Actor desciption and roles
System capabilities

144
 Coordinated traffic control with TM (Task 1/2) [yards and terminals]
System Definition
Q2 2024
Actor desciption and roles
System capabilities
System Architecture (=SRS, System Requirement Specification or FFFIS for interfaces)
Multimodal traffic management (Planning, deviation management, production
Q4 2026
information management)
Traffic Management – internal interfaces (for example between Planning, Deviation
Q4 2025
Management, and Incidence Management)
TM common service APIs (e.g. to company systems or customer requirement) Q4 2024
Cross-company / cross-border planning synchronisation and managed planning
Q4 2026
partner networks for railway production
Traffic Management legacy adapters Q4 2026
Interface between Traffic Management and Traffic Control Q4 2024
Synchronized catenary control CCS/EN (Task 1/2) TBD
Synchronized energy planning CCS/EN (Task 1/2) TBD
Coordinated capacity planning with TM (Task 1/2) [yards and terminals] Q4 2025
Coordinated traffic control with TM (Task 1/2) [yards and terminals] Q4 2025
Application Specification TBD
configuration 1 TBD
configuration 2 TBD
configuration 3 TBD
configuration n TBD
Validation, Modelproving, Test Specification (VMT) TBD
Multimodal traffic management (Planning, deviation management, production
TBD
information management)
Traffic Management – internal interfaces (for example between Planning, Deviation
TBD
Management, and Incidence Management)
TM common service APIs (e.g. to company systems or customer requirement) TBD
Cross-company / cross-border planning synchronisation and managed planning
TBD
partner networks for railway production
Traffic Management legacy adapters TBD
Interface between Traffic Management and Traffic Control TBD
Synchronized catenary control CCS/EN (Task 1/2) TBD
Synchronized energy planning CCS/EN (Task 1/2) TBD
Coordinated capacity planning with TM (Task 1/2) [yards and terminals] TBD
Coordinated traffic control with TM (Task 1/2) [yards and terminals] TBD
Release, Standardisation and Publication process documentation (RSP) TBD

14. Task 4 DAC/FDFTO

14.1 Deliverables

First 3 months

Operations/Architecture: Hand-over of trains from ETCS-controlled mainline to local yard authority

(alignment Task 4 with Task 2 and 3)

145
 First 12 months

 Ensuring close alignment and cooperation with Innovation Pillar Flagship Area 5 (FA5) and
EDDP@EU-RAIL
Including participation in mediation of conflicts with other Innovation Pillar Flagship Areas
 Continuous collaboration and synchronisation expected

 Managing cross-cutting activities for Task 4

Based on EDDP input where available and aligned with EDDP (in the sense of sector alignment)
and FA5 (operational and technical solutions)
 As-is analysis focusing on existing IT systems for freight operation, wagon handling
and wagon keeping in use at the main operators (contributions by ROC members
necessary). Special focus on relationship to FDFTO in alignment with Task 1.
 Review input from EDDP (European DAC Delivery Program) and FA5 on operational
concept, ensuring consistency and including the results in the in overall operational
concept, including for CCS-related processes in collaboration with Task 2, with a focus
on harmonisation of operational procedures controlled by ERTMS (mainly CCS and
TMS). Detailed operational procedures in shunting yards are to be developed within
FA5.
As soon as input from FP5 (based on pre-work of EDDP) is available, sector alignment
will be managed by SP Task 4 firstly through the EDDP sounding board as a sector
mirror group and finally approved through the SP governance to make sure that
adaptations of local rules will be implemented in time to ensure smooth roll out of
DAC/FDFTO
 Until end of 2022, the overall architecture related to FDFTO in collaboration with
Task 1 (and Task 2 and 3) should be defined and interfaces to the train internal
architecture, developed by FP5, should be identified, and agreed.
 Alignment Task 4 with Task 02 and 3 to be clarified with special focus on shunting on
supervised tracks (basic operational and architectural design)
 Ensure consistency and take responsibility for overall architecture coherence of any
architecture output from FA5 and EDDP and embed it into the overall Rail System
Architecture
Until end of period, overall architecture coherence of any architecture output from
FP5 and EDDP need to be ensured and be embed into the overall Rail System
Architecture.
 In addition, provide a proposal for a central instance for managing data access and
processes for SW updates (bug fixing and system upgrades) a.s.a.p., but at least until
end of first period.
 Propose a DAC/FDFTO architecture migration roadmap, in collaboration with FA5
and EDDP
 Closely follow activities of EDDP on migration and deployment, but probably no high
priority during the first period

 Managing the input to the Standardization and TSI Input Plan for Task 4 activities
Based on (but not exclusively) detailed standardisation requests from FA5
 Continuous collaboration and synchronisation expected

146
  Including any standardization need identified in the collaboration between FP3 and
FP5 (Diagnostics & Maintenance Interface to Asset Management System)
 Consideration of the Chapter 7 TSI texts
 Supporting FA5 and EDDP regarding authorisation strategy

Closely follow activities of FP5 and EDDP and support if requested, but probably no high
priority during the first period

 Checking CBA provided by EDDP and FA5 for consistency with CBOs

Closely follow activities of FP5 and EDDP, but probably no high priority during the first period

14.2 Indicative Milestones

Managing the input to the Standardization and TSI Input Plan for Task 4 activities based
Continuous
on (but not exclusively) detailed standardization requests from FA5
Supporting FA5 and EDDP regarding authorization strategy On request
Checking CBA provided by EDDP and FA5 for consistency with CBOs TBD
cross cutting activities
Conduct an as-is analysis of the railway system, considering operational, functional, if deemed
logical & physical assets, and identifying the pain points related to DAC/FDFTO necessary,
agree on
Assign prioritized pain points to existing domain teams or propose new domain date with
teams
Task 1
Review input from EDDP (European DAC Delivery Program) and FA5 on operational
concept, ensuring consistency and including the results in the in overall operational
concept, including for CCS-related processes in collaboration with Task 2, with a focus on Q3 2023
harmonization of operational procedures controlled by ERTMS (mainly CCS and TMS).
Detailed operational procedures in shunting yards are to be developed within FA5.

Operational concept (harmonized) TBD

Operational processes (harmonized) Before Q4
DAC Operational rulebooks 2023
Domain Provide the overall architecture to Level [3/4], and associated requirements, within
which detailed specifications and architecture (to Level 5) are to be developed by FA5 See
Ensure consistency and take responsibility for overall architecture coherence of any description
architecture output from FA5 and EDDP and embed it into the overall Rail System Above
Architecture
TBD
Propose a DAC/FDFTO architecture migration roadmap, in collaboration with FA5 Before Q4
and EDDP 2023
Operational Analysis (=ORS, Operational Requirement Specification)
DAC Operational Concep (Harmonized)
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations TBD
Application definition and categories Before Q4
Operational Requirements 2023
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown

147
 Operational Processes
Proses hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardization specification
DAC Operational Processes (harmonized)
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations TBD
Application definition and categories Before Q4
Operational Requirements 2023
Operational Entities
Operational Capabilities
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown
DAC interfaces to CCS/TMS/CMC
As-Is Analysis
Common business objectives
Process Innovations
Application definition and categories
Operational Requirements
Operational Entities
First draft
12/2022
Operational Capabilities
Before Q4
PRAMSS Targets and Breakdown 2023
Operational Processes
Proses hazards and risks
Rule Books
Operational Migration
Operational standardization specification
System Analysis (=FRS, Funcitonal Requirement Specification)
First draft
12/2022
DAC architecture and interfaces to CCS/TMS/CMC
Before Q4
2023
System Definition
Actor description and roles
System capabilities First draft
Functional chains per use case 12/2022
Function details (with external relevance) Before Q4
Functional hazards and risks 2023
System Requirements
Functional standardization Specification

System Architecture (=SRS, System Requirement Specification or FFFIS for

interfaces)
TBD
DAC architecture and interfaces to CCS/TMS/CMC Before Q4
2023

148
 Structure of contained systems of the next system level
Logical Components Description
Physical architecture
Technical and physical hazards and risks TBD
Technical migration strategy Before Q4
Technical functional Requirements 2023
Non-functional requirements
Interface specification (system/user/physical interfaces)
Technical standardization specification

Application Specification TBD

configuration 1 TBD
configuration 2 TBD
configuration 3 TBD
configuration n TBD
Validation, Model proving, Test Specification (VMT) TBD
DAC vehicle architecture and interfaces to CCS/TMS/CMC TBD

Release, Standardization and Publication process documentation (RSP) TBD

149
Annex VII – Call for proposals 2023

EU-Rail has to deliver a high capacity integrated European railway network by eliminating barriers to
interoperability and providing solutions for full integration, covering traffic management, vehicles,
infrastructure and services, aiming to achieve faster uptake and deployment of projects and
innovations. That should exploit the huge potential for digitalisation and automation to reduce rail’s
costs, increase its capacity and enhance its flexibility and reliability, and should be based upon a solid
reference functional system architecture shared by the sector, in coordination with the European
Union Agency for Railways.

The European Green Deal objective is to reach climate neutrality by 2050, the Fit for 55 package sets
medium-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction objectives, and the Digital Decade sets the path to
bring Europe to the forefront of digitalisation and automation.

The Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy articulates the pathways towards digitalising and
greening the transport sector and sets specific milestones for the railway sector.

The railway sector will contribute to those objectives by increasing its capacity for passenger and
goods transport, enabling an increase in the use of rail transport, and by reducing further the
greenhouse gas emissions of the railway sector itself.

In order to foster the transformation of the railway system, the EU encourages research and
innovation with its new EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation - Horizon Europe.

The objectives of EU-Rail have been set to address the EU policy objectives, rail sector vision, and the
challenges inherent to the transformation of the rail system as set in its Master Plan 31 and Multi-
Annual Work Programme32.

