Shift2Rail, the Joint Undertaking backed by the Commission and the rail industry, has today published its first calls for proposals, endowed with €170 million to support innovation in railways. The Commission will contribute €90 million, with the other €80 million being brought by the members of Shift2Rail.

In order to be funded, projects will have to demonstrate their ability to increase the quality, reliability and punctuality of rail services while cutting its costs and facilitating cross-border travel. This first batch of calls covers the five Shift2Rail Innovation Programmes and is split into two categories: calls reserved for Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking members only, for a total value of €63.7 million, and open calls for a total value of €26.1 million. The open calls will be available to companies, universities, research institutes and others who are not Shift2Rail members.

The Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (S2R JU) is a new public-private partnership in the rail sector, established under Horizon 2020, to provide a platform for coordinating research activities with a view to driving innovation in the rail sector in the years to come. It was established on 7 July 2014, following the entry into force of Council Regulation (EU) No 642/2014 of 16 June 2014 establishing the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking  .

For more information : http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/shift2rail_en.htm