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# 52012SC0260

**COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Preliminary Descriptions of Research and Innovation Areas and Fields Accompanying the document Communication Research and Innovation for Europe's Future Mobility /\* SWD/2012/0260 final \*/**

  

Disclaimer:

Neither the
European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission may be
held responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained in
this publication. The European Commission cannot be held responsible if this
information is incomplete or inaccurate.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1........... Introduction.................................................................................................................... 4

1.1........ Rationale of this document.............................................................................................. 4

1.2........ Scope of the research and
innovation fields...................................................................... 4

1.3........ Clustering of Research and
Innovation Areas................................................................... 4

1.4........ Cross-cutting issues........................................................................................................ 5

1.5........ The structure of this paper............................................................................................... 6

2........... R&I Area: Clean, Efficient,
Safe, Quiet and Smart Transport Means................................ 6

2.1........ Strategic Objective......................................................................................................... 6

2.2........ Field 1: Clean, efficient, safe,
quiet and smart road vehicles.............................................. 7

2.3........ Priority field 2: Clean,
efficient, safe, quiet and smart aircraft............................................ 9

2.4........ Field 3: Clean, efficient, safe,
quiet and smart vessels..................................................... 11

2.5........ Field 4: Clean, efficient, safe,
quiet and smart rail vehicles.............................................. 13

3........... R&I AREA: Infrastructure and
Smart Systems.............................................................. 14

3.1........ Strategic Objective....................................................................................................... 14

3.2........ Field 5: Smart, green,
low-maintenance and climate-resilient infrastructure...................... 15

3.3........ Field 6: Europe-wide alternative
fuel distribution infrastructures...................................... 16

3.4........ Field 7: Efficient modal traffic
management systems (including capacity and demand management)        18

4........... R&I AREA: Transport Services
and Operations for Passengers and Freight................... 20

4.1........ Strategic Objective....................................................................................................... 20

4.2........ Field 8: Integrated cross-modal
information and management services............................ 21

4.3........ Field 9: Seamless logistics............................................................................................. 22

4.4........ Field 10: Integrated and
innovative urban mobility and transport..................................... 24

1.           Introduction

1.1.        Rationale
of this document

The
Communication on ‘Research and innovation for Europe’s future mobility’[1], hereinafter referred to as ‘the
communication’, makes proposals on how research and innovation can make a more
substantial contribution to achieving European transport policy goals.

The
communication identifies three initial Research and Innovation areas (R&I
areas) and, within these areas, ten fields with a clear EU added value on which
research and innovation (R&I) should focus. The ten fields have been identified
by matching the current state and future development of key transport
technologies as outlined in the report ‘Scientific Assessment of Strategic
Transport Technologies’[2]
with the policy requirements set out in the 2011 White Paper on Transport[3]. According to expert opinion, these
ten fields have significant potential for helping achieve the White Paper’s
objectives by 2030 — or by 2050 in the case of some fields. They also take into
account the specific characteristics of the individual modes of transport as
well as multimodal issues. However, they represent neither a final position nor
a list of priorities for future research and innovation programmes.

Based on the fields described in this paper, the Commission
will now begin work to further assess and specify the objectives, timing,
resources and instruments that are necessary to bring each of the fields to
large-scale deployment. This will involve drawing up roadmaps, in close
collaboration with relevant stakeholders. Existing work, for example roadmaps
produced by European Technology Platforms, will be used as a starting point.
The roadmapping exercise and its outcome will take account of existing Commission
proposals and activities and not supersede them.

The roadmaps
will identify the challenges all along the innovation chain and the solutions they
require. Processes, roles and structures will need to be designed. Indicative
budgets will need to be identified and adaptive management and monitoring
procedures will need to be put in place.

1.2.        Scope
of the research and innovation fields

For the purpose
of this paper, a field is defined as ‘a comprehensive set of technologies,
methods and practices with a shared focus on addressing societal challenges and
competitiveness. It encompasses all elements of the research and innovation
chain (from research and demonstration to market uptake and deployment)’.

This broad definition
not only covers technological solutions from a conventional engineering and/or
scientific perspective but also their use in the transport system. It thus embraces
the user and his or her priorities. It may include related elements by which
deployment can be facilitated, such as management tools, business models,
service design, regulation, standardisation, public procurement, awareness
raising, etc. It may also include market entry barriers, longer-term
sustainability and life-cycle issues which are at the core of the later phases
of the innovation chain.

1.3.        Clustering
of Research and Innovation Areas

The three
R&I areas presented in the communication cover the following fields:

·
In the R&I area of means of transport,
progress is needed on clean, safe, efficient and quiet vehicles, aircraft and
vessels, including components, propulsion systems, materials and enabling
technologies. The anticipated shift towards alternative fuels will lead to
important new requirements.

