REGIONAL RAIL SERVICES / INNOVATIVE RAIL SERVICES TO REVITALISE CAPILLARY LINES

The HORIZON-JU-ER-2025-FA6-01 grant opportunity under the Horizon Europe framework aims to revitalize regional rail services, particularly capillary lines, by fostering innovations that enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. The focus areas include the development and demonstration of innovative solutions related to rail operations, signaling, infrastructure assets, and customer services. This initiative seeks diverse applicants, including rail infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, suppliers, research institutes, and SMEs.

The funding mechanism is a grant with a total budget of €10 million, where up to 60% of eligible costs will be covered through a lump sum model. A consortium is required, mandating collaboration between various stakeholders to ensure comprehensive expertise in project execution. The call will open on October 30, 2025, with a submission deadline of February 11, 2026. The project duration is set for 30 months, with expectations to achieve technology readiness levels from TRL 5 to 7 by 2028.

Eligible applicants must demonstrate substantial expertise in the targeted sectors and are expected to contribute at least 40% of the project's total costs through co-funding, including in-kind contributions equivalent to 1.263 times their funding request. The anticipated outcomes include improved reliability and efficiency of railway systems, reduced capital and operational expenditures, enhanced energy efficiency, and increased punctuality.

This grant initiative aligns with key EU objectives, including promoting sustainable transport, enhancing digitalization in rail operations, and supporting regional development. Ultimately, the project's successful execution is expected to set European standards for regional rail services, ensuring their economic viability and competitive edge in the transport market.

DESTINATION 6 Regional rail services / Innovative rail services to revitalise capillary lines

This EU funding opportunity, under the Horizon Europe program, aims to revitalize regional railways and capillary lines by supporting innovative solutions that reduce costs, improve service quality, and enhance operational safety. The focus is on digitalization, automation, and the use of mainstream and emerging technologies for signaling, trackside components, and customer information. The goal is to ensure the long-term viability of regional railways by decreasing the total cost of ownership (OPEX and CAPEX) per kilometer while improving customer satisfaction.

Key areas of focus include:

System, CCS & Operations: Reviewing and amending system requirements, integrating TMS, CCS, and vehicle developments, and demonstrating technical enablers in a cost-efficient and customer-centric manner.

Assets: Demonstrating cost-efficient components, including wireless and energy self-sufficient infrastructure, and assessing multimodal fuelling stations.

Customer Service: Demonstrating highly accurate multimodal passenger service information at railway stations and personal devices to improve journey smoothness and bridge the last-mile issue.

Expected Outcomes:

Adaptation of solutions for low-density lines.

Scalability for European-wide application.

Solutions adapted and demonstrated up to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7.

Demonstration of technical feasibility and preparatory work for integrated demonstrators under operational conditions (TRL7).

Demonstrations:

The Flagship Project should deliver individual and integrated demonstrations by 2028, based on two clusters:

Demonstrator cluster 1: regional lines with significant connection with mainline (Group 1)

Demonstrator cluster 2: regional lines with no or limited connection with mainline (Group 2)

Specific Demonstrations:

Destination 6 Linked Demonstrations: For Group 2, demonstrate a single integrated Operations Control Center (OCC) and the application of cost-efficient COTS based radio communications (4G, 5G, or later and satellite).

Destination 1 Linked Demonstrations: Demonstrate a specific application for Traffic Management Systems for regional lines.

Destination 2 Linked Demonstrations: Demonstrate ATO over ETCS up to GoA3/4, hybrid train detection and moving block, cost-efficient communications using mobile networks, safe absolute train positioning, use of public and private radio networks, fail-safe train integrity, train length detection, and a digital platform for CCS validation & TSI certification.

Scope:

CCS & Operations: Develop Destination 6 specific applications based on improvements from Destinations 1 and 2, and develop a single integrated Operations Control Centre (OCC) for regional lines not connected with the mainline.

Asset: Develop Smart Wayside Object Controller and infrastructure components focused on regional railway cost drivers, and a concept for alternative fueling/charging stations.

Customer Service: Develop cost-efficient integration of multimodal services information and passenger congestion rate monitoring and flow optimization applications.

Data Models: Data models should align with the ERA Ontology.

Integrated Demonstrator Preparatory Work: Validate requirements and an implementation plan for integrated demonstrators.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

Reduced CAPEX of the CCS system (targeting a 25% decrease).

Reduced CAPEX of radio network (targeting a 15% decrease).

Increased system availability due to reduced trackside asset failure and more reliable CCS (targeting a 10% increase).

Increased reliability of fail-safe train integrity, train length detection and train positioning (targeting a 15% increase), and reduced OPEX and CAPEX (targeting a 15% decrease).

Optimized energy consumption and higher punctuality through ATO over ERTMS targeting GoA4 (targeting a 10% decrease in energy consumption and a 15% increase in punctuality).

Reduced OPEX costs/km for trackside railway assets (targeting a 30% reduction).

Increased energy efficiency for trackside railway assets (targeting a 15% increase).

Collaboration:

Collaboration is required with other Flagship Areas (FAs), specifically Destination 1 and Destination 2, to develop deliverables capturing specific regional rail requirements and to review system specifications.

Cybersecurity:

The project is expected to use EU-RAIL System Pillar Cybersecurity specifications and provide feedback to Destination 1 Workstream 2.

System Pillar Interaction:

Allocate resources to areas linked to the System Pillar conceptual and architecture works, particularly specification development.

