Under the Shift2Rail 2020 call for proposals, 43 proposals for a total value of EUR 185.8 million and a funding request of EUR 113.3 million were submitted. This represents a 50% increase compared to the available funding.
8 proposals were submitted under the Call for Members, while 35 proposals were submitted under the Open Calls, with a request for funding nearly 3 times the available budget.
Shift2Rail and highly qualified independent experts will start the evaluation of the proposals. The results will be announced by the end of July and the R&I activities on this call are expected to start during the last quarter of 2020.
The calls come during a challenging context as Europe fights against coronavirus pandemic impact and needs a fast recovery. The selected projects will build on the results already achieved, in most cases, to demonstrate market impact and to transition into the next Programme’s ambitious R&I targets.
‘‘Despite the critical situation we are in, such a promising number of proposals demonstrates the rail sector’s commitment and capacity to meet new challenges with resilience. Rail research and innovation has an important role to play in Europe’s recovery, and Shift2Rail together with its Members and partners stands ready to deliver,” Shift2Rail’s Executive Director, Carlo Borghini, said.
The Shift2Rail Programme is consolidating its position to move the railway sector forward, towards a major system transformation to contribute to Europe’s most sustainable and digital mobility and transport for freight and passengers.
Shift2Rail 2020 call for proposals were launched on January 8.
Within 4 years, together with this call for proposals, Shift2Rail will invest EUR 770.2 million in research and innovation activities, including the Lighthouse projects, accomplishing its mandate to recover the initial delays and accelerate the delivery of the programme’s innovative solutions.
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