Frédéric Sgarbi (Head of the Sustainable Surface Transport Unit DG Research)
"It is important to analyse the reasons why rail freight cannot catch up and what can be done. ERRAC needs to consolidate a long term vision for 2030. There is a number of "grand challenges" such as decarbonisation, aging etc... All FP research should address one of these challenges. It is important to identify the right package for rail research." ERRAC Plenary Meeting 18/05/2010
Andrew Mc Naughton (ERRAC Chairman from Networkrail)
"19th century approach to 21st century problems does not work ! Solutions of yesterday are not adequate ! We need to approach research with a sense of urgency ! Research must deliver something the market needs and wants !" ERRAC Plenary Meeting 18/05/2010
Klaus Ebeling (Secretary General of EIA)
"Rail is very slow in innovation. In 1922, discussions started about FOC. Now we see it as a topic on the 4th Call in 2010. There are many safety and security questions to be solved for the transport system. I urge the rail sector to also think beyond rail !" ERRAC Plenary Meeting 18/05/2010
Dan Otteborn (ERRAC Vice-Chairman from Bombardier)
"Research without market uptake in our field of applied engineering is a waste of public money as well as of that of companies participating in the research." ERRAC WP06 Workshop 18/03/2010
Luisa Velardi (ERRAC Evaluation Working Group WP06 Leader from Trenitalia)
"Think of Leonardo Da Vinci who designed a bicycle in 1490 which had at the time no market uptake. And centuries later, the bicycle has a huge market uptake !" ERRAC WP06 Workshop 18/03/2010
Mark Robinson (Evaluation Working Group WP06 Co-Leader from Newcastle University)
"A good process of thinking in advance, based on lessons learnt from other projects, can lead to a much better focus to help devise new rail research projects that can guarantee concrete market uptake, offering widely aknowledged improvements and solutions for the future rail industry and market in general." Extract of ERRAC WP06 factsheet
Dennis Schut (ERRAC Project Manager)
"The question is to design a strategy for rail to be again the backbone of the European transport system !" Brussels 19/07/2010
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