 |
 What
is ERRAC?
ERRAC was set up in 2001 with the ambitious goal of creating a single
European body with both the competence and capability to help revitalise
the European rail sector and make it more competitive, by fostering
increased innovation and guiding research efforts at European level.
On December 18th 2002, the European Rail Research Advisory Council
(ERRAC) unveiled its Strategic Rail Research Agenda (SRRA) to the
railway community. This European rail initiative
paves the way for new innovative forms of collaboration, and has been one of the pioneers
for the “technology platforms”, which may lead to major
joint technology initiatives during the European Commission’s
Seventh Framework Programme (2007-2013).
ERRAC
is chaired by Mr. Andrew Mc Naughton (NetworkRail). The Vice-Chairmen
are Mr. Dan Otteborn (Bombardier) and Mr. Manuel Pereira (IST Lisbon).
ERRAC comprises of 45 representatives from each of the major European
rail research stakeholders: manufacturers, operators, infrastructure
managers, the European Commission, EU Member States, academics and
users’ groups.
ERRAC covers all forms of rail transport: from conventional, high
speed and freight applications to urban and regional services.
ERRAC is focussing on:
| (1) |
Defining, and implementing steps
to achieve, a joint European rail research strategy for
the next 20 years through: |
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The Strategic Rail Research Agenda 2020 (SRRA). The
SRRA highlights the critical enabling technologies which will
need to be developed in five fundamental areas: (1) railway
interoperability, (2) intelligent mobility, (3) safety and
security, (4) environment, (5) innovative materials and production
methods |
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Sustained, high-level commitment from all stakeholders |
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Developing an efficient, competitive and sustainable
European railway system |
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Agreement on common positions and recommendations
for various rail research issues. |
| (2) |
Enhancing collaborative European rail
research by: |
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Building consensus among stakeholders |
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Improving synergies between EU, national and private rail
research |
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Strengthening and re-organising research and development
efforts |
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Facilitating effective pooling of human and material resources |
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Launching ambitious co-operative research schemes |
ERRAC's recent activities include:
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Ensuring widespread awareness of the SRRA at European and
national level through seminars in the EU Member States |
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Updating the ERRAC Rail Business Scenario by examining the
drivers that influence, and the actions that will improve,
the rail sector’s short to medium-term competitiveness |
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Assessing how current research and development programmes
align with the SRRA (national rail programmes, rail research
projects under the Fifth Framework Programme, programmes for
other transportation modes, research in Japan, Korea and the
United States) |
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Examining the research implications of investment in rail
infrastructure |
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Reviewing the light rail and metro system market sector in
the 25 EU Member States for the next 20 years and highlighting
the inherent research implications |
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Analysing future research needs required to make smooth the
transition to a harmonised European railway market |
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Proposing input for the EU Seventh Framework Programme for
research and development (2007-2013) |
For further information please contact:
Giorgio Travaini – ERRAC Secretariat, UNIFE
Email: giorgio.travaini@unife.org
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