The general objectives, as set out in the Single Basic Act are:

(a) contribute towards the achievement of the Single European Railway Area;
(b) ensure a fast transition to more attractive, user-friendly, competitive, affordable, easy to
maintain, efficient and sustainable European rail system, integrated into the wider mobility
system;
(c) support the development of a strong and globally competitive European rail industry

The Specific objectives to the partnership are to:

(a) facilitate research and innovation activities to deliver an integrated European railway network
by design, eliminating barriers to interoperability and providing solutions for full integration,
covering traffic management, vehicles, infrastructure also including integration with national
gauges, such as 1520, 1000 or 1668 mm railway, and services, and providing the best answer
to the needs of passengers and businesses, accelerating uptake of innovative solutions to
support the Single European Railway Area, while increasing capacity and reliability and
decreasing costs of railway transport;
(b) deliver a sustainable and resilient rail system: by developing a zero-emission, silent rail system
and climate resilient infrastructure, applying circular economy to the rail sector, piloting the

31 Master Plan available at https://shift2rail.org/about-europes-rail/europes-rail-reference-documents/europes-rail-key-

documents/
32 MAWP available at https://shift2rail.org/about-europes-rail/europes-rail-reference-documents/europes-rail-key-
documents/

150
 use of innovative processes, technologies, designs and materials in the full life-cycle of rail
systems and developing other innovative solutions to guided surface transport;
(c) develop through its System Pillar a unified operational concept and a functional, safe and
secure system architecture, with due consideration of cyber-security aspects, focused on the
European railway network to which Directive 2016/79733 applies, for integrated European rail
traffic management, command, control and signalling systems, including automated train
operation which shall ensure that research and innovation is targeted on commonly agreed
and shared customer requirements and operational needs, and is open to evolution;
(d) facilitate research and innovation activities related to rail freight and intermodal transport
services to deliver a competitive green rail freight fully integrated into the logistic value chain,
with automation and digitalisation of freight rail at the core;
(e) develop demonstration projects in interested Member States;
(f) contribute to the development of a strong and globally competitive European rail industry;
(g) enable, promote and exploit synergies with other Union policies, programmes, initiatives,
instruments or funds in order to maximise its impact and added value.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, EU-Rail performs its activities via calls for proposals
and calls for tenders. The 2023 Call for Proposals is structured around one topic under Destination1,
that will generate a first joint project managed together with SESAR 3 JU and its programme34, as well
as 6 topics under Destination8.

 Destination 1 – Network management planning and control & Mobility Management in a

multimodal environment and Digital Enablers. The objective is to achieve the Single
European Rail Area by researching, developing and delivering a flexible, efficient, resilient and
high-capacity European rail network. It also about the implementation of a railway Digital
enabler and Digital twin environment, where all digital elements of the system can play
together in a coherent and interoperable way.

 Destination 8 – Exploratory Research and other activities. EU-Rail promote forward looking
activities, tackling disruptive technologies and thinking, performing exploratory research to
accelerate the pace towards radical system innovations in the guided transport modes and
supporting the evolution of the Innovation Programme in scope and targets.

Conditions for the Call

Call: 2023/2024 Budget (EUR million) Deadline

HORIZON-ER-JU-2023

Overall indicative budget 21.2 7 February 2024

33 Directive 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the interoperability of the rail
system within the European Union.
34 https://www.sesarju.eu/

151
DESTINATION 1 – Network management planning and control & Mobility Management in a
multimodal environment and Digital Enablers – topic:

Budgets (EUR Number

Expected EU
million) of
contribution
Type of projects
Topics per project
Action expected
2023 2024 (EUR
to be
million)35
funded
Opening: 4 October 2023
Deadline(s): 7 February 2024
HORIZON-ER-
JU-2023-FA1-SESAR: EU-RAIL –
SESAR SYNERGY: INTEGRATED AIR
AND RAIL NETWORK BACKBONE IA 3.0 2.0 5.0 1
FOR A SUSTAINABLE AND ENERGY-
EFFICIENT MULTIMODAL
TRANSPORT SYSTEM

DESTINATION 8 – Exploratory Research and other activities – topics:

Budgets (EUR Number

Expected EU
million) of
contribution
Type of projects
Topics per project
Action expected
2023 2024 (EUR
to be
million)36
funded
Opening: 4 October 2023
Deadline(s): 7 February 2024
HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-01:
RIA 4.1 0 4.1 1
NOISE AND VIBRATIONS
HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-02:
RIA 3.1 0 3.1 1
FUTURE METRO SYSTEMS
HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-03:
CSA 2.8 0 2.8 1
BIODIVERSITY
HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-04:
DISRUPTIVE ASSETS
RIA 2.7 0 2.7 1
MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS,
INCLUDING URBAN USE CASES
HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-05:
EXTENDING THE RAIL NETWORK RIA 2.0 0 2.0 1
OF PHDS

35 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.
36 Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.

152
 HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-06:
DAC FLEET RETROFITTING AND CSA 1.5 0 1.5 1
RETROFIT CAPACITY PLAN

General conditions relating to this call

Admissibility conditions The conditions are described in part A of the
General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work
Programme 2023–2024.
Eligibility conditions The conditions are described in part B of the
General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work
Programme 2023–2024.
Financial and operational capacity and The criteria are described in part C of the General
exclusion Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme
2023–2024.
Award criteria The criteria are described in part D of the General
Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme
2023–2024.
Documents The documents are described in part E of the
General Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work
Programme 2023–2024.
Procedure The procedure is described in General Annex F to
the Horizon Europe work programme for 2023–
2024.
The following exception applies:
• the evaluation committee may be composed
partially of representatives of EU institutions and
agencies (internal experts).
Legal and financial set-up of the Grant The rules are described in part G of the General
Agreements Annexes to the Horizon Europe Work Programme
2023–2024.

153
DESTINATION 1 – Network management planning and control & Mobility Management in a
multimodal environment and Digital Enablers

HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-FA1-SESAR: EU-RAIL – SESAR SYNERGY: INTEG RATED

AIR AND RAIL NETWORK BACKBONE FOR A SUST AINABLE AND ENERGY -
EFFICIENT MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Specific Conditions

Expected EU EU-Rail estimates that an EU contribution of EUR 5 million would allow these
contribution per outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
project preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
amounts.
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 5 million.

Applicant Private37 Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia responding to

this topic should provide in-kind contributions to additional activities to be
declared via the template model available on the F&T portal. The amount of
total in-kind contributions (i.e. in-kind contributions for operational
activities and in-kind contributions for additional activities) should be no less
than 1.263 38 times the funding request, in aggregate, of these applicant
Private Members. Any discrepancy shall be well and duly justified.

In this respect, the grant agreements will set, in principle, annual deliverable
on in-kind contributions for the projects selected under this topic, as well as
mandatory reporting requirements, for those applicants who are Private
Members of EU-Rail.

SESAR 3 JU members will report their IKOP and IKAA as per standard
guidance, with no impact on the evaluation procedure.
Indicative project 36 months. This does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal
duration with a different project duration.

Technology Activities are expected to be at TRL 6, higher TRL are possible – see General
Readiness Level Annex B for a guide to the TRL definitions and criteria to be used.

Type of Action Innovation Action

Admissibility Regarding admissibility conditions and related requirements, part A of the

conditions Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies, with
the following exception: the limit for a full Innovation Action application is
set to 70 pages.

37 As defined in Article 2(5) of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

38 In order to support a leverage factor of no less than the ratio between the contribution from members other than the
Union and the Union financial contribution, as on the basis of Articles 88 and 89 of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

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 Special skills Applicants shall ensure that their proposals and consortium reflect the
and/or aggregated expertise to perform the activities and achieve the objectives set
capabilities by the topic.
expected from
the Applicant(s) The applicants are expected to gather expertise on rail Traffic Management
Systems, Air Traffic Management systems and its architectures, rail and
airport planning and operations, Artificial Intelligence for operation and
planning, data exchange and Cybersecurity and other relevant related aspects
and concepts.
Funding of only one EU-Rail may award up to one project with funding depending on the outcome
project per topic of the evaluation and the complementarity of the proposed actions.

Contribution to the The action resulting from this topic is contributing the Flagship Area 1 and it
monitoring and is a contributor to the achievement of the objectives identified in the Master
implementation, Plan39 as further detailed in the Multi-Annual Work Programme40.
standardisation, of In this respect, applicants are expected to deliver relevant information (data,
the EU-Rail results, etc.) as mutually agreed, to the JU and the Linked Project[s] to
Programme contribute to the advancement of the Innovation and System Pillars 41
activities, as well as in view of the development and implementation of EU
policy and legislation (including Technical Specifications for Interoperability
and Common Safety Methods) and the development of European standards.
As specified in section 2.3.8.1 of the WP 2023-2024, and to facilitate
contributions to European or international standards, the EU-Rail grant
agreements will include an additional information obligation related to
standards. Beneficiaries must inform EU-Rail (up to four years after the end
of the action) if the results can be reasonably expected to contribute to
European or international standards.

As part of its internal control and management framework, the JU will

perform series of reviews and maturity checkpoints to assess the overall
progress against the project plan and against the performance and TRL
targets. Depending on the outcome of these reviews and maturity
checkpoints(s), the scope of the project may be revised and/or funding
reduced in accordance with the provisions of the relevant grant agreement.
Mitigation actions may be requested by the JU as condition for continued
funding.

Linked Projects As specified in section 2.3.8.1 of the WP 2023-2024, in order to facilitate the
contribution to the achievement of the EU-Rail objectives, the options
regarding 'linked actions' of the EU-Rail Model Grant Agreement and the
provisions therein, is enabled in the corresponding EU-Rail Grant Agreements.

The action that is expected to be funded under this topic will be

complementary to the following actions:

 FP1-MOTIONAL (GA 101101973)

39 Master Plan available at https://rail-research.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EURAIL_Master-Plan.pdf

40 MAWP available at https://rail-research.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EURAIL_MAWP_final.pdf
41 Refer to the https://rail-research.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EURAIL_MAWP_final.pdf

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  FP6 – FutuRe (GA 101101962)

The action that is expected to be funded under this topic will be

complementary to the following actions expected to be funder under the
topic:
 HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA1-5
 HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-ER-01-WA2-6
 HORIZON-SESAR-2022-DES-IR-01-WA5-3

Please note that the list is non-exhaustive as additional Linked Projects may
follow at a later stage of the programme implementation to complement the
activity.
Retroactive starting The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the
date of the grant submission date of the application. Applicants must justify the need for
a retroactive starting date in their application. Costs incurred from the
starting date of the action may be considered eligible.

Lump Sum grant Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of
7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon
Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
(2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of
the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [This decision is
available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents
section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this
link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/docs/20212027/horizon/guidance/ls-
decision_he_en.pdf].
Award criteria The award criteria included in the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe –
additional details Work Programme 2023-2024 are complemented with additional criteria as
specified in Annex VIII to this Work Programme.

Additional In addition, as specified in section 2.3.8.1 of the WP 2023-2024, and to

dissemination facilitate contributions to considering the key contributing role of this topic,
obligations in designing the dissemination and communication activities, the proposal
shall consider that the “Flagship Project” will be part of the overall EU-Rail
Programme and the planning of key events – demonstrations, participations
to fair, etc. – will be coordinated at Programme level and by the “Stakeholder
Relations and Dissemination” structure of the JU.

