| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2013) 922 final (16.12.13) |
| Publication Date | 16/12/2013 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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Ambitious EU goals relating to climate change, energy supply and the environment mean that the railway sector will be required to take on a significant share of the ever-increasing demand for transport in the next decades. In its 2011 White Paper on a Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area, the Commission underlined the importance of creating a Single European Railway Area in order to achieve a more competitive and resource-efficient European transport system. Consequently, the Commission has adopted proposals for a 4th Railway Package which aim to remove remaining administrative, technical and regulatory obstacles holding back the rail sector both in terms of market opening and in terms of interoperability. However, the overarching goal of establishing an internal market for rail and achieving a more efficient and customer-responsive industry will necessarily imply the emergence of innovative approaches throughout the whole of the rail value chain, in business models, services and products, which will, in turn, require a dramatic increase in research and innovation efforts. One of the main aims of Horizon 2020, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation covering the period 2014-2020, is to strengthen European industry through actions supporting research and innovation across a range of key industrial sectors. In particular, it provides for the creation of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to support these sectors and help to tackle some of the key challenges Europe is facing. As part of its Innovation Investment Package announced in July 2013, the Commission has already put forward a number of legislative proposals for PPPs to be established under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme in the form of joint undertakings with a view to implementing Joint Technology Initiatives in various industrial sectors. This proposal is fully aligned with the approach to the Joint Technology Initiative joint undertakings of the Innovation Investment Package. Revitalising Europe's railways is a key goal of the EU’s transport policy to enable rail to compete successfully with other modes of transport. New technologies can do much to help modernise Europe’s railways, while also reducing operational and infrastructure costs and creating new business opportunities for the European rail supply industry. In past decades, significant investments in EU rail research and innovation have helped the European rail supply industry to retain a leading position at global level, namely with the development of high-speed trains, ERTMS, automated metro systems, etc. However, a recent Commission study on the competitiveness of the railway supply industry shows that Asia is steadily overtaking Europe as the largest rail supply market, namely thanks to a surge in research and innovation investments in countries like China and Korea. A coordinated EU approach to research and innovation in the rail sector via the establishment of a joint undertaking is proposed to support the completion of the Single European Railway Area and to increase the competitiveness of the EU rail sector vis-à-vis other transport modes and foreign competition. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2013:922:FIN |
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| Subject Categories | Mobility and Transport |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
