Europe’s Rail Flagship Project 1 - MObility managemenT multImodal envirOnment aNd digitAl enabLers

Project Information

FP1 - MOTIONAL

Grant agreement ID: 101101973

DOI

10.3030/101101973

EC signature date 6 December 2022

Start date 1 December 2022

End date 30 September 2026

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 37 875 973,46

Coordinated by

HACON INGENIEURGESELLSCHAFT MBH
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FP1 - MOTIONAL (Europe’s Rail Flagship Project 1 - MObility managemenT multImodal envirOnment aNd digitAl enabLers)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

FP1 MOTIONAL initiative is vital for advancing European railways to meet the ambitious goal of making rail the preferred mode of transport. It aims to enhance planning and operational management, ensuring the European railway system is interoperable, resilient, and adaptable, while integrating all services, including last-mile operations. By leveraging digitalization, "MOTIONAL" will drive the development of a future European Traffic Management System, crucial for realizing a Single European Rail Area.
Currently, rail traffic management is fragmented, with national and regional systems lacking digital integration. "MOTIONAL" seeks to overcome these limitations by developing functional requirements, specifications, and operational solutions. This will pave the way for a European Rail Traffic Management System, positioning rail as the backbone of a multimodal transport network for both passengers and freight.
The project is structured into two major workstreams (WS):
- Workstream 1 (WS1): Focuses on planning, operations, and integration to deliver seamless cross-border rail processes. Key objectives include:
1. Creating integrated systems for planning and decision support across borders.
2. Developing algorithms for timetable generation and adjustment, demonstrated in decision support tools.
3. Improving simulation methods and feedback loops between operations and planning for better timetable planning and capacity management.
4. Integrating systems to support harmonized cross-border traffic management.
5. Developing multi-actor planning systems for managing disruptions with advanced human-machine interfaces.
6. Enhancing decision support for linking Traffic Management Systems (TMS) with Automatic Train Operations (ATO) and Connected Driver Advisory Systems (C-DAS).
7. Automating and optimizing timetable execution.
8. Integrating rail with other transport modes.
9. Developing services for inclusive rail-based mobility.
10. Anticipating demand and improving resource utilization.

- Workstream 2 (WS2): Provides digital enablers for all Europe's Rail Destinations, supporting destination-specific digitalization. Key objectives include:
1. Delivering secure, reliable data-sharing connectors (IDS Connectors).
2. Creating an IDS Broker Service for resource registration and discovery.
3. Developing an IDS AppStore for sharing digital resources.
4. Establishing governance for a common domain ontology and conceptual data model across the rail system.
5. Delivering a platform-independent, machine-readable rail system ontology.
6. Harmonizing operational rules across the EU through digital assets engineering.
7. Developing a Digital Twin Environment for simulation and testing.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the second year of FP1 MOTIONAL, we continued the worked started in the first year in WP1, WP2 and WP32 , establishing a project management framework that ensures effective coordination and workflow. All planned deliverables were submitted as well as most MS were achieved. We kept continuous updated in social media and website and organised a Mid-Term Event .
Workstream 1.1: Capacity Management (Planning)
- Collaborated with System Pillar, RNE, and Flagship Projects 2-6 to simulate the effects of planned digital developments.
- Specified topics related to international planning, capacity allocation, and integration with yard/station capacity planning, leading to the development of seven technical enablers, including cross-border scheduling, improved capacity allocation, and decision support for short-term planning.
- Progress was documented in deliverables.
Workstream 1.2: Traffic Management (Operations)
- Assessed previous projects to specify 10 technical enablers for real-time traffic management, including cross-border traffic, yard/station management, and energy management.
- Developed initial functional requirements and use cases for TMS and ATO/C-DAS integration, and began the development of algorithms for automated decision-making in traffic management.
- Progress was recorded in the respective deliverables .
Workstream 1.3: Integration of Rail Traffic with Door-to-Door Mobility
- Developed the specification of 10 technical enablers for improving rail integration with other transport modes, focusing on intermodal services, PRM support, demand forecasting, and disruption management.
- Developed 54 use cases to guide system development, with a strong focus on improving passenger experience and operational efficiency.
- All the progress was documented in the submitted deliverables.

Key achievements from Workstream 2: Transversal Topics (TT) in RP1
- Federated Data Space: Established a sandbox environment for data exchange compliant with IDSA standards, assessing and prioritizing 35 use cases.
- Common Domain Ontology: Analyzed use cases to identify conceptual needs, aligning with European Commission initiatives and ERA standards.
- Digital Assets Engineering: Met all internal set milestones (such as definition of expectations, responsibilities, resources, scope and commitments of the members in the first month, prioritisation of tasks and timely submission of the first deliverable), initiated interactions with other workstreams, and planned a demonstration at Innotrans 2024.
- Digital Twin: Developed pilot simulations for digital twin environments, focusing on key use cases like ETCS and braking systems, and highlighted the need for a repository to share models and data.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Given that it is still early in the project's timeline, it is too soon to have state-of-the-art results.