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

 Operational efficiency: improved predictability and punctuality for journeys involving both air
and railway modes of transport, thanks to a better overall planning and monitoring of
operations;

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  Capacity: a better integration of air and railway modes of transport will enable a better use of
existing and future capacity e.g. by monitoring multimodal passenger flows information (e.g.,
status, demand, delays, etc.), share it to relevant stakeholders in air and railway modes e.g.,
transport service operators (TSPs) to take mitigation actions to help reducing potential delays;
 Resilience: improved resilience in case of disruption in either railway or air transport modes,
or both will contribute to improve the passenger experience;
 Environment: optimised operations in rail and air transport due to improved intermodal
planning, contributing to the optimisation of fuel-burn and therefore reductions of CO2
emissions per journey. Additional environmental benefits (i.e. emissions, noise and/or local
air quality) will come from alleviating congestion at and around airports / railway stations by
improving passenger flows (through multimodal decision making, etc.), from helping
access/egress to/from airports / railway stations via environmentally-friendly means, etc.;
 Passenger experience: optimised and seamless passenger experience by reducing the
inefficiencies and friction points and overall travel time and transfer time between air-rail
modes;
 Cost-efficiency: the data-sharing-powered applications between air and railway modes of
transport will enable increased predictability of traffic flows coupled with increased
intermodal network flexibility and resilience. This would in turn help reduce congestion and
costs.

Scope

Aviation and railway are integral parts of the intermodal transport ecosystem expected to optimise
door-to-door (D2D) mobility for people, and ultimately to meet citizens’ expectations for increasingly
seamless mobility, where they can rely on the predictability of every planned door-to-door journey
and can choose how to optimise it (shortest travel time, least cost, minimal environmental impact,
etc.).

To successfully address the expected outcomes, and improve the attractiveness of combined air-rail
travel for passengers, in a door-to-door context, the following research elements shall be delivered:

 Benchmark on existing solutions of integrated rail and air traffic;

 Integration of aviation and railway transport modes. Development of tools, digital platforms
and services for a better integration of aviation and railway transport modes, as part of an
intermodal transport ecosystem expected to optimise multimodal mobility. This shall include:
o Definition of single, common and collaboratively-agreed intermodal (airport / railway)
operations plan. The objective is to deliver a shared airport/railway operations plan
including agreed performance indicators and objectives e.g. punctuality, and building
on information from different players and stakeholders from the two modes of
transportation. The connection to the Network Operations Plan (NOP) is expected to
be done via the (Airport Operations Plan) AOP (airport part of the intermodality plan).
The intermodal operation may include optimised timetables, luggage handling and
passenger information, etc.;
o Definition of the interface between the air traffic management systems (ATMS) (in
particular regarding airport-rail connection) and the rail traffic management systems
(TMS), both for planning purposes and operations, including disruptions;
o Real-time information exchange services between aviation and railway giving
stakeholders (including mobility providers) an increased knowledge of the multimodal
journey and mobility providers the means to adapt and optimise traffic offers in the
short term. This includes the elaboration of rationalised data-driven ATM/railway
dashboards enabling stakeholders to have an up to date picture of the actual situation

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 in both transport modes. These dashboards could be fed with key performance
aviation and train indicators covering inter-modal management processes. These
dashboards could also include predictive functionalities enabling stakeholders to
proactively identify demand and capacity imbalances (location, duration, criticality,
etc.), deviations compared to the shared plan, etc. This will enhance the reliability of
multimodal journey planning, identifying as soon as possible potential access issues
that could affect the punctuality of operations, and trigger the need for potential
coordinated actions for alleviating congestion, mitigating regulatory constraints,
optimising process, passengers journey management, etc.
o ATM-airport-railway collaborative decision making process. This enables collaborative
decision-making involving both air transport and railway transport stakeholders with
the aim of facilitating a more efficient strategic and tactical planning and management
of intermodal operations, passenger flows and enhancing passenger experience
between the two modes of transportation. This research element covers:
 The evolution of ATM related concepts developed within ATM boundaries e.g.
airport operations plan (AOP), airport operations centre (APOC), airport
collaborative decision making (A-CDM), total airport management (TAM),
network operations plan (NOP), etc.;
 The integration of data from aviation and railway transport information
systems;
 The development of an integrated capacity management process to ensure
modal shift from feeder flights to railway;
 The development of visualisation and decision support tools to allow the
involved stakeholders to perform “what-if”, “what-else” analyses and assess
the impact of different decisions / scenarios in order to determine the optimal
course of action (this could make use of artificial intelligence and machine
learning techniques).
Research may also address:
o Post-operations analysis capabilities to allow both air and railway transport
stakeholders to better plan operations and resources in the future aiming at a
continuous improvement of intermodal operations;
o Use of AI/ML to support the optimisation of the ATM-rail multimodal interface
developing smart digital solutions to streamline the management of multimodal air-
rail transport flows (e.g. AI/ML-powered demand-driven predictions of flights, trains,
passengers and departure/arrival queues/sequences for improving operations
efficiency and for service offer across air-rail modes accommodating as much door-
to-door journeys as possible, etc.);
o Business intelligence and machine learning to help intermodal stakeholders
collaboration to align process and resource capacity with predicted demand to reduce
queues.
(R&I need: An integrated transport network performance cockpit (from ATM SRIA))
 An integrated aviation-railway transport network disruption and crisis management
process. Enable the coordination – when managing disruption and crisis – between air
and railway transport modes and a multitude of actors, including local and national
authorities’ representatives. Research shall address the definition of the required data
exchange for a situation of disruptions and crisis. The research should also lead to
proposals for mitigation measures based on the timely acquisition and sharing of
information, as well as it should consider a broad set of threats affecting, directly or
indirectly, the intermodal system e.g. terrorism, volcanic ash dispersions, hazardous

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 chemicals events, spread of diseases/pandemic, earthquakes, flooding, major failure of
a pan-European function, (massive) cyberattack, etc. The proposal may include
simulation scenarios to validate applicable use cases e.g. airport closure, rail strike, etc.
(R&I needs: an integrated transport network crisis management process (from ATM
SRIA) and incident and disruption management (from Rail strategic SRIA)
Additionally, the project to be funded under this topic shall:
 Target maturity level is TRL6 and validation activities should be defined accordingly. In
particular, activities including system, subsystems model/prototypes in a relevant end-to-end
environment;
 Propose a concept of operations (ConOPs) and high-level architecture of the proposed
solution(s), further detail them into operational scenarios / use cases, leading to the definition
and validation of requirements/specifications for data exchange, also in real-time, related to
available capacity, disruptions, etc., and consequent respective airport operations - ATM – rail
networks integration. Include a CBA for the proposed solutions ;
 Consider the following potential scenarios:
o City pairs from different EU Member States, which have both airports and high-speed
train connections;
o International airport hub connected to a high-speed railway station. This scenario may
also consider other transport modes serving and/or connecting both the airport and
railway station if applicable e.g. local / regional train operators, local bus lines, trams,
metros, taxis etc.;
o Regional rail line serving a smaller (regional) airport. This may also consider as well
other transport modes.
 Consider standards whenever possible, especially important with data sharing, integration of
different transport modes, combination of ATMS and TMS and creation of new tools;
 Take into consideration the following reference material:
o The interfaces definition should consider:
 From SESAR: European ATM Architecture (EATMA)42 and the relevant links to
elements in the ATM architecture (e.g. capabilities, systems);
 From EU-Rail: Conceptual Data Model (CDM) 43 , the work done within
Shift2Rail TD2.9 44on TMS.
o The EU Data Strategy which aims to create a Common European Mobility Data
Space 45 . Please consider also the existing work of EU-Rail (Flagship Project 1 –
MOTIONAL 46 , Federated Data Spaces) for building a trusted, reliable, cybersecure
federated data space for the rail ecosystem - the Rail Data Space. The Rail Data Space
provides exchange and sharing of digital resources across Rail operators,
Infrastructure Managers and Suppliers as a component in the creation of a Common
European Mobility Data Space. It is compliant with the principles of the European
Strategy for Data, e.g., Data Sovereignty, Data level playing field, public-private
Governance and Decentralized soft infrastructure. Furthermore, it is interoperable
with other sectorial data spaces;
o State-of-the-art documentation on existing solutions on integrated rail and air traffic.
 Involve relevant stakeholders from at least two EU Member States:
o From the air sector perspective the proposals should foresee participation of, at least,
airspace users (AUs) and airport operators;

42 https://www.eatmportal.eu/working/signin
43 https://projects.shift2rail.org/s2r_ipx_n.aspx?p=LINX4RAIL
44 https://projects.shift2rail.org/s2r_ip_TD_r.aspx?ip=2&td=a86b26b5-2680-4765-9bc6-c935804d6aa6
45 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13566-Transport-data-creating-a-common-
European-mobility-data-space-communication-_en
46 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp1/

159
 o From the rail sector perspective the proposals should foresee participation of, at least,
High speed train operators, infrastructure managers and TMS operators, as well as
regional/capillary line operators and TMS operators;
o Research may include (if required) other stakeholders e.g. urban transport operators
(metro, bus, etc.);
o The inclusion of other modes of transport (e.g., UAM, cooperative, connected and
automated mobility (CCAM), etc.) will be considered advantageous, in order to
provide a full door-to-door experience validation.
 Take into consideration the existing work developed within SESAR and EU-Rail (especially IP4
projects 47 , Flagship Project 1 ) in terms of state-of-the-art of existing solutions, tools,
algorithms and approaches (e.g. passenger flow, predictions and traffic modelling, total
airport management concept, etc.);
 Address data confidentiality e.g. GDPR aspects, as well as the approach on data sharing
(including dataspaces tackled within EU-Rail project FP1-MOTIONAL);
 Address (cyber)security and safety aspects of the proposed architecture in close collaboration
with the System Pillar. Also, the availability and integration of external services able to supply
data and information to the air and rail network management systems to improve air-rail
intermodality shall be investigated;
 Target a balanced participation of entities from both the rail and aviation sector. The
contribution brought by those entities is also expected to be insofar as possible balanced
between the rail and aviation stakeholders. The applicants can justify a different approach for
the correct implementation of the action.

Interactions with other EU-RAIL and SESAR projects and EU-Missions

The action to be funded under this topic shall:

 Take into account the state of play on multimodality, either completed or ongoing (under
Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe programmes or beyond) activities that already tackle some of
the aspects under this topic.
 Collaborate with linked projects EU-RAIL Flagship Areas 148 and 649 and work together for any
potential interfaces.
 Collaborate and integrate the EU-Rail System Pillar50 outputs related to concept of operations,
Data Model, the Architecture and the interface with rail Traffic Management Systems.

