The European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC) is a European Technology Platform (ETP) established in 2001. It promotes innovation and research in the EU rail sector, uniting stakeholders and enhancing competitiveness. It advises the European Commission on prioritising R&D projects and a favourable funding environment through joint undertakings such as Europe's Rail. While developing, implementing, and evaluating the next EU financial framework, it advises EU stakeholders on funding research and innovation opportunities for sustainable development. The International Union of Railways (UIC), representing the Railway Operating Community (ROC), plays a key role in the ERRAC Steering Committee. Alternating with the manufacturers' representative (UNIFE), it nominates the ERRAC Chair or Vice Chair and Secretary and also has the right to nominate 3 ROC representatives from among its members active in the UIC RICG.
Visit ERRAC website: https://errac.org
European Technology Platforms (ETPs) are industry-led stakeholders that develop short to long-term research and innovation agendas and roadmaps for action at EU and national level to be supported by both private and public funding. ERRAC was set up in 2001 with the ambitious goal of creating a single European body with both the competence and capability to help revitalise the European rail sector and make it more competitive, by fostering increased innovation and guiding research efforts at European level.
ERRAC’s primary objective is to deliver the common railway sector vision for research and innovation to the European institutions and important stakeholders in order to contribute to the development of a favourable funding landscape for railway research and innovation, developing innovation via calls for projects and joint undertakings such as Shift2Rail.
Functioning on the basis of a rotating chairmanship between UNIFE and UIC every two years, ERRAC is currently chaired by Mr Alberto Parrondo (Thales – representing UNIFE), supported by two vice-chairs, Ms Carole Desnost (SNCF – representing UIC) and Prof. Sebastian Stichel (KTH – representing academia). ERRAC has produced a number of key documents since its foundation in 2001, including the “Joint Strategy for European Rail Research – Vision 2020”, the “Strategic Rail Research Agenda” (SRRA) and its successor document, the “FOSTER RAIL Roadmaps”. Building on these documents, it published its latest strategy document, “Rail 2050 Vision”, in December 2017.
As a key member of ERRAC, UIC represents the interests of the railway operating community to establish research and innovation priorities for the European rail sector. Common ROC positions are usually prepared within the Research and Innovation Coordination Group (RICG) and contribute to ERRAC positions in close collaboration with all platform stakeholders.
Through its involvement in ERRAC, UIC promotes the business and research needs of its European members in the definition of railway research and innovation policy at European level. European policy is then translated into the “Strategic Rail Research and Innovation Agenda” and technology roadmaps. The cross-modal “Strategic Transport Research and Innovation Agenda” (STRIA) – first released in 2017 and currently under revision – is the latest development.
Finally, as ERRAC is the principal point of contact in relation to rail research and innovation at European level, UIC supports dialogue between the railway operating community and the European Commission through the platform to identify needs and solutions for implementation of the Single European Railway Area.
UIC also supports the activities of the platform, playing an active role in the secretariat of the platform together with the European manufacturing industry (UNIFE). With the change in ERRAC chairmanship in 2018, Mr Martin Brennan, Head of Research and Innovation at UIC, took up the role of Secretary to ERRAC, with UNIFE filling the role of Vice-Secretary.
