Shift2Rail 2019 applications increase by 28 per cent
Posted: 24 June 2019 | Global Railway Review | No comments yet
Europe’s railway research and innovation performers have indicated their desire to strengthen industry collaboration, as the 2019 Call for Proposals prompts requests for R&I funding worth €76.8 million.
Following its 2019 Call for Proposals, the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (JU) received 50 submissions for a total value of €193.9 million – indicating a 28 per cent increase in the number of proposals from last year, with €117.9 million of co-funding being approximately 50 per cent more than the €76.8 million available funding for this year.
Carlo Borghini, Executive Director of the Shift2Rail JU, said: “The submission of a significant number of proposals in answer to the 2019 Call confirms that the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking is federating the sector around a concrete delivery-oriented programme. We can finally move from discussing about a system of systems approach towards delivering the railway sector’s functional system architecture, under the Commission’s steering and together with the European Union Agency for Railways”.
After this Call for Proposals, Shift2Rail will have invested in Research and Innovation (R&I) activities €637.2 million cumulatively – more than half of its 2014-2020 budget.
A team of highly-qualified experts will support Shift2Rail in selecting the best proposals, with results expected to be announced by the end of September 2019. Shift2Rail will then work to start the new R&I actions related to this Call before the end of 2019.
