RailNetEurope (RNE) and the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to foster an integrated, high-capacity European rail network by eliminating barriers to interoperability and building upon a harmonised functional system architecture shared by the sector.
The agreement was signed in Stockholm on 30 May 2023 during the Rail Transport Day and in the context of the Swedish Presidency of the European Union.
The collaboration facilitated by the agreement will cover traffic management and capacity allocation, exchange and communication of railway related data, infrastructure, and services, aiming to achieve higher railway sector efficiency, faster uptake and deployment of projects and innovations, and leverage the huge potential of digitalisation and automation to reduce rail’s costs, increase its capacity and enhance its flexibility and reliability.
The agreement is “important to Europe’s Rail as it creates an opportunity to collaborate on deeper level on topics related to infrastructure capacity allocation and rail traffic management, to foster crucial aspects of rail system transformation,” Giorgio Travaini, Executive Director a.i. at Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, said.
The objective of the MoU is to ensure knowledge exchange and collaboration in three areas which are crucial for the European railway sector:
- EU-Rail System Pillar, following the mandate to develop a unified operational concept and a functional, safe and secure system architecture, as well as cooperation with the EU-Rail Flagship Areas, more specifically FA1 Network management planning and control and Mobility and FA5 Sustainable Competitive Digital Green Rail Freight Service;
- Research and development of innovative solutions, including providing the necessary experience and sector engagement and ensuring that the concepts and designed solutions are interoperable and that legacy solutions can be migrated according to a clear migration strategy;
- Ongoing sector initiatives in which also EU-Rail Members and RNE are involved, specifically digital infrastructure information, timetable redesign, digital capacity management, digital train information, including tracking and tracing, traffic management and IT architecture, among other
The agreement is “a further step in bringing key players in the European rail sector closer together. The MoU will allow infrastructure managers to better share their expertise and ongoing activities with Europe’s Rail through RNE. We believe that this will be of great benefit to both sides, especially in the areas of infrastructure capacity management, traffic management and digitalisation, and ultimately result in a more efficient, attractive and accessible European railway system,” Joachim Kroll, Secretary General at RailNetEurope said.
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