Gender dimension

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

47 https://projects.shift2rail.org/s2r_ip.aspx?ip=4
48 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp1/
49 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp6/
50 https://rail-research.europa.eu/system_pillar/

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DESTINATION 8 – Exploratory Research and other activities

HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-01: NOISE AND VIBRATIONS

Specific Conditions

Expected EU EU-Rail estimates that an EU contribution of EUR 4.1 million would allow
contribution per these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
project preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
amounts.
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 4.1 million.

Applicant Private51 Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia responding to

this topic should provide in-kind contributions to additional activities to be
declared via the template model available on the F&T portal. The amount of
total in-kind contributions (i.e. in-kind contributions for operational activities
and in-kind contributions for additional activities) should be no less than
1.26352 times the funding request, in aggregate, of these applicant Private
Members. Any discrepancy shall be well and duly justified.

In this respect, the grant agreements will set, in principle, annual deliverable
on in-kind contributions for the projects selected under this topic, as well as
mandatory reporting requirements, for those applicants who are Private
Members of EU-Rail.

Indicative project 36 months. This does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal with
duration a different project duration.

Technology Activities are expected to be at TRL 5/6 – see General

Readiness Level Annex B for a guide to the TRL definitions and criteria to be used.
Type of Action Research and Innovation Action

Admissibility Regarding admissibility conditions and related requirements, part A of the

conditions Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies, with
the following exception: the limit for a full Innovation Action application is set
to 70 pages.
Special skills Applicants shall ensure that their proposals and consortium reflect the
and/or aggregated expertise to perform the activities and achieve the objectives set
capabilities by the topic.
expected from
the Applicant(s) The applicants are expected to gather expertise on in railway noise and
vibrations, soil-dynamics, acoustics, standardization processes (ISO, CEN)

51 As defined in Article 2(5) of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

52 In order to support a leverage factor of no less than the ratio between the contribution from members other than the
Union and the Union financial contribution, as on the basis of Articles 88 and 89 of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

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 Funding of only one EU-Rail may award up to one project with funding depending on the outcome
project per topic of the evaluation and the complementarity of the proposed actions.

Linked Projects As specified in section 2.3.8.1 of the WP 2023-2024, to facilitate the

contribution to the achievement of the EU-Rail objectives, the options
regarding 'linked actions' of the EU-Rail Model Grant Agreement and the
provisions therein, is enabled in the corresponding EU-Rail Grant Agreements.

The action that is expected to be funded under this topic will be

complementary to the action :

- FP4 – Rail4EARTH (GA number: 101101917)

Please note that the list is non-exhaustive as additional Linked Projects may
follow at a later stage of the programme implementation to complement the
activity.
Retroactive starting The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the
date of the grant submission date of the application. Applicants must justify the need for
a retroactive starting date in their application. Costs incurred from the
starting date of the action may be considered eligible.

Lump Sum grant Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of
7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon
Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and
Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training
Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [This
decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference
documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or
through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/docs/20212027/horizon/guidance/ls-
decision_he_en.pdf].
Award criteria The award criteria included in the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe –
additional details Work Programme 2023-2024 are complemented with additional criteria as
specified in Annex VIII to this Work Programme.

Expected Outcome

Railway noise is still the main rail externality and according to the EEA’s Outlook to 2030 report, the
number of people who are touched by railway noise is projected to increase under both optimistic
and conservative scenarios. This has an impact on the political decisions when upgrading existing or
building new railway lines.

During the past years, along with noise, the effects from railway-induced vibrations has come more
and more in the focus. In this perspective, the project to be developed under this call shall provide
feasible solutions on improvement of prediction tools on vibration impact. It should also provide an
assessment method on how vibration emissions can be determined and specified independently of
location and track influences in the future to determine the effect of the train alone independent from
the track.

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A strong cooperation with standardization and regulation committees through the EU-RAIL SP should
enable simplified vibration impact assessment as well as N&V certification procedures.

Noise

The main objective of this work area is to improve EU noise mapping and to define relevant limit
values that could potentially serve as a basis for upcoming revisions of the Technical Specifications for
Interoperability on Noise.

The R&I work of this work area should contribute to/is expected to:

- Deliver noise mitigation strategies for reprofiling/grinding processes;

- Facilitate the development and implementation of onboard measurement systems for rail
acoustic roughness, by providing a common technical measurements guideline in Europe;
- Deliver a user-friendly tool making use of open-source data to help optimise future re-profiling
processes to minimise the noise impact of railways;
- Deliver track LCC analyses based on the knowledge of acoustic and track experts from a
holistic approach and deliver a user-friendly tool making use of open-source data to support
the minimisation of Noise externalities during LCC analyses. Such analyses should be made
publicly available;
- Progress towards virtual and cost-effective vehicle certification considering uncertainties of
pass-by noise measurement;
- Improve the prediction of noise in curves for urban and inter-urban railway lines against state
of the art.

Ground Vibrations

The main objective of this work area is to improve the prediction tools capabilities for holistic ground
vibration impact.

The R&I work of this work area is expected to provide tools:

- with simulation capabilities for ground vibration;

- for large scale environmental impact studies, making use as much as possible of existing soil
databases and Geographic Information System.

Additionally, considering that existing TSIs do not cover vibration emissions from rolling stock, and in
general there is no standardised procedure for vibration emissions measurement, the R&I work should
deliver:

- A procedure for the track- and site-independent verification of vibration emissions, including
an analysis and determination of applicable conditions for its re-use on other sites.
- An assessment method on how ground-borne vibration emission of rolling stock can be
determined.

These outputs should serve as an input to the EU-Rail System Pillar for possible consideration on
standardisation (EN) and regulation updates (TSI). The work should therefore also include proposals
for the definition of suitable, demanding but realistic limit values for the development and acceptance
of new ‘low vibration’ rolling stock.

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Scope

The following R&I areas have been identified within the scope of this topic. It is up to the applicant to
identify the most appropriate R&I work-streams, taking into account the state of the art and previous
R&I work – in particular in the context of Shift2Rail activities53 – for delivering upon all of the above
expected outcome.

On-board measurements of the rail acoustic roughness

The research activities around this area should investigate an effective approach for optimised rail
reprofiling processes that minimises nuisance to lineside residents and avoid high maintenance costs.

They should look at on-board measurement of rail acoustic roughness aiming at establishing
harmonised technical European guidelines.

They should support the development of the necessary tools enabling the introduction of on-board
measurement data for acoustic rail roughness, to support the optimisation of future re-profiling
process by minimizing the noise impact of railways. The maintainability of the tool shall be addressed.

Rail optimisation for noise, vibrations, and life cycle costs

The research activities around this area should investigate how to integrate noise and vibration
abatement methods into asset management plans, considering the impact on environmental and
health conditions, to optimise the track system for LCC, noise and vibrations simultaneously.

The research action should deliver the necessary tools supporting the whole system optimisation for
noise, vibrations and life cycle costs (LCC) on railway tracks. The maintainability of the tool shall be
addressed.

Noise in curves

Rolling noise is in many situations the major railway noise source. However, in urban areas, especially
for tramway systems, curve noise is the dominating reason for noise complaints. Furthermore, current
standards, e.g. ISO 3095/3381, and regulations, e.g. TSI Noise, only cover rolling noise in straight
alignments. In order to improve prediction and to reduce noise, research activities around this area
should look into:

 Rolling noise in curves, developing a digital twin-based approach to predict rolling noise for curves
with radius R>150 m, validated by on-field measurements.
 Squeal and flange noise, developing an engineering tool for the prediction of critical curve
situations and the assessment of the impact of noise mitigation solutions with a focus on urban
rail (curve radius < 150 m). The tool shall be validated against on-field measurements.
 Improve the EU-CNOSSOS curve noise factor54.

53 SILVARSTAR (http://silvarstar.eu/), FINE-2 (https://projects.shift2rail.org/s2r_ipcc_n.aspx?p=fine-2), TRANSIT

(https://transit-prj.eu/home.aspx),
54 CNOSSOS-EU noise mapping (https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC72550

164
Transposition and uncertainties of pass-by noise

Virtual or simplified acoustic certification of rolling stock needs to consider uncertainties regarding
measurements and, therefore, research activities around this area should look into:

 Transposition from one site to another, investigating application and looking for improvement of
the methods developed in the S2R funded project TRANSIT 55 especially to sites with important
differences in the track architecture.
 Assessment of uncertainties in pass-by noise measurements.
 Identification of a methodology to acoustically certify freight wagons without testing - at least for
freight wagons without additional noise sources apart from the rolling noise.
 Study of the current noise emissions of new propulsion technologies (Battery propelled rolling
stock, hydrogen rolling stock). Propose specific limit values for these propulsion technologies for
pass-by, starting and stationary noise, if needed.

Ground vibrations Prediction Tool

The research activities should advance the state of the art, see Silvarstar public deliverables D1.1 , 1.3,
2.1 and D3.256 possibly based on existing prediction tools for ground vibration impact. In particular
the following areas are in the scope of interest:

a) Urban railway traffic

Prediction tool for ground vibration impact supporting urban areas (with tramways, metro, and light
rail systems) and investigating excitation mechanisms in curves, switches and crossings as well as
dedicated urban soil characteristics.

b) Integration into environmental impact assessment tools

Integration in the prediction tool of GIS data concerning track, soil and building data and further
automated processing of large-scale projects should be part of the R&I activities. The research
activities should consider the application of a user-friendly graphical user interface for the usage of
the simulation and prediction tool, preferably with interfaces to commercial geographical information
system (GIS) based software for noise and general environmental impact.

The Project stemming from this topic shall also consider the future acceptance and reliability of the
developed tool, by addressing aspects such as the assessment of prediction uncertainties and its
integration into ground vibration standards. Additionally, the prediction for mitigation measures at
track side, suitable for both tunnels and open track lines, and to the integration of mitigation measures
in the transmission path (e.g. tranches, walls) and estimation of their insertion loss shall be addressed.

The tool shall provide enough open interfaces to enable the integration of further improvements and
developments.

55 Please refer to the project’s public deliverables (https://transit-prj.eu/Page.aspx?CAT=DELIVERABLES&IdPage=aeae1af3-

e01e-499b-bfab-52b38411eafb) and other publications (https://transit-
prj.eu/Page.aspx?CAT=DOCUMENTS&IdPage=ece4856c-d4a8-4ebe-8ece-c77c069f71a2).
56 https://projects.shift2rail.org/s2r_ipCC_n.aspx?p=S2R_SILVARSTAR

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Requirements and specifications for ground-borne vibration emission of rolling stock

The research activities should address this area by investigating:

 Numerical analysis/simulation of the most important parameters in vehicle construction

responsible for vibration emissions.
 A suitable descriptor which can describe and compare vibration emissions of trains.
 A procedure to determine the most important parameters of track influences on ground-borne
vibration and proposals for a normalized reference track surrounding vibration emission
specification.
 An assessment method on how to specify and verify vibration emission of vehicles alone,
independently from track influences, including some specifications on how to transfer the data
from a test site to a reference track.
 The typical state-of-the-art vibration emission for different train categories including some
proposals for limit values.
 A way to determine and compare vibration emission values track and site independently, in
support of possible future standardisation activities.

