1. What is SHIFT²RAIL?

An ambitious large-scale, industrially driven and multiannual research programme that aims at helping EU rail industry maintain world leadership.

SHIFT²RAIL is the first European initiative to seek focused Research and Innovation (R&I) and

market-driven solutions by accelerating the integration of new and advanced technologies into

innovative rail product solutions, matching key objectives of the EU 2011 White Paper on Transport

and the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon2020.

SHIFT²RAIL is an unprecedented joint effort by the European Rail Industry to massively enhance the

capacity of the European rail system in order to cope with increased passenger and freight demand as

a result of societal pressures in support of green transport and elicit a step-change in the reliability of

next generation products and solutions while reducing their life cycle costs. It aims to attract

passengers and businesses to rail transport and increase the competitiveness of the European rail

industry vis-à-vis emerging Asian competition. Other rail stakeholders, Infrastructure managers, and

Railway Undertakings have also identified their strong interest in the SHIFT²RAIL initiative.

SHIFT²RAIL is one coherent and flexible research instrument managed in a Joint Undertaking within

Horizon2020. A dedicated overall budget is estimated between 800 million and 1 billion Euros over a six

to seven year period – co-financed by the private sector and the European Commission.

A Holistic, Sector-Wide Approach to Achieve Ambitious Targets

The SHIFT²RAIL initiative will focus on efficiently developing solutions for three innovation targets that

impact every segment of the rail market.

1. Enhancing the CAPACITY / user demand of the European rail system

• SHIFT²RAIL aims at an estimated overall increase in capacity by up to 100%

• SHIFT²RAIL aims at increasing user demand

2. Consolidating the RELIABILITY / quality of service of the European rail system

• SHIFT²RAIL aims at an estimated overall increase in reliability by up to 50%

• SHIFT²RAIL aims at increasing user satisfaction

3. Improving the LIFE CYCLE / competitiveness of the European rail system

• SHIFT²RAIL aims at an estimated overall reduction of Life Cycle Costs by up to 50%

• SHIFT²RAIL will help the European rail manufacturing industry to, at least, keep its market share

against increasing business competition in a growing market

2. Why launching a large-scale EU research initiative?

The European Rail Industry is teaming up to support the objectives/vision of the White Paper, enabling the

Single Railway Area and taking into account the 4th Railway Package, Horizon 2020, STTP, the ERRAC

Roadmaps and Member States’ Rail Policies.

The companies supporting SHIFT²RAIL consider that for rail research in Europe, keeping to the status quo

is not an option. Currently, the European supply industries make up over half of the global market for rail

products. However, this global leadership can only be maintained if a critical mass of committed EU

industry joins forces to develop high-capacity, innovative, and high-quality products. Capitalising on the

rail sector’s previous success in EU-funded collaborative research projects undertaken since the

mid-1990s, ambitious EU goals in transport policy and climate change will be met. SHIFT²RAIL is the

natural evolution of EU industrial research cooperation in Horizon2020.

SHIFT²RAIL will ensure delivery on aforementioned targets with the creation of a rail Joint

Undertaking by:

Assembling and organising the critical mass necessary for making step-change

innovations for passenger rolling stock, command control and signalling, rail infrastructure,

IT for passenger information and transport management systems, and freight transport

Preventing fragmentation of industrial R&I efforts and aligning the entire industrial

supply chain

Providing a platform for smaller companies/institutions to bring their products to the market,

therefore triggering the participation of a greater number of SMEs and Research

Institutes/Academia in EU rail research

Ramping up R&I investment and strengthening the confidence of potential investors, due

to clarity of funding (named beneficiaries), budgeting and time horizons

Streamlining the innovation process from research to demonstration and shortening the

time-to-market for key innovations

Establishing a dedicated administration jointly with the European Commission that will

facilitate efficient planning and budgeting and guaranteeing speedy access to research

funds

Enabling greater transfer of knowledge from other sectors (aeronautics)

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3. What will SHIFT²RAIL deliver?

European rail industry leaders and the broader rail community have established clear research priorities

during a two-year investigation period. The result is a long-term strategic programme built around key

innovations segmented in five Innovation Programs (IPs):

IP1 - Energy & Mass Efficient Technologies for High Capacity Trains

Develop the future generation of trains that will be lighter and more energy

efficient while reducing today’s travel times, track damage and impact on the

environment, resulting in a lower life-cycle cost.

IP2 - Advance Traffic Management & Control Systems

Develop a new generation of signalling and control systems, building on

current ERTMS, to enable intelligent traffic management with automatically

driven trains and optimise capacity, reliability and minimise life-cycle cost.

IP3 - Cost efficient - High Capacity Infrastructure

Deliver a new railway infrastructure system (including both infrastructure and

energy subsystems) that will radically improve capacity and performance

and reduce costs.

IP4 - IT Solutions for a Seamless Attractive Railway

Realise one of the key goals from the White Paper: “By 2020, establish the

framework for a European multimodal transport information, management

and payment system.” Innovative solutions and services will encourage

travellers to shift from individual car transport to public transport.

