Successor to EU-Rail Joint Undertaking sits at the heart of a new appeal from European railway associations to the European Commission within the Horizon Europe program, as reported by Railway Pro.

The sector wants the existing partnership model for rail research and innovation to continue under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034 and to remain firmly embedded in EU funding priorities.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Successor to EU-Rail Joint Undertaking in Horizon Europe

Call for a successor to EU-Rail Joint Undertaking

Five European railway associations – CER, EIM, UIP, UITP and UNIFE – have jointly asked the European Commission to set up a successor structure to the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking inside Horizon Europe. In their view, this successor is needed to maintain momentum in developing the European railway sector, covering everything from mainline operations to regional and urban rail systems.

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At the same time, the associations support the proposal for a new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) under the next MFF 2028–2034 as an important tool to foster technological sovereignty, green and digital transitions and Europe’s global competitiveness.

Funding needs under Horizon Europe and the ECF

The associations say that the successor to the EU-Rail Joint Undertaking should be backed by a minimum investment of EUR 3 billion, plus EUR 15 billion for the pre-implementation phase. This EUR 3 billion investment and EUR 15 billion pre-implementation phase are, in their assessment, required to mobilise long-term private capital, strengthen the competitiveness of the European rail energy supply industry and help deliver the political objectives of the single European railway area.

In the wider financial setting, the next MFF totals EUR 1.8 trillion, of which EUR 243 billion is earmarked for the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) and EUR 51 billion for the next Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Transport component.

The organisations also call for a sufficient budget for research and innovation in the European rail sector, with half of the money coming from the Horizon Europe instrument and the rest from the European rail industry and wider sector.

In addition, they propose EUR 15 billion for pre-deployment funding via the ECF, national schemes and private investment, so that technologies can reach the necessary level of maturity and move more quickly to market deployment, as previously covered by Railway Supply in its EU-Rail-related reporting.

Inclusive partnership framework for the European rail sector

The associations stress that the legal framework for the successor to EU-Rail must guarantee that members are not obliged to provide direct financial contributions. This approach is intended to encourage the broadest possible participation from public and private entities.

Contributions in kind should be recognised as a valid way to join the partnership, which is particularly relevant for smaller players in local and urban rail markets and underlines the industry’s commitment to an innovative rail sector. In line with Horizon Europe objectives, they also advocate better inclusion of SMEs and welcome any simplification that reduces the administrative burden while keeping the focus on technical content.

They further underline the need to maintain an inclusive partnership framework for the European rail sector that links the European Commission, the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), industry, operators, infrastructure managers, research institutes and SMEs. Such a framework should reflect the financial contributions of each member and ensure that all key stakeholders continue to be involved in shaping future research and innovation priorities for rail.

Synergies between CEF-Transport, NRPP and Horizon Europe

Beyond the establishment of a successor to EU-Rail Joint Undertaking, the associations are calling for stronger synergies between the transport funding components of the MFF. They express firm support for the next CEF-Transport financial instrument, which they describe as the backbone of EU transport infrastructure investment policy.

To adequately finance transport investments, they argue that the CEF budget should be increased to EUR 100 billion and that the option to transfer resources from National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) to CEF should be retained.

Finally, the organisations ask for the differences, commonalities and links between Horizon Europe, NRPP and CEF-Transport programmes to be clearly defined and outlined together with stakeholders from the sector.

By clarifying how these instruments work together, European railway associations believe the EU can get the most out of these ambitious programmes and ensure that the planned successor to EU-Rail Joint Undertaking delivers concrete benefits across the European rail system.

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