The overall aim of this specific Automated Rail Cargo Consortium (ARCC) proposal is to carry out an initial phase of rail freight automation research activities in order to boost levels of quality, efficiency and cost effectiveness in rail freight operations of the European railway sector. The three areas of research activities are: Transporting and delivering freight via automated trains, developing automated support processes at the nodes (e.g. terminals, yards and transhipment points) and advanced timetable planning. If automation and digitalisation processes are exploited in an appropriate way, rail freight transport can generate significant positive impacts for rail freight transport. For example, increased efficiency on the main railway lines and nodes, reducing lead time and energy costs. Additionally, improved services and customer quality so that the operational timetable is met reliably. Furthermore, optimised business processes and management of complex situations, such as a 15% reduction in time when rail assets sit idle within nodes. The Consortium is made up of Joint-Undertaking (JU) members of Shift2rail who are the main drivers in developing and transferring automation technologies and processes to the railway freight sector. The project will start with a Grade of Automation, level 2 (GoA2 level) demonstration and end with a GoA3/4 level crossborder demonstration. The start-up activities in this first batch of Shift2Rail projects will be followed up, in subsequent development phases to achieve higher levels of technical readiness, beyond the 36 month project period.

PLASA represents the 1st proposal of the Shift2Rail members referred, according to MAAP, to the following Work Areas within the Cross Cutting Activities: - WA 3.1: Safety - WA 4.1: Smart Planning The PLASA project aims at significantly increasing customer experience and system robustness in the European rail sector. On the one hand, it improves planning activities of various stakeholders in the railway system by means of precise railway simulation and, on the other hand, it provides a methodology to manage the safety of the railway system based on risk assessment. This will be achieved by an holistic approach involving partners of the rail industry, the operators and universities.

Continuation project of CONNECTA (GA 730539) which targets the implementation and deployment in two laboratory demonstrators (for regional and urban segments) of the following technologies: - Wireless TCMS, including wireless train backbone and wireless consist network - NG-TCN including high safe (SIL4) communication networks to support the drive-by-data concept, including brake-by-wire. - Functional Open Coupling (FOC) - Functional Distribution Framework (FDF) instantiated with two different approaches (modified AUTOSAR and self-implemented on top of specific operating system), together with relevant application profiles - The virtual certification simulatiom framework, with hardware-in-the-loop and remote connectivity to subsystems The goal is to reach TRL5 in most developments.

Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC), as a cornerstone innovation promises a smoother transition to a fully digital rail freight system across Europe. DAC is not just a technological leap; it's a key in meeting the Green Deal's sustainability targets and the ambitious aims of the Digitalization Package 2022. The deployment of DAC is gaining momentum through the European DAC Delivery Programme (EDDP), which is an integral part of Europe’s Rail's (EU-Rail) extensive multi-annual work agenda. This initiative is especially underscored in Europe's Rail flagship project known as FP5 TRANS4M-R in the workstream of fully digitalized freight train operations (FDFTO), dedicated to advancing and rolling out the DAC technology. At the heart of this evolution is the project at hand DACFIT, which pledges its support to the EDDP and the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking. DACFIT's collaboration is not just supportive but pivotal, drawing on a network of recognized experts across technical, managerial, and operational spheres to provide key insights and implementation plans. It plays a critical role in enabling the implementation of the the EDDP's DAC migration roadmap, focusing on both quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (technical capabilities) fleet analysis, retrofit engineering, planning for retrofit capacity, and comprehensive retrofitting implementation plans. In essence, DACFIT's role is to ensure that the transition to a digitalized, automated, and sustainable rail freight network is not just a vision but a reality, aligning with the broader objectives of enhancing Europe's rail freight capabilities while adhering to overarching environmental and digital transformation goals.

This Project will start the activities of Shift²Rail members related to the cross-cutting activities. The work Areas socio-economic aspects (WA1) and KPI Monitoring (WA2) as defined in the multi-annual action plan will start. The System Plattform Demonstrator Scenarios will be desigend in a first issue. The objectives of this proposal IMPACT-1 are: - Evaluating the effects for mobility, society and environment induced by new technology solutions and developments, - Introducing relevant targets and needs to create a more attractive, a more competitive and more sustainable rail system - Defining System Platform Demonstrators (SPD) that represent future application use cases - Defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that enable the monitoring and assessment of the Shift2Rail overall target achievement. These objectives will be reached by performing a socio-economic impact analysis. Using these results scenarios for the System Platform Demonstrators are described with respect to the railway of the future for highspeed, regional, urban and freight transport. These scenarios are used to monitor the results of the other Shift2Rail projects using a mode of the KPIs. The model of the KPI shows the relation of the low-level KPI to the overall targets defined in the S2R Master Plan. The project IMPACT-1 is planned to fulfil the respective topic of the Shift2Rail Annual Work Plan 2015.