IP5 - Technologies for Sustainable & Attractive European Freight

Define all technological and process breakthroughs necessary to contribute

to the realisation of one of the key goals from the White Paper: “30% of road

traffic switching to rail and inland waterways by 2030 and 50% by 2050.”

For each Innovation Programme so-called Technology Demonstrators, each addressing specific topics,

have been defined. They will integrate innovative technologies (also coming from other sectors) and

develop prototypes tested in labs to generate future competitive sub-systems. This research activity will

take into account functional and operational specifications, and the interfaces among the various

subsystems.

The new technologies and innovations developed – the Technology Demonstrators – will be showcased

(e.g. assembled, tested, validated) in real (physical) System Platform Demonstrations (SPD) under

different operational conditions. Four System Platform Demonstrations will be developed on HIGH SPEED,

URBAN/SUBURBAN, REGIONAL, and FREIGHT TRAIN platforms.

System Integration

In order to carefully manage the functional interactions of the different layers of the railway systems and

relevant system topics, a System Integration Activity has been built into the programme framework. This

Energy & MassEfficient

Technologies forHigh Capacity

Trains

IP1

Users input

Advanced TrafficManagement

&Control Systems

IP2

Users input

Cost EfficientHigh CapacityInfrastructure

IP3

Users input

IT Solutionsfor a

SeamlessAttractiveRailway

IP4

Users input

IP5

Users input

Technologiesfor Sustainable

& AttractiveEuropean

Freight

SHIFT²RAIL Strategy Council ERRACEuropean Rail Research

Advisory Council

SHIFT²RAIL Joint Undertaking

European CommissionJU Members

IP: Innovation Programme

Railway System Integration Activitywith Railway Undertakings

and infrastructure Managers

Regulation and Standardisation Councilchaired by the European

Railway Agency

System Management Working Groups

4. Who supports SHIFT²RAIL and when will it start?

Fifteen major rail stakeholders are currently signatories to the SHIFT²RAIL Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU), with UNIFE as coordinator, thereby committing to a long-term investment in the future of European

rail research. This commitment includes the future exploitation of results and financial contribution to the

Joint Undertaking, and will justify the awarding of EU funds for the IPs research and demonstration

activities to Named Beneficiaries.

In addition, other leading infrastructure managers and railway undertakings (ADIF, FS and SNCF) and new

industrial partners (Acciona, Amadeus Rail, AZD, Indra, MERMEC, Oltis, Selex and Tata Steel) have already

officially joined the initiative. Many other companies have also expressed interest in joining.

A quarter of the SHIFT²RAIL budget will be managed through open calls for proposal, encouraging the

participation of SMEs, transport research institutes, and academia who will collaborate with those

signatory companies that are best placed to facilitate the take-up of results.

will ensure operational reliability in the overall railway system and will, therefore, involve a wide range

of partners – including the Railway Undertakings, Infrastructure managers, and indirect contributors

to the JTI.

A “Requirements and Implementation Group” will be established for each IP and will specify the

operational and maintenance user needs. In addition, dedicated “System Management Working Groups”

will handle system aspects such as Traffic/Data Management, Diagnostic, Environment aspects as Noise

and Vibration mitigation measures, EMC/interference and Energy Management.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) applicable to each of the overall SHIFT²RAIL targets (increased

capacity and reliability and reduction of life cycle costs) have been identified for each innovation in the five

IPs to quantify and track progress over time at the system level.

SHIFT²RAIL Committees(Member States, Academia)

DataModel

Noise &Vibration

EnergyEfficiency

...

The SHIFT²RAIL signatories have developed this sound research programme on which to build

tomorrow’s railways and are requesting the support of the European Commission and the approval of the

European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers with the goal of establishing a Joint

Undertaking to begin operations in 2014.

Signatories of the SHIFT²RAIL Memorandum of Understanding

Coordinated by:

Milestones of the SHIFT²RAIL Initiative

2009: UNIFE assembles rail industry leaders to evaluate future R&I investment

2010: Industrial leaders decide for a step change approach in R&I collaboration, increasing their

investment and opting for the creation of a strong Joint Technology Initiative (JTI)

2012 (July): SHIFT²RAIL JTI proposal submitted to the European Commission

2012 (October): UNIFE, as coordinator, receives feedback of European Commission

2013 (January): SHIFT²RAIL Addendum to initial Proposal submitted to the European Commission

2013 (January): Communication from the European Commission accompanying the publication of the

Fourth Railway Package makes explicit reference to SHIFT²RAIL as promoting rail as a transport mode by

enabling step-change innovations in the sector.

2013 (February): Transport Commissioner and Vice President Siim Kallas acknowledges SHIFT²RAIL as a

key step in achieving the transport goals set by the European Commission, declaring at the UNIFE/CER

European Railway Awards: “Work is continuing on a joint industry-Commission research

platform—SHIFT²RAIL, which will be a key element in driving innovation in the years to come. Many details

have still to be finalised, but I am committed to working with you to deliver this”

2013 (March): The Rail Industry continues to work with the European Commission, European Parliament

and Member States to obtain support to start operations as soon as 2014