S2R members will undertake eight projects worth €127.7m, with the JV providing €55.4m in funding. An additional 11 open call projects worth €22m have been approved, of which up to €20m will be funded by S2R.

A total of 242 participants will be involved in the projects, with 29% of these small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

S2R received 43 requests for a combined €113.3m in funding in the call for proposals, which was around 50% more than the funding available.

“This is an important transition moment for S2R and the rail research and innovation community at large,” says S2R executive director, Mr Carlo Borghini. “These new projects are our ticket to moving into the successor programme and beyond R&I to market uptake of our forward-looking solutions.”

S2R has invested its full budget of €400m over the past four years, resulting in the launch of research worth an estimated €1bn. Last year, S2R published the inaugural edition of its Catalogue of Solutions, which offers railway executives and buyers a clearer picture of what the rail solutions of the future will look like.