Interactions with other EU-RAIL projects and EU-Missions

The action to be funded under this topic shall:

 Take into account the outputs of linked projects from EU-RAIL Flagship Areas 4 57 and work
together for any potential interfaces.
 Interact with EU-Rail System Pillar58 for the aspects related to standards and EU-regulations.

Gender dimension

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

57 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp4/
58 https://rail-research.europa.eu/system_pillar/

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 HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-02: FUTURE METRO SYSTEMS

Specific Conditions

Expected EU EU-Rail estimates that an EU contribution of EUR 3.1 million would allow
contribution per these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
project preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
amounts.
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 3.1 million.

Applicant Private59 Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia responding to

this topic should provide in-kind contributions to additional activities to be
declared via the template model available on the F&T portal. The amount of
total in-kind contributions (i.e. in-kind contributions for operational activities
and in-kind contributions for additional activities) should be no less than
1.26360 times the funding request, in aggregate, of these applicant Private
Members. Any discrepancy shall be well and duly justified.

In this respect, the grant agreements will set, in principle, annual deliverable
on in-kind contributions for the projects selected under this topic, as well as
mandatory reporting requirements, for those applicants who are Private
Members of EU-Rail.
Indicative project 24 months. This does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal with
duration a different project duration.

Technology Activities are expected to be at TRL 3/4, higher TRL are possible – see General
Readiness Level Annex B for a guide to the TRL definitions and criteria to be used.

Type of Action Research and Innovation Action

Admissibility Regarding admissibility conditions and related requirements, part A of the

conditions Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies, with
the following exception: the limit for a full Innovation Action application is set
to 70 pages.
Special skills Applicants shall ensure that their proposals and consortium reflect the
and/or aggregated expertise to perform the activities and achieve the objectives set
capabilities by the topic.
expected from
the Applicant(s) The applicants are expected to gather expertise on ATO “GoA4” and/or similar
concepts (Dynamic TMS Offer Demand Balancing, AI for operation and
maintenance, Train Control Systems – TCMS) for metro systems based on
automation and digitalization.

59 As defined in Article 2(5) of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

60 In order to support a leverage factor of no less than the ratio between the contribution from members other than the
Union and the Union financial contribution, as on the basis of Articles 88 and 89 of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

167
 Funding of only one EU-Rail may award up to one project with funding depending on the outcome
project per topic of the evaluation and the complementarity of the proposed actions.

Linked Projects As specified in section 2.3.8.1 of the WP 2023-2024, in order to facilitate the
contribution to the achievement of the EU-Rail objectives, the options
regarding 'linked actions' of the EU-Rail Model Grant Agreement and the
provisions therein, is enabled in the corresponding EU-Rail Grant Agreements.

The action that is expected to be funded under this topic will be

complementary to the following actions :

- FP1 - MOTIONAL (GA 101101973)

- FP2 - R2DATO (GA 101102001)
- FP3 - IAM4RAIL (GA 101101966)

Please note that the list is non-exhaustive as additional Linked Projects may
follow at a later stage of the programme implementation to complement the
activity.
Retroactive starting The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the
date of the grant submission date of the application. Applicants must justify the need for
a retroactive starting date in their application. Costs incurred from the
starting date of the action may be considered eligible.

Lump Sum grant Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of
7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon
Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and
Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training
Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [This
decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference
documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or
through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/docs/20212027/horizon/guidance/ls-
decision_he_en.pdf].
Award criteria The award criteria included in the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe –
additional details Work Programme 2023-2024 are complemented with additional criteria as
specified in Annex VIII to this Work Programme.

Expected Outcome:

Metro lines are traditionally operated through a combination of planned levels of demand and of
availability of rolling stock and drivers along different periods of typical days. The adaptation of
operations to face changes of the traffic patterns and levels are largely influenced by the constraints
of staff management and by the knowledge of customers expectations.

Additionally, AI and data science are frequently praised as a solution to address transport issues by
handling large set of data, combining information from many sources being indicators and sensors.

168
The Project stemming from this topic should aim to identify and initially exploit key areas of innovation
of the future metro system. The initiative shall identify new requirements, develop new concepts, and
implement early stages of development of the solutions based on new emerging technologies
(automation and digitalization, AI, telecom, etc.).

These new technologies, concepts and new ways of operation shall contribute to a better mass rapid
transport system with:

- Optimized Capacity – Flexi Demand, making the most of the existing infra and rolling stock
following customer commuting habits, flows and better managing disruptions.
- Efficient Train Control Systems that enable cost reductions and better operational response.
- Sustainable transport system, applying different technologies and concepts to better manage
the total cost of ownership and deliver better energy footprint.

The final objective is to increase efficiency, sustainability, attractiveness, and resilience against current
state of the art. Making the system future metro systems answering the needs of an evolving society
with the metro as the backbone of urban mobility.

Scope

Considering the current state of the art regarding automation in the metro system, the action to be
funded under this topic shall deliver R&I which first step is to determine requirements and needs for
future different type of metro users, while also taking into consideration the resilience to external
challenges/future threats (climate threats, sanitary, terrorism, etc.) aiming at making metro systems
future proof.

The following R&I areas have been identified as key enablers of the expected outcome. The Project
stemming from this topic shall address all the following work streams and is expected to provide all
the following:

Workstream 1: Increased adaptability of metros to fluctuations in demand. The project shall

deliver a feasibility study, potentially using simulation tools as Proof of Concept to
demonstrate to what extent it is possible to increase the adaptability of metros to fluctuations
in demand; and how to benefit from new opportunities provided by the trend towards full
automation of metro operation (Grade of Operation 4 with no staff on board train), by a better
knowledge of customers profiles and travel conditions (expected and actual) thanks to
digitalization, by new technologies and by improved coordination with other modes and new
mobility services.

Workstream 2: Future of train control. The project shall deliver a feasibility study, including
an analysis of the different trends in train control and existing / future technological solutions
as well as adefinition of future needs and functional requirements for the different categories
of metro systems. The objective is not to focus on one solution with respect to another, but
to explore equidistantly the topic from the different point of view like economic, operational,
technologic and considering the potential impact on existing systems.

Workstream 3: Advantages and trends brought by AI and data science in metro operation
for different types of metros (old/new, large/small, etc.). While their area of relevance is
rather associated with large networks, the project shall deliver concepts on the most

169
 promising AI and data science implementation applications in metro operation, with a cost-
effective approach, in different categories of metro systems (greenfield/brownfield, city or
regional, connection with long distance modes...). Relevant aspects like application to
operational processes and cybersecurity threat identification and management should also be
considered. Preliminary results of this workstream may be considered for Workstream 1 and
2 implementations.

Interactions with other EU-RAIL projects and EU-Missions

The action to be funded under this topic shall:

 Take into account the outputs of linked projects from EU-RAIL Flagship Areas 161, 262 and 363
and work together with them for any potential interfaces.
 Interact with EU-Rail System Pillar64 for the aspects related to the interface between mainline
rail (SERA) and urban mobility systems of which metro is part.
 Interact with EU Cities Mission.

Gender dimension

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

61 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp1/
62 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp2/
63 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp3/
64 https://rail-research.europa.eu/system_pillar/

170
 HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-03: BIODIVERSITY

Specific Conditions

Expected EU EU-Rail estimates that an EU contribution of EUR 2.8 million would allow
contribution per these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
project preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
amounts.
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.8 million.

Applicant Private65 Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia responding to

this topic should provide in-kind contributions to additional activities to be
declared via the template model available on the F&T portal. The amount of
total in-kind contributions (i.e. in-kind contributions for operational activities
and in-kind contributions for additional activities) should be no less than
1.26366 times the funding request, in aggregate, of these applicant Private
Members. Any discrepancy shall be well and duly justified.

In this respect, the grant agreements will set, in principle, annual deliverable
on in-kind contributions for the projects selected under this topic, as well as
mandatory reporting requirements, for those applicants who are Private
Members of EU-Rail.
Indicative project 36 months. This does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal with
duration a different project duration.

Type of Action Horizon Coordination and Support Actions (CSA)

Admissibility Regarding admissibility conditions and related requirements, part A of the

conditions Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies, with
the following exception: the limit for a full Innovation Action application is set
to 70 pages.
Special skills Applicants shall ensure that their proposals and consortium reflect the
and/or aggregated expertise to perform the activities and achieve the objectives set
capabilities by the topic.
expected from
the Applicant(s) The applicants are expected to gather expertise on the subject of matter
(biodiversity, transport, energy) and demonstrate capacity to liaise with
stakeholders (administrations, regulators, etc).

Funding of only one EU-Rail may award up to one project with funding depending on the outcome
project per topic of the evaluation and the complementarity of the proposed actions.

65 As defined in Article 2(5) of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

66 In order to support a leverage factor of no less than the ratio between the contribution from members other than the
Union and the Union financial contribution, as on the basis of Articles 88 and 89 of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

171
 Linked Projects As specified in section 2.3.8.1 of the WP 2023-2024, in order to facilitate the
contribution to the achievement of the EU-Rail objectives, the options
regarding 'linked actions' of the EU-Rail Model Grant Agreement and the
provisions therein, is enabled in the corresponding EU-Rail Grant Agreements.

The action that is expected to be funded under this topic will be

complementary to the following actions:

- FP4 - Rail4EARTH (GA 101101917 )

- FP3 - IAM4RAIL (GA 101101966 )

Please note that the list is non-exhaustive as additional Linked Projects may
follow at a later stage of the programme implementation to complement the
activity.
Retroactive starting The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the
date of the grant submission date of the application. Applicants must justify the need for
a retroactive starting date in their application. Costs incurred from the
starting date of the action may be considered eligible.

Lump Sum grant Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of
7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon
Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and
Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training
Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [This
decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference
documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or
through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/docs/20212027/horizon/guidance/ls-
decision_he_en.pdf].
Award criteria The award criteria included in the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe –
additional details Work Programme 2023-2024 are complemented with additional criteria as
specified in Annex VIII to this Work Programme.