Standardisation:

Actively contribute to the update of the EU-Rail Standardisation and TSIs input plan (STIP) and contribute to the development and implementation of EU policy and legislation.

Budget and Project Duration:

The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 10 million.

The indicative project duration is 30 months.

Applicant Requirements:

Expertise from rail infrastructure managers and railway undertakings.

Expertise from rail suppliers (system integrators, manufacturers, and technology providers).

Expertise from research institutes and academia.

Complementary expertise from other sectors and parties, with particular attention to SMEs and Start-ups.

Admissibility Conditions:

The proposal page limit for a full Innovation Action application is 120 pages.

Eligible Countries:

Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial Contribution:

Applicant Private Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia should provide in-kind contributions no less than 1.263 times the funding request.

Overall, this funding opportunity seeks to modernize and improve the efficiency, sustainability, and customer experience of regional railways in Europe through targeted research, innovation, and demonstration activities. It emphasizes collaboration, interoperability, and the adoption of digital and automated technologies to revitalize these crucial transportation links.

The EU-Rail Joint Undertaking (JU) is offering 10 million EUR to fund a project that will revitalize regional railways by making them more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable. The project, called a Flagship Project, will focus on system architecture, CCS & Operations, rail infrastructure assets, and customer services. The project will build upon previous research and innovation activities, such as S2R and Europe’s rail first wave Flagship projects, as well as EU-member states rail research and innovation activities. The project will also work with other Flagship Areas, such as Network management planning and control & Mobility Management in a multimodal environment and Digital Enablers and Digital & Automated up to Autonomous Train Operations. The project is expected to deliver individual and integrated demonstrations by 2028. The project is expected to use the EU-RAIL System Pillar Cybersecurity specifications and provide feedback to the Destination 1 Workstream 2 covering Cybersecurity. The project is expected to involve sufficient European geographical representation of academia, and ensure that all needed expertise for the described activities reflects the Special skills and/or capabilities expected from the Applicant(s) as described in the specific topic conditions. The project is expected to be compliant with the EU Data Policy 2020 and associated legal instruments. The project is expected to reduce CAPEX and OPEX costs, increase system availability, optimize energy consumption, and increase punctuality. The project is expected to last 30 months.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are rail infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, rail suppliers (system integrators, manufacturers, and/or technology providers), research institutes, academia, SMEs, and Start-ups. The applicant must ensure that their proposals and consortium reflect the aggregated expertise to perform the activities and achieve the objectives set by the Destination. Applicant Private Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia responding to this topic should provide in-kind contributions to additional activities to be declared via the template model available on the F&T portal.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON JU Innovation Action (HORIZON-JU-IA) with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium is required. Applicants shall ensure that their proposals and consortium reflect the aggregated expertise to perform the activities and achieve the objectives set by the Destination.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is for EU and associated countries, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have made funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The target sector is transport, specifically the rail industry, with a focus on regional rail services, control command and signalling (CCS), operations, rail infrastructure assets, customer services, digitalisation, and automation.

Mentioned Countries: European Union member states are mentioned as having rail research and innovation activities. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Project Stage: The project stage is demonstration, with solutions to be adapted and demonstrated up to TRL7, and preparatory work for integrated demonstrators under operational conditions (TRL7) set for the future.

Funding Amount: The indicative budget for this specific topic (HORIZON-JU-ER-2025-FA6-01) is EUR 10 million. Other related topics have varying budgets.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage open call.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant to cover eligible costs.

Application Stages: The application process is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rate is not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants for this specific topic (HORIZON-JU-ER-2025-FA6-01) is 1.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is required. The funding rate is 60% of the eligible costs. Applicant Private Members of the EU-Rail part of consortia responding to this topic should provide in-kind contributions to additional activities to be declared via the template model available on the F&T portal. The amount of total in-kind contributions should be no less than 1.263 times the funding request, in aggregate, of these applicant Private Members.

Summary:

This is a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe program, specifically targeting the Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking (JU). The call, HORIZON-JU-ER-2025-FA6-01, focuses on "Regional Rail Services / Innovative Rail Services to Revitalise Capillary Lines." The goal is to fund a flagship project that will contribute to the revitalization of regional railways by decreasing the total cost of ownership while improving service quality, operational safety, and customer satisfaction. The project should build upon previous research and innovation activities, particularly those from the Shift2Rail (S2R) initiative and EU member states. The project scope includes system architecture, control command and signalling (CCS), operations, rail infrastructure assets, and customer services. The project should demonstrate solutions that lower costs and can be deployed under operational conditions, with a target Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7 by 2028. The funding mechanism is a lump sum grant, with a 60% funding rate. A consortium is required, with specific expertise expected from rail infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, rail suppliers, research institutes, academia, SMEs, and start-ups. Private members of the EU-Rail part of the consortium are expected to provide in-kind contributions. The total indicative budget for this topic is EUR 10 million, and only one project will be funded. The call opens on 30 October 2025, with a deadline of 11 February 2026. The project duration is 30 months. The project is expected to contribute to the Europe’s Rail Master Plan impacts, including meeting evolving customer requirements, reducing costs, creating more sustainable and resilient transport, improving EU rail supply industry competitiveness, and reinforcing the role for rail in European transport and mobility. The project should also contribute to the update of the EU-Rail Standardisation and TSIs input plan (STIP) and the development and implementation of EU policy and legislation.