Regional railway (lines with lower usage or secondary network) plays a crucial role not only in serving European regions, but also as feeders for passenger and freight traffic for the main/core network. Therefore, they have an essential function as an environmentally friendly mode of transport. In addition is as well essential their link to other public transport services (e.g. bus) and to first and last mile services, such as bikesharing, cycling, walking or driving to get from/to stations to remote locations. Unfortunately, many of these routes were abandoned in the past - mainly due to high costs. Therefore, these rail lines need to be revitalized or even renewed to make them economically, socially and environmentally sustainable and to meet current customer needs and challenges The overall objectives of the FutuRe project are to ensure the long-term viability of the regional railway by reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO), while ensuring high service quality and operational reliability. It also aims to increase customer satisfaction and to make rail an attractive and preferred mode of transport. Therefore, the main objectives of FutuRe are: lowering CAPEX system costs, increasing productivity by lowering OPEX (unit costs per train kilometre), and improving customer satisfaction. These goals are to be achieved through a concept tailored to regional railways but transferable across Europe, encompassing digitalisation, automation and the use of common and new technologies for signalling and track components, rolling stock and customer information. Cost drivers such as infrastructure and energy components, e.g. trackside train detection (axle counters, etc.) and level crossing control systems, will be replaced by less costly wireless and energy-autonomous components. In addition, a modular and standardised vehicle concept specifically tailored to the requirements of regional lines becomes needed, as well as a range of attractive services.

The IAM4RAIL project focuses on seven (7) different integrated demonstrators for rail assets which are key for research and innovation (R&I) in the rail sector. Integrating asset condition information obtained via advanced monitoring with decision-making tools and into the traffic management system (TMS), combining available information with artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins are covered as key topics for R&I in IAM4RAIL. Other topics such as interventions using cutting-edge technologies as robotics or additive manufacturing are seen as relevant for improving asset management in the rail sector. An European cross-border, interoperable and holistic integrated approach is needed for those topics and others in the asset management framework, that are to be transferred once developed crucial to harmonise European Rail System. Therefore, IAM4RAIL aims to reinforce the next generation of Intelligent and Integrated Rail Asset Management providing and demonstrating innovative solutions covering fixed and rolling stock assets, minimizing the life cycle costs of assets and extend their lifetime, while meeting safety requirements and improving the reliability, availability and maintainability of the rail system. IAM4RAIL will pave the way for the integration of asset condition information and TMS, enabling optimization of train routing decisions and improving the overall lifecycle of monitored assets. IAM4RAIL ensures an increased volume of rail traffic in existing lines with improved cost efficiency and lower CO2 emissions from their maintenance and operations. Furthermore, construction time and cost of new assets and lines are reduced, the durability and reliability of their assets increased, and their life cycle costs are optimized. Competitiveness of the European railway industry is strengthened through the obtention of more qualified products, and its application improves the performance (capacity, flexibility and punctuality) of the whole railway system.

“MOTIONAL” will enable the improved planning and operational management of services and offers and is therefore of paramount importance to meet the European ambitious target to make rail the preferred mode of transport in the future. It will enable the future European railway system to be interoperable, resilient, able to adapt capacity and able to integrate all involved services including last mile operations, exploiting the opportunities provided by digitalization. The “MOTIONAL” developments for the future European Traffic Management are key to achieve the foreseen Single European Rail Area. Today, rail traffic is managed on national/regional level supported by legacy systems with a poor level of digitalization and weak integration with systems of other actors participating in the overall traffic planning and management process. Through the development of functional requirements, associated specifications and operational or technological solutions and by taking advantage of the potential of digitalization, “MOTIONAL” will pave the way towards the implementation of the future European Rail Traffic Management System to make rail the backbone of a multimodal transport system for passengers and freight. The planned activities to achieve the objectives of Destination 1 are carried out in two major workstreams. Workstream 1 has the three major focus areas, Planning and Operation activities (dealing with the future interactively linked timetable planning and operational traffic management systems) and Integration activities (dealing with railway services to offer door-to-door mobility). Workstream 2 will deliver a set of digital enablers for all Europe’s Rail Destinations (i.e.“transversal”) to support the development of destination-specific digitalization solutions as Digitalization is a fundamental transformational process encompassing the Rail System as a whole.