Expected Outcome:

The Project stemming from this topic should deliver the following outcomes, considering rail as the
backbone of the future mobility system:

 Reach applicable recommendations for the development and improvement of cross-cutting

biodiversity and climate policies. This will serve as a baseline for the transport and energy
sector, to be used in a holistic way when planning future endeavours so the design,
construction, and maintenance phases of the any relevant projects shall take into account
biodiversity and net zero emissions all throughout the lifecycle including the land use
management in railways.
 Develop technical methodologies to evaluate the environmental efficiency of rail transport
infrastructure and its impact on ecosystem services and climate challenge. The methodology

172
 should address how to score / the expected scoring performance on innovative green
infrastructure solutions. This should lead to an identification of metrics/KPI and targets for
them that will help monitor the progress.
 Inclusive assessment framework of the impacts from infrastructure on biodiversity enabling
compiling heterogeneous data.
 Filling gaps in the accounting of joint carbon and biodiversity "transboundary" impacts
between energy and transport sectors and identify ways to address them.
 Providing a user-friendly, open data-driven carbon emission calculator for use in railway
infrastructure projects.

Scope:

Railways are the key transport mode to design a better future and to achieve a sustainable mobility.
The project to be funded under this call aims to facilitate the implementation of the EU biodiversity
policy and guidelines with a coordinated approach among stakeholders, in particular looking at the
rail sector and how the application of a more homogenous biodiversity baseline can be defined across
the transport and energy sector. This coordination and support action aims also at supporting the
PRIME67 initiative by achieving a harmonised / common acknowledged environmental scorecard for
rail infrastructure manager and identifying opportunities for improvement in ecosystem services
resulting from the management of habitats, vegetation, water and soil quality, while leading the
elaboration of national transport management plans to be used in new construction projects. The
following R&I work-streams have been identified for addressing all the above expected outcomes:

Workstream 1: Bridging the transport infrastructure & energy distribution and production networks
together with biodiversity to tackle climate change

The development of a biodiversity-friendly approach for different types of transport infrastructure has
been included in the actions of national and international authorities in various forms for several
years. The aim of this workstream is to bridge energy at its latest technology state of the art /
innovation and rail transport identifying best possible matches that deliver rail solutions to tackle
climate change.

The technical objectives of the funded project include addressing the approach and promoting
synergies between transport and energy sectors, the development of an inclusive assessment
framework of the impacts from infrastructure on biodiversity enabling procurement improvements
through harmonised, transparent, and robust data generation. The project shall aim to support
stakeholders in decision-making by analysing the existing situation.

The economic aspects of the project include leveraging the use of SOURCE, the multilateral platform
for the preparation of sustainable infrastructure projects and enabling the achievement of green
bonds, with criteria and scoring to be established, and contributing to its support and dissemination

67 https://wikis.ec.europa.eu/display/primeinfrastructure/About+PRIME

173
as capacity building in developing countries, in particular in connection with the EU Global Gateway.
Furthermore, the funded project is to identify tools to help sector actors integrate biodiversity more
thoroughly into their strategic and operational plans.

Proposals should take into account the societal perspective. The objective is to promote the
development of a holistic approach to environmental mainstreaming of infrastructure by producing
comparable results to demonstrate the benefits and impacts of infrastructure projects on public
health and well-being, and better integration in the policy-making processes. The information
obtained will also support capacity building through the development of an initial and continuing
training programme. It will also aim at supporting the emergence of a European knowledge hub on
infrastructure and biodiversity.

Workstream 2: Valuing the nature on railways

A well-managed green infrastructure will bring biodiversity benefits, but also helps support safer and
more reliable railways operations. With the increasing importance given to railways to ensure net
zero emissions reality, it is expected that the amount of land designated to railways, including
infrastructure and real estate, will increase in Europe. This land take may be challenged in terms of
environmental impact and loss of habitats.
Railways must be able to clearly demonstrate the value from railway green infrastructure and that
there is no loss of value from investing in new infrastructure when it is designed well. Through
innovative digital remote monitoring and biodiversity consideration in early design of infrastructure,
the way the lineside is understood is changing. The project to be funded through this call will set a
direction of travel for biodiversity net gain as well as no net loss. A standardised approach to ensure
the sustainability of railways and to guide different stakeholders towards effective and efficient land
management practices will strengthen the development of a common European biodiversity metric
to benchmark data on railways and other cross-cutting transport modes.

The framework set under the project aims to harmonise the European railway community in
identifying opportunities for improvement in ecosystem services resulting from the management of
habitats, vegetation, water and soil quality, while leading the elaboration of national transport
management plans to be used in new construction projects.

The project stemming from this topic focusses on providing a ranking system to generate new sources
of funding, as well as the development of a long-term monitoring and reporting system with a carbon
emission calculator developed for use in new construction projects based on the metrics identified in
the habitat management context., as well as to guide the sector with a tool for the collection of
harmonised transparent and robust data for use on European railways and to improve procurement
processes.

Additionally, a standardised approach to ensure the sustainability of railways and to guide different
stakeholders towards effective and efficient land management practices will strengthen the
development of a common European biodiversity metric to benchmark data on railways.

Interactions with other EU-RAIL projects and EU-Missions

The action to be funded under this topic shall:

174
  Take into account the outputs of linked projects from EU-RAIL Flagship Areas 368 and 469 and
work together for any potential interfaces.

 Take into account the EU Biodiversity Strategy 203070.

 Take into account the outcome of the H2020-BISON CSA71, which paved the way to an
innovative multimodal approach to tackle biodiversity and infrastructure.

Gender dimension

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

68 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp3/
69 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp4/
70 https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/biodiversity-strategy-2030_en
71 https://bison-transport.eu/

175
 HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-04: DISRUPTIVE ASSET S MA NAGEMEN T SOLUTIONS,
INCLUDING URBAN USE CASES

Specific Conditions

Expected EU EU-Rail estimates that an EU contribution of EUR 2.7 million would allow
contribution per these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
project preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
amounts.
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2.7 million.

Applicant Private72 Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia responding to

this topic should provide in-kind contributions to additional activities to be
declared via the template model available on the F&T portal. The amount of
total in-kind contributions (i.e. in-kind contributions for operational activities
and in-kind contributions for additional activities) should be no less than
1.26373 times the funding request, in aggregate, of these applicant Private
Members. Any discrepancy shall be well and duly justified.

In this respect, the grant agreements will set, in principle, annual deliverable
on in-kind contributions for the projects selected under this topic, as well as
mandatory reporting requirements, for those applicants who are Private
Members of EU-Rail.
Indicative project 30 months. This does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal with
duration a different project duration.

Technology Activities are expected to be at TRL 4/5, higher TRL are possible – see General
Readiness Level Annex B for a guide to the TRL definitions and criteria to be used.

Type of Action Research and Innovation Action

Admissibility Regarding admissibility conditions and related requirements, part A of the Horizon
conditions Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies, with the following
exception: the limit for a full Innovation Action application is set to 70 pages.

72 As defined in Article 2(5) of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

73 In order to support a leverage factor of no less than the ratio between the contribution from members other than the
Union and the Union financial contribution, as on the basis of Articles 88 and 89 of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

176
 Special skills Applicants shall ensure that their proposals and consortium reflect the aggregated
and/or expertise to perform the activities and achieve the objectives set by the topic.
capabilities
expected from
the Applicant(s)

Funding of only EU-Rail may award up to one project with funding depending on the outcome of
one project per the evaluation and the complementarity of the proposed actions.
topic

Linked Projects As specified in section 2.3.8.1 of the WP 2023-2024, in order to facilitate the
contribution to the achievement of the EU-Rail objectives, the options regarding
'linked actions' of the EU-Rail Model Grant Agreement and the provisions therein,
is enabled in the corresponding EU-Rail Grant Agreements.

The action that is expected to be funded under this topic will be complementary to

- FP3-IAM4RAIL (GA 101101966)

Please note that the list is non-exhaustive as additional Linked Projects may follow
at a later stage of the programme implementation to complement the activity.
Retroactive The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the submission
starting date of date of the application. Applicants must justify the need for a retroactive starting
the grant date in their application. Costs incurred from the starting date of the action may
be considered eligible.

Lump Sum grant Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July
2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe
Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-
2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the
European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [This decision is available on
the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon
Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/docs/20212027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf].

Award criteria The award criteria included in the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe – Work
additional details Programme 2023-2024 are complemented with additional criteria as specified in
Annex VIII to this Work Programme.

Expected Outcome:

Building upon the work delivered by IP3 in S2R and other research and innovation activities, the
Project stemming from this topic shall ensure the innovative/disruptive aspect of proposed
Technologies / Use cases thanks to a thorough state of the art of existing solutions and on-going R&I
activities. The project shall not undertake any (similar) activities currently implemented in the context
of FP3-IAM4RAIL as describe in the project deliverable D2.6 – Definition of Use Cases, including

177
Innovation, Business Assessment, KPIs definition and roadmap (first issue). More specifically, no
robotic/unmanned application shall be considered as use case.

The Project stemming from this topic is expected to deliver relevant environment validation of three
innovative demonstrators of innovative:

- assets monitoring solutions and/or

- inspections solutions and/or
- remotely controlled interventions solutions.

Among the proposed demonstrators, at least two urban specific use cases (metro/tramway/…) shall
be addressed.

Scope

Rail asset management is a key area to enhance via research and innovation, especially as more rail
services will be needed to solve existing challenges and meet societal demands, following EU
guidelines such as the Green Deal. The objective of the project is to enhance the capability for
monitoring/inspection solutions evolving towards non-invasive and self-diagnostic systems with no or
minimal service disruptions and/or remotely controlled interventions, through the usage of
innovative/disruptive technologies concerning data acquisition, data analysis and maintenance
decision making.

In order to fulfil the expected demonstration outputs, research activities should detail specific,
tangible and suitable use cases illustrating the impact of the technologies in concrete solutions. While
the innovative/disruptive aspect of the technologies implementation choice shall be considered, the
definition of the use cases shall ensure a possible deployment of the outcomes. Those proposed
innovative solutions should contribute to a significant improvement in reliability, availability,
maintainability and safety of the system or work conditions versus state of the art.

Interactions with other EU-RAIL projects and EU-Missions

The action to be funded under this topic shall take into account the outputs of linked projects from
EU-RAIL Flagship Area 374 and work together for any potential interfaces.

Gender dimension

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

74 https://projects.rail-research.europa.eu/eurail-fp1/

178
 HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-05: EXTENDING THE RAIL N ETWORK OF PHDS

Specific Conditions

Expected EU The Europe´s Rail Joint Undertaking estimates that an EU contribution of EUR 2
contribution per million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this
project does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
amounts.

Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 2 million.