·
In the R&I area of infrastructure,
progress is needed on smart, safe, green, low-maintenance and climate-resilient
infrastructure, including alternative fuel distribution infrastructure, modal
information and traffic management systems, demand management and other
solutions related to infrastructure usage.

·
In the R&I area of transport services and
operations, progress is needed on seamless and efficient services
for passenger and freight transport, including public transport, logistics and
smart terminals, as well as integrated travel and freight information services.

In order to structure and manage the future
work, these fields have to be clustered. However, drawing clear boundaries
between the fields is difficult — and, indeed, counterproductive as some issues
overlap between different fields and the overlaps can be exploited when looking
for synergies.

1.4.        Cross-cutting
issues

Some technologies or issues stretch across
all three R&I areas and will need to be addressed in an integrated and
cross-cutting manner, considering the specific needs of each field (see Figure
1). These include:

·
Information and communication technologies:
intelligent ways to connect transport means with each other and with
infrastructure will help reduce congestion, improve safety, security and
resilience in the transport system and make transport operations more reliable
and punctual.

·
Safety and security: these can be enhanced by
improving the design and operation of transport means and infrastructures
(including terminals). Crucial in this respect are passive and active safety,
preventive safety, and enhanced automation and training processes to reduce the
impact of human errors.

·
Energy and energy efficiency improvement
technologies: greater energy-efficiency and reduced oil-dependency can be
achieved through a holistic approach to transport means, energy storage and
energy supply infrastructure (including vehicle-to-grid interfaces and innovative
solutions for the use of alternative fuels) and transport operations (e.g.
eco-driving).

·
Socio-economic issues: the interaction between
transport policy and other policy sectors, such as environment, land use, urban
planning, employment, health, accessibility etc. It will also be important to
have modelling tools for improving the analytical capacity needed for policy
development. Other issues that require attention include internalising the
negative impact of transport (for example, through taxation and pricing) and understanding
the drivers of user behaviour and how to use behavioural science to develop
smarter tools.

Strengthening
the skills base in Europe to meet transport research and innovation objectives,
to create jobs and to support economic growth.

Figure
1: a graphical presentation of the R&I areas and cross-cutting
issues.

1.5.        The
structure of this paper

In the rest of
this paper, the presentation of each of the R&I areas opens with a short
description of the policy objectives which that area addresses. It then
outlines the fields within each area, describing the current level of
development and the technology needs. In some cases, the presentation already
puts forward a list of the measures to be taken.

2.           R&I Area: Clean, Efficient,
Safe, Quiet and Smart Transport Means

2.1.        Strategic
Objective

The White Paper sets the EU the goal of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector by 60 % by
2050 with respect to 1990 levels. To achieve this objective, it is essential to
improve the energy efficiency of transport operations and vehicles across all
modes of transport. However, this will not be sufficient. The carbon intensity
of transport fuels must also be lowered. This will also help reduce the
transport sector’s excessive reliance on oil products. Much more must therefore
be done to develop alternative fuel propulsion systems for all means of
transport but particularly for road vehicles and aircraft.

Vehicle design
also has major implications for safety, another central concern of transport
policy. Specifically for road transport, the White Paper sets the EU the
strategic objective of halving the number of road casualties by 2020 and moving
close to zero fatalities by 2050. Similarly, the White Paper emphasises the
need to bring safety rules into line with the development and deployment of new
technologies in air transport (SESAR). It envisages developing SafeSeaNet into
the core system for all the information tools needed to support maritime safety
and security and to protect the marine environment from ship-source pollution.
Intelligent devices are also important for safety in road and rail vehicles.

This R&I area covers four fields:

·
Clean, efficient, safe, quiet and smart road
vehicles

·
Clean, efficient, safe, quiet and smart aircraft

·
Clean, efficient, safe, quiet and smart vessels

·
Clean, efficient, safe, quiet and smart rail
vehicles

2.2.        Field
1: Clean, efficient, safe, quiet and smart road vehicles

Road transport
accounts for the largest share of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions.
In order to reduce those emissions, therefore, it is essential to develop and
deploy innovative, clean and efficient vehicles. The preferred policy option set
out in the White Paper's Impact Assessment assumes that average emissions will be
reduced to 20 g CO2/km for new cars and 55 g CO2/km for
new light commercial vehicles by 2050, through the use of emission standards.
Furthermore, the fuel efficiency of trucks could be improved by 40 %. The White
Paper's modelling of future scenarios also includes stricter standards for air
pollution.

Research and innovation will continue to play an important
role in optimising the performance and cost competitiveness of future vehicles.
Overall vehicle efficiency needs to be further improved through advanced engine
design, alternative fuel propulsion systems, lightweight materials, increasing
the recovery of waste energy and system optimisation. Vehicles will also have
to be improved in order to fully exploit the potential of future drive train
concepts and new infrastructure systems. Conventional light and heavy-duty
vehicle designs can be further improved especially in terms of aerodynamics,
low resistance tyres, etc. The unexploited potential is particularly great for
trucks.

