Alstom, AnsaldoBreda, Ansaldo STS, Balfour Beatty, Bombardier, CAF,
Faiveley, Invensys Rail, Knorr-Bremse, Thales, and Siemens signed a
declaration of intent on July 1 to launch the project, described as a
single Europe-wide industry-driven R&D programme.

The rail JTI will follow examples such as Cleansky, a JTI launched by
the European aerospace industry in 2008 with the aim of improving the
environmental performance of aircraft.

The European Rail Industry Association (Unife) says the JTI will
increase the competitiveness of Europe's rail manufacturing industry
and will involve virtually every European rail supplier, including
small and medium-sized companies, to accelerate the development of new
technologies and bring them to the market.

Depending on the final scope of the project, the signatories will
contribute Euros 600-800 million to the JTI over a six to seven-year
period.