Applicant Private 75 Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia responding to this

topic should provide in-kind contributions to additional activities to be declared via
the template model available on the F&T portal. The amount of total in-kind
contributions (i.e. in-kind contributions for operational activities and in-kind
contributions for additional activities) should be no less than 1.263 76 times the
funding request, in aggregate, of these applicant Private Members. Any discrepancy
shall be well and duly justified.

In this respect, the grant agreements will set, in principle, annual deliverable on in-
kind contributions for the projects selected under this topic, as well as mandatory
reporting requirements, for those applicants who are Private Members of EU-Rail.

Technology Activities are expected to be of low TRL1, with possible technology concept
Readiness Level formulated at TRL2, higher TRL are also possible – see General Annex B for a guide
to the TRL definitions and criteria to be used.

Indicative project No indication given, applicants should indicate the most appropriate period for the
duration action, in particular in relation to the PhD works.

Type of Action Research and Innovation Action

Admissibility Regarding admissibility conditions and related requirements, part A of the Horizon
conditions Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies, with the following
exception: the limit for a full Innovation Action application is set to 70 pages.

75 As defined in Article 2(5) of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

76 In order to support a leverage factor of no less than the ratio between the contribution from members other than the
Union and the Union financial contribution, as on the basis of Articles 88 and 89 of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

179
 Special skills EU-Rail expects proposals to be submitted by consortia that consider PhD
and/or capabilities researchers/doctorships in the area of works of the topics presented in the Call text
expected from the or in other scientifically relevant areas. Applicants shall ensure that their proposals
Applicant(s) and consortium reflect the aggregated expertise to perform the activities and
achieve the objectives set by the topic.

The applicants are expected to gather expertise leveraging from the knowledge of
Academia and of the rail supply industry, SMEs and start-ups. In addition,
applicants should leverage from the expectations of the clients, in the horizon
2030, considering the R&I contribution and vision from the EU-Rail Master Plan and
Multi-Annual Work Plan.

Funding of only EU-Rail may award up to one project with funding depending on the outcome of
one project per the evaluation and the complementarity of the proposed actions.
topic

Linked Projects As specified in section 2.3.8.1 of the WP 2023-2024, in order to facilitate the
contribution to the achievement of the EU-Rail objectives, the options regarding
'linked actions' of the EU-Rail Model Grant Agreement and the provisions therein, is
enabled in the corresponding EU-Rail Grant Agreements.

The action that is expected to be funded under this topic will be complementary to
the action:

- Academics4Rail (GA 101121842)

Please note that the list is non-exhaustive as additional Linked Projects may follow
at a later stage of the programme implementation to complement the activity.

Retroactive The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the submission
starting date of date of the application. Applicants must justify the need for a retroactive starting
the grant date in their application. Costs incurred from the starting date of the action may be
considered eligible.

Lump Sum grant Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of
7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon
Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
(2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the
European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [This decision is available on the
Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon
Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/docs/20212027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf].

Award criteria The award criteria included in the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe – Work
additional details Programme 2023 – 2024 are complemented with additional criteria as specified in
Annex VIII to this Work Programme.

180
Expected outcome

With this Research and Innovation Action, the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking intends further extend
the rail research and innovation “community” (cooperation/network/alliance) of scientific research
entities (cooperation/network) that was initiated with the recent award of the EU-Rail project
Academics4Rail (GA 101121842).

The expected outcome is also the realisation of 6-10 PhD positions, teaming up with the industry.

To apply under this Call topic, the related entities are requested to establish a Consortia with the aim
to promote fruitful collaboration and share of knowledge on any topics in the area of works related to
the EU-Rail Programme77or relevant in the context of other European rail research and innovation
activities. In doing so, exchanges should also be identified with the linked project.

Scope

In order to achieve the expected outcomes described above, proposals shall consist of the creation of
at least 6 – 10 PhDs positions. It is expected that the PhD programmes stemming from this topic will
have the possibility to interact with the Funding Members of the Europe’s Rail JU.

The PhD researchers are expected regularly to liaise with the Europe’s Rail JU and to present their
research findings to the Europe’s Rail JU events and submit scientific papers to relevant conferences
(e.g. TRA, WCRR, etc. but also non-rail related). This action may be requested to provide relevant
inputs to the Europe’s Rail Scientific Steering Group and ERRAC. The Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking
expects to finance successful proposals from universities or similar high-level institutes covering each
at least one PhD student in the following proposed areas or additional or different scientific areas to
be proposed, always in relation to the EU-Rail Programme:

PhD Topic – Measures and mechanisms to support implementation of rail technical innovations
supporting the decarbonisation of transport

Innovations in the transport domain.

Innovation will only contribute to the future of rail if they are implemented. Sometimes good R&I
outputs encounter barriers that hinder their possibility to become innovations implemented into the
market. Those barriers may be linked to market factors, standards, regulations, etc. The barriers may
become greater when dealing with seamless integration with other modes of transport.

Proposals addressing this PhD topic should research and identify possible measures and mechanisms
that would help the promotion of such innovations and overcome the identified barriers. Case studies
may also be part of the work.

The work should take into account the CERRE78 Report: The Future of Rail: Regulation and Competition
for an Innovative Industry.

PhD Topic - Change Making for Gender Equality in Rail

The main aim of this topic is to research on the gender gap in rail companies with the focus on how to
improve the experience of women in rail, both as users of rail services and as members of the
workforce.

77 https://rail-research.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EURAIL_MAWP_final.pdf
78 htps://cerre.eu/publications/future-rail-regulation-competition-innovative-industry/

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Proposals addressing this PhD topic should contribute through research activities to one or more of
the following (or similar) non exhaustive list (more than one PhD can be proposed on this topic
addressing different subjects as well):

 Knowledge-based approach regarding the role of the women as rail passengers,

understanding their travel behaviours and patterns and identifying potential specific needs.

 Effective practices and solutions that could attract more female workers across the different
departments of rail companies as well as training plans/solutions for Human resources
department regarding recruitment, training, spreading excellence, technical cooperation, and
promotions of women.

 A study on the current challenges for women in rail, including literature review, data collection
focusing on disaggregated data on women (both as workers and as passengers), and
stakeholder mapping.

PhD Topic – Education and training in rail

Education and training are critical to ensuring a highly skilled and competent rail workforce.
ERASMUS+ funded projects have provided valuable feedback on the current state of rail education
and training and identified areas for improvement.

In the last two decades, the European rail sector has undergone major changes. European rail mobility
is sustained by a skilled workforce, that daily delivers maintenance, operations, planning, and services.
Nevertheless, major changes are affecting this workforce: on one hand, about 30% is expected to
retire in the next decade; on the other hand, the major transformation process driven by research and
innovation, with special reference to digitalisation and automation, requires bringing in suitable skills
and competencies. Digitalisation is progressing rapidly and is leading to an increased demand for more
ICT and broad technical skills, as well as for soft skills. Moreover, there is a growing need for skills
related to modernisation of rail infrastructure, traffic management and rolling stock. In such a
framework, a major challenge to face is the difficulty to recruit suitably educated people. The
transformation related to digital and high-tech technologies creates mismatches between available
and demanded skills, which results in enterprises reporting difficulties to find staff with the needed
competencies.

The above-described changes represents also a challenge for the education and training in rail. On one
side there is the need of providing potential rail staff with the needed skills, but on the other there is
the necessity of educating people capable to provide such skills to (graduated) students, using suitable
teaching and training methodologies. More important, such methodologies should become the same
over all Europe in a near future.

Starting from the public outputs of the EU-funded project STAFFER79, proposals addressing this PhD
topic should further developed relevant research subjects that would allow addressing the above
challenge.

PhD Topic – Rail enabled urban logistics

79 https://www.railstaffer.eu/

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Logistics City Hubs aiming at zero-emission freight transport at city level are a new concept. Transport
currently accounts for about a third of all climate emissions in Europe. Without significant measures,
transport will be the largest source of climate gas emissions by 2030. It is expected that passenger and
freight transport will grow by more than 40% and 60%, respectively by 2050 80 , connects urban
systems in an integrated approach and addresses both goods and passenger transport. The aim is to
improve efficiency, capacity utilisation of existing vehicles and transport related infrastructure,
accessibility, and innovation capacity in urban transport.

These Logistic City Hubs should integrate with freight rail and future rail freight multimodal terminals
that could interchange with any local last mile clean mean of transport (electric delivery vans, electric
motorbikes, cargo-bikes, even local mass transit bus, etc. ). This topic should look at freight rail and
how can freight rail multimodal terminals and rail freight traffic integrate in smart cities and
implement efficient and cost-effective integration with sustainable last mile solutions.

Proposals addressing this PhD topic should contribute through the following or similar research
activities :

 Conduct a comprehensive study analysing ongoing initiatives that European cities are already
initiating, (for example Amsterdam Logistics City hub ) and how /what are the condition for
rail services to fit into those. This study should not only look into infrastructure needs but also
new production rail freight models. Expected rail freight traffic and routes within the city
should comply with all environmental (noise, etc) and timetable (operations that are
compatible with passenger trains ) requirements.

 Look into different case scenario, with a short / medium- and long-term look taking
appropriate consideration of the technological evolution in the rail sector (see S2R IMPACT-2
D7.2 Use-Cases for advanced Freight operation 81 and FR8HUB Rail Freight Technologies
evolution D1.2_Migration_Plan.pdf82).

 Lay out the conditions and recommendations for such services to be successfully deployed,
making the necessary investigation on the regulatory and business model side.

PhD Topic – Fast Night Train Operations

Night trains are an important mode of transportation for passengers traveling long distances
overnight. These services will help balancing CO2 footprint offering other alternative that delivers
better environmental profile. The main issue is still the long travel times which raise a growing demand
for faster night trains, which can reduce travel times and improve the overall passenger experience.
To achieve this, there is a need to address several technical, operational, and market-related
challenges.

Proposals addressing this PhD topic should contribute through research activities to one or more of
the following (or similar) non exhaustive list:

 Feasibility study: Conduct a comprehensive study to determine the feasibility of fast and high-
speed night trains in Europe, including technical, financial, and logistical considerations.

80 H2020 funded MOVE21 project https://move21.eu/

81 https://projects.shift2rail.org/download.aspx?id=48cdc377-e4cd-485a-b32f-dea77f354a31
82 https://projects.shift2rail.org/download.aspx?id=cdef064b-9b51-47e9-a55c-fae90ccd76dd

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  Market analysis: Analyse the potential market for high-speed night trains in Europe, based
on the experience of established high-speed rail networks, including customer preferences,
demand, and potential revenue streams.

 Route analysis: Identify the most viable routes for high-speed night trains in Europe, based on
international travel available statistics, taking into account factors such as distance,
connectivity, and existing infrastructure.

