Call for Shift2Rail expressions of interest

The European Commission has published a call for expressions of interest to become an associated member of the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (JU), the new public private partnership that will invest almost €1bn in research and innovation, to get more passengers and freight onto Europe’s railways.

The aim of the call is to identify the core partners who will work hand in hand with the Commission and the eight founding members of the Shift²Rail JU to deliver new technologies that will help to increase the quality, reliability and punctuality of rail services while also reducing their costs and facilitating cross-border travel.

The JU is now seeking to attract additional members from across Europe (as well as countries associated to Horizon 2020) that would be ready to commit, altogether, to a contribution of at least €200m, with a view to achieving the ambitious objectives set out in the draft Shift²Rail Strategic Master Plan, which was approved by the governing board of the JU on 24 September 2014 and will be submitted to the Council for endorsement.

The quality of proposals and their relevance to the objectives set out in the draft Shift²Rail Strategic Master Plan will be the fundamental criteria for selection of associated members. In addition, the Commission hopes to achieve, within the membership of the JU, a good geographical balance, as well as balanced participation, of SMEs, of the research community and of actors from the entire rail value chain, including from outside the traditional rail sector.

Siim Kallas, Commission Vice-President, responsible for Transport, said: “Shift²Rail is a unique opportunity to develop strategic technologies and solutions that will radically improve the quality of EU rail transport for passengers and freight customers. Such innovations are vital in complementing the Commission’s work on the 4th Railway Package. At the same time, Shift²Rail will help to strengthen the competitiveness of European businesses and retain Europe’s leadership in the global rail market.”

Interested candidates have until 12 November to submit their applications. The Commission said it foresees that the final selection of associated members should be known in early 2015.