The fast track to success for European railways
Established in 2001, the ERRAC has the ambitious goal of getting Europe's railway sector back on track through greater EU-level research and innovation. ERRAC's membership is made up of major rail-related stakeholders: manufacturers, operators, infrastructure managers, the European Commission, national authorities, academia and user groups. Building on the strategic documents already produced by ERRAC, the 'ERRAC roadmap' (ERRAC ROAD MAP) project was launched to help the Council's advisory board formulate a detailed roadmap for achieving its vision paper. With support from the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), ERRAC ROAD MAP covered research into all types of freight and passenger rail services, and how they interact with other transport modalities. It focused on five strategic themes: the greening of surface transport, encouraging modal shifts (long distance) and decongesting transport corridors, ensuring sustainable (sub)urban transport, improving safety and security, and strengthening competitiveness. The project compiled nine separate roadmaps to achieve these five strategic objectives. In addition, ERRAC ROAD MAP analysed a number of case studies from previous rail-related research projects to draw important lessons for the sector. The outcomes of this project will prove to be an invaluable blueprint for Europe's railways as they set off on the fast track to improved performance and competitiveness.