 Fleet assessment: Evaluate the existing fleet of trains and assess their suitability for use as
high-speed night trains, including modifications and upgrades needed to meet the required
services and performance.

Other and different PhD subjects can be proposed by the applicants.

Research results are expected to contribute to the Europe’s Rail Programme and explore new
possibilities and ideas. At the same time, the PhD researchers who are part of the Europe’s Rail JU
activities, are expected to become European ambassadors of the possible bright and innovative future
that the rail sector has in the years to come.

Interactions with other EU-RAIL projects and EU-Missions:

The action to be funded under this topic shall interact with Academics4Rail (GA 101121842) in order
to exchange within the community of scientific research and to growth the PhD subjects and
interaction with industrial partners.

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 HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-06: DAC FLEET RETROFITTI NG AND RETROFIT
CAPACITY PLAN

Specific Conditions

Expected EU EU-Rail estimates that an EU contribution of EUR 1.5 million would allow
contribution per these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not
project preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different
amounts.
Indicative budget The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 1.5 million.

Applicant Private83 Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia responding to

this topic should provide in-kind contributions to additional activities to be
declared via the template model available on the F&T portal. The amount of
total in-kind contributions (i.e. in-kind contributions for operational activities
and in-kind contributions for additional activities) should be no less than
1.26384 times the funding request, in aggregate, of these applicant Private
Members. Any discrepancy shall be well and duly justified.

In this respect, the grant agreements will set, in principle, annual deliverable
on in-kind contributions for the projects selected under this topic, as well as
mandatory reporting requirements, for those applicants who are Private
Members of EU-Rail.
Indicative project 24 months. This does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal with
duration a different project duration.

Type of Action Coordination and Support Action

Admissibility Regarding admissibility conditions and related requirements, part A of the

conditions Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies, with
the following exception: the limit for a full Innovation Action application is set
to 70 pages.
Special skills Applicants shall ensure that their proposals and consortium reflect the
and/or aggregated expertise to perform the activities and achieve the objectives set
capabilities by the topic.
expected from
the Applicant(s) The applicants are expected to gather the necessary technical expertise on
retrofit capacity aspects (Workshop operation, design and planning,
engineering service providers, entities in charge of maintenance and
workshop certifiers) and fleet retrofitting activities (Freight operations, design

83 As defined in Article 2(5) of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

84 In order to support a leverage factor of no less than the ratio between the contribution from members other than the
Union and the Union financial contribution, as on the basis of Articles 88 and 89 of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

185
 and planning, asset management, maintenance/overhaul planning and
workshop operation).

Funding of only one EU-Rail may award up to one project with funding depending on the outcome
project per topic of the evaluation and the complementarity of the proposed actions.

Linked Projects As specified in section 2.3.8.1 of the WP 2023-2024, in order to facilitate the
contribution to the achievement of the EU-Rail objectives, the options
regarding 'linked actions' of the EU-Rail Model Grant Agreement and the
provisions therein, is enabled in the corresponding EU-Rail Grant Agreements.

The action that is expected to be funded under this topic will be

complementary to the following actions:

- FP5-TRANS4M-R (GA : 101102009)

- DACcord (GA : 101121855)

Please note that the list is non-exhaustive as additional Linked Projects may
follow at a later stage of the programme implementation to complement the
activity.
Retroactive starting The starting date of grants awarded under this topic may be as of the
date of the grant submission date of the application. Applicants must justify the need for
a retroactive starting date in their application. Costs incurred from the
starting date of the action may be considered eligible.

Lump Sum grant Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of
7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon
Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
(2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of
the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [This decision is
available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents
section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this
link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/docs/20212027/horizon/guidance/ls-
decision_he_en.pdf].
Award criteria The award criteria included in the General Annexes of the Horizon Europe –
additional details Work Programme 2023-2024 are complemented with additional criteria as
specified in Annex VIII to this Work Programme.

Expected Outcome:

During the past years and within the scope of the S2R freight innovation pillar (IP5), rail stakeholders
have been working on the freight Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC). This solution, in addition to the
mechanical and pneumatic coupling, will integrate digital communications and energy for the rail

186
freight segment. DAC is an enabler that will enhance the performance and safety of rail freight as it
will eliminate manual interventions and, by transmitting data and power through the freight train
consist, it will allow addressing the operational gaps to increase the competitiveness of rail freight.

The project stemming from this topic should deliver :

- a plan for a full-scale European DAC upgrading/retrofitting of existing freight locomotives and
freight wagons;
- the identification and assessment of the retrofitting capacity, and develop an implementation
plan.

All project deliverables shall be of Public nature to ensure a broad exploitation of the results and take
up in the context of the European DAC Delivery Programme (EDDP)85.

Scope

The coordinated support action support the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking with the needed technical
expertise for the development of the above mentioned plans.

The following areas have been identified as key research area to cover the expected outcome. The
project stemming from this topic shall address all the following workstreams:

Workstream 1: Fleet retrofitting readiness

The project should collect and analyse the status of wagons and locomotives in operations in Europe.
The processed information should consider the number of wagons and locomotives, the usage, the
technical state and its retrofitting ability (fleet retrofitting readiness). The project shall deliver a sound
assessment on the retrofitting readiness of wagons and locomotives which will serve as the basis for
the strategic sector alignment, in the context of the EDDP, on the future DAC deployment plans. The
project shall cover for its assessment the following elements (non-exhaustive list):

- Locomotives difference between shunting and mainline ones and the possibility to have
hybrid coupling or DAC only;
- Wagons based on the type of traffic (Core Wagonload System (CWS), intermodal,…);
- TSI compliance and safety level achieved (e.g. inner-coupling for rakes).

Workstream 2: DAC Retrofitting capacity plan

The project should identify the required workshop capacity and locations (in Europe), workforce skills
for retrofitting of locomotives, freight wagons and other on track machines, as well as the
planned/required retrofitting rolling stock quantities. The outputs of the workstream 1 are an
important element to take into account in the analysis.

It should also propose a DAC retrofitting plan considering the optimisation of workshop locations and
the major sidings/terminals in Europe (e.g. through predominant traffic type) use, and related vehicle

85 https://rail-research.europa.eu/european-dac-delivery-programme/

187
fleets. A gap analysis should be performed and required countermeasures analysed, with the aim to
propose alternative technical and operational solutions.

The project should develop a comprehensive retrofitting capacity plan, including concrete operational
and technical recommendations (including timing) per traffic type (Block Train, Single Wagon Load,…)
and concerned fleet. The plan should include (non-exhaustive list):

- an allocation of vehicles per retrofitting workshops;

- an identification of the rolling stock, timing and retrofitting process per type/vehicle;
- an estimate of the foreseen DAC components quantity required per retrofitting location.

Additionally, the project should propose further recommendation based on the analysis on how
mobile workshops could cover (in part) the retrofit needs and their impact on:

o Retrofitting plan on infrastructure (e.g. buffer stop retrofitting plan, changes needed to shunting
yards/sidings and planning).
o Requirements for the wagons for operations at shunting yards (e.g. uncoupling button or lever at
the side).

Interactions with other EU-RAIL projects and EU-Missions

The action to be funded under this topic shall:

 Take into account the outputs of linked projects from EU-RAIL Flagship Area 5 and work
together for any potential interfaces.
 Interact with EU-Rail System Pillar for the aspects related to the TSI compliance aspects and
planning and with the European DAC Delivery Programme groups, to which is expected to
report on a regular basis to the Programme Board and Supervisory Board.

Gender dimension

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and
innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

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 Annex VIII – 2023 Call for proposals – Evaluation Criteria

Part D of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024 General Annexes applies regarding the
award criteria, scores and weighting upon which the proposals will be evaluated, with the following
addition:

- Under the criteria “Excellence”, “quality of the proposed joint activities to achieve the
deliverables”
- Under the criteria “Impact”, “quality and credibility of the action to contribute achieving the
EU-Rail Master Plan objectives and the expected impact of the EU-Rail Multi-Annual Work
Programme”.
- Under “quality and efficiency of the implementation”, “Appropriateness of the project
management structure and quality of the proposed coordination”.

Excellence86 Impact Quality and efficiency of

the implementation
Research  Clarity and pertinence of the  Credibility of the  Quality and
and project’s objectives, and the pathways to achieve the effectiveness of the
innovation extent to which the expected outcomes and work plan,
actions proposed work is ambitious impacts specified in the assessment of risks,
(RIA) and goes beyond the state work programme, and and appropriateness
Innovation of the art. the likely scale and of the effort assigned
actions (IA) significance of the to work packages, and
 Soundness of the proposed contributions from the the resources overall.
[for the first stage: overall] project.
methodology, including the  Capacity and role of
underlying concepts,  Suitability and quality of each participant, and
models, assumptions, inter- the measures to the extent to which
disciplinary approaches, maximise expected the consortium as
appropriate consideration outcomes and impacts, a whole brings
of the gender dimension in as set out in the together the
research and innovation dissemination and necessary expertise.
content, and the quality of exploitation plan,
open science practices, including communication  Appropriateness of
including sharing and activities. the project
management of research management
outputs and engagement of  Quality and credibility of structure and quality
citizens, civil society and the action to contribute of the proposed
end-users where achieving the EU-Rail coordination.
appropriate. Master Plan objectives

86 The following aspects will be taken into account, to the extent that the proposed work corresponds to the description
in the work programme.

189
 and the expected impact
 Quality of the proposed of the EU-Rail Multi-
joint activities to achieve Annual Work
the deliverables. Programme

Excellence87 Impact Quality and efficiency of

the implementation
Coordination  Clarity and pertinence of  Credibility of the  Quality and
and support the project’s objectives. pathways to achieve the effectiveness of the
action (CSA) expected outcomes and work plan,
 Quality of the proposed impacts specified in the assessment of risks,
coordination and/or work programme, and and appropriateness
support measures including the likely scale and of the effort assigned
soundness of methodology. significance of the to work packages,
contributions from the and the resources
 Quality of the proposed project. overall.
joint activities to achieve
the deliverables.  Suitability and quality of  Capacity and role of
the measures to each participant, and
maximise expected the extent to which
outcomes and impacts, the consortium as
as set out in the a whole brings
dissemination and together the
exploitation plan, necessary expertise.
including
communication  Appropriateness of
activities. the project
management
 Quality and credibility structure and quality
of the action to of the proposed
contribute achieving the coordination.
EU-Rail Master Plan
objectives and the
expected impact of the
EU-Rail Multi-Annual
Work Programme

87 The following aspects will be taken into account, to the extent that the proposed work corresponds to the description
in the work programme.

190
191