Foster Rail

Enhancing cooperation for strategic research and innovation to increase the success of the rail sector

The FOSTER RAIL project assisted ERRAC – the European Rail Research Advisory Council – to strengthen the Research and Innovation strategy of the rail sector in Europe. The project focused on supporting and enhancing the cooperation between Research and Innovation stakeholders and decision-makers for the definition of rail-relevant strategic research and innovation needs at European level, and the best ways to implement it. Through this project, the main objective was to increase the attractiveness of rail and its related industry both in Europe and worldwide.

This action also reinforced the cooperation with the two other land transport European Technology Platforms, mainly ERTRAC (road) and WATERBORNE, by identifying and managing in a coordinated way the issues of common interest. Their joint objective was to comply with the Europe-2020 strategy and achieved the vision of the White Paper 2011 for a competitive and resource-efficient European transport system.

Among its main strategic objectives, FOSTER RAIL specifically developped Rail Business Scenarios, a study on the passenger Regional and Suburban Rail Market as well as the updated Strategic Rail Research and Innovation Agenda (SRRIA). Moreover, the project defined the implementation plans of these outputs.
Last but not least, FOSTER RAIL supported the establishment of the interfaces between ERRAC and SHIFT²RAIL, the proposed rail joint technology initiative (JTI).

More information: www.errac.org/foster-rail