THE Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (ERJU) has announced that eight new projects worth €13.1m will be funded under the 2022-2 Call for Proposals for rail research and innovation activities. Europe’s Rail co-funding will amount to up to €11.7m.

The eight new projects will support the creation of a rail scientific community, including PhDs; investigate new station concepts for green and socially inclusive smart cities; support the development of an industrial roadmap for the Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC); and address and identify opportunities on how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can build resilience in the European rail supply chain.

The projects will also develop harmonised methods to assess the dynamic interface between railway bridges and rolling stock, providing input to the work on the updated TSI to the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), and provide an overview of rail freight services available in Europe with a free web interface.

Other projects will investigate disruptive innovations that can move from rail to road infrastructure, as well as the use of maglev in rail in Europe.

The Call for Proposals 2022-2 was open to all eligible entities in accordance with Horizon Europe rules of participation, to ensure broader representation of the European scientific expertise for rail and beyond.

Around 100 entities from 22 countries will develop new solutions under the 2022-2 Call for Proposals and support the six large flagship projects that have been up and running since December 2022.

“I am looking forward to the results from the new R&I projects, which will provide the basis for further advancing Europe’s Rail and rail sector scientific and technical knowledge, important not only during this European Year of Skills, but also in view of innovative solutions addressing EU challenges,” says Europe’s Rail interim executive director, Mr Giorgio Travaini. “I am glad to see the commitment and engagement of the rail and also the broader scientific community to achieve the ambitious goals set out in our programme and the EU Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.”