"Trains and railway systems of the future" Task Force presents first progress report

The European Commission''s research/industry "Trains and railway systems of the future" Task Force, established in early 1995, has presented a first progress report on its work to date.

The aim of the Task Force is to bring together the separate strands of the railway industry, including researchers, manufacturers and operators, to establish and formulate responses to the main challenges facing rail transport in Europe. In particular, the Task Force brings together representatives from the various sectors of the Commission involved in the development of transport in the European Union. This enables added value to be gained through greater coordination and the focusing of funding on specified priority areas.

The priority areas identified by the Task Force are:

- The Modular High-Speed Train: Promotion of Europe-wide collaboration in the development of system approaches to product development, including cost-effective interoperable modular construction concepts and improved structural, propulsion, control and cabin environment enabling technologies;

- The Urban Citizen''s Network of the Future: Participation in the development of global urban mobility systems allowing the right balance between public and private transport and between the different transport modes;

- Development of a European system for traffic management, passenger services and freight logistics to improve Europe-wide interoperability;

- The Virtual Factory: Development of customer-driven manufacturing systems;

- The Train Cargo Liner: Contributing towards the design of optimized railway freight systems as an integral part of intermodal transport chains.

The overall aims of the Task Force are:

- To foster the development of competitive and efficient railway services and their integration into intermodal transport networks within a perspective of sustainable mobility;
- To respond to new market opportunities arising from evolving social and economic needs regarding mobility;
- Support the re-engineering of supply chains and foster industrial collaboration as a means of enhancing Europe''s competitive advantage in the world railway market.