Energy efficiency and alternative
fuel propulsion systems

Future propulsion systems and their associated
technologies vary greatly in terms of their level of maturity and their
suitability for road vehicles. The internal combustion engine is a mature
technology that will undergo further incremental improvements leading to
emission reductions. The internal combustion engine is likely to remain the
dominant propulsion technology in the market at least until 2030.

With regard to alternative fuel uptake,
differences are likely to persist between different kinds of vehicles. For
passenger and light duty vehicles, blends of bio-ethanol or biodiesel appear to
be most promising alternative fuels until 2020. In the medium and long term
(2030-2050), electricity and hydrogen are expected to gain larger shares[4]. In terms of research and
innovation needs, electromobility requires technological development to improve
its performance and economic efficiency. (The latter is measured in terms of
energy density/cost per unit of energy stored for batteries, power density/cost
per unit of power for fuel cells, ageing versus number of recharging cycles for
batteries, technical performance data versus operating hours for fuel cells,
and temperature sensitivity for both systems). As discussed further in field 6,
another key issue is the availability of infrastructure for electric vehicles.
In addition, there is a good outlook for bio-methane, synthetic fuels (BtL/GtL)
and biofuels in the medium to long term.

Specific issues for non-pluggable hybrid
vehicles include further optimisation and adaptation of the combustion engine
to HEV (hybrid electric vehicle) architecture, full integration of the power
train with the hybrid system (including waste heat recovery, after treatment
and control) and further optimisation of current battery technologies, adapting
them to different degrees of hybridisation. There are also specific issues relating
to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles
(BEVs). For example, standards are needed for the recharging infrastructure,
vehicle-to-grid communication and billing. The standards for health- and safety-related
aspects such as electromagnetic interference, user protection and emergency
handling need to be reviewed. We also need to test protocols for battery
testing (including safety), to consider well-to-wheel emissions in emission
regulations and to investigate the impact of large-scale electrification on grid
quality and stability.

For heavy duty vehicles, biodiesel blends are
expected to become more important in the short and medium term, whereas 2nd
and 3rd generation biofuels are expected to gain in importance in
the long term. In terms of research and innovation needs, biomass pathways must
be optimised. Synthetic fuels and methane in liquid form (LNG) may become
important in the medium term, specifically for long distance heavy duty
vehicles. Hydrogen has high potential for powering zero-emission heavy- and
light-duty vehicles carrying out short distance operation in urban areas, and in
particular for buses. Synthetic fuels require research on bio-pathways, as well
as pilot plants for their production.

Greater energy efficiency can also be
achieved by developing and deploying on a wide scale extremely compact engines,
multi-fuel engines, homogeneous charge-compression ignition engines, and advanced
combustion and after-treatment for trucks (i.e. novel combustion modes with
efficient after-treatment, using non-precious metal catalytic systems).

In terms of materials, energy efficiency can
be improved by making greater use of lightweight
materials and new nanomaterial applications. It is also important to
develop concepts and materials that help optimise end-of-life
recovery and resource efficiency, as well as new materials for semi-conductors.
Vehicle design is important from an energy-efficiency viewpoint, including the
optimisation of aerodynamic designs and new vehicle concepts that take into
account the design limits of innovative propulsion technologies. For example:

·
New fully-automated vehicle concepts, automated
driving and the impact of nomadic devices (smart phones, ubiquity etc.);

·
Built-in flexibility in vehicle design to optimise
the load capacity for trucks (including optimised chassis control);

·
Assessing the safety and environmental impact of
new types of vehicle and their effects on intermodal competition, and perhaps subsequently
demonstrating such vehicles;

·
Innovative trailers and loading platforms to
increase flexibility, speed and loading capacity.

Safety

Achieving the
targets set out in the White Paper will require the universal deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (see field 7), based on exchanges of information between
vehicles and the road infrastructure. These exchanges fall into three
categories: infrastructure-to-infrastructure (I2I), vehicle-to-infrastructure
(V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. They are based on new ICTs
(Information and Communication Technologies) which
enable ubiquitous communication of all three kinds. On-board automatic
collision avoidance systems can also minimise the risk of collision with
pedestrians, cyclists or objects.

Active and
integrated road safety and security applications aim to give drivers and other
road users the information they need to help them avoid an accident, or to mitigate
its consequences should it occur. Research and development activities must take
into consideration the three main factors that affect transport safety: the driver,
the vehicle and the infrastructure / traffic environment.
The optimal Intelligent Transport System (ITS) for safety applications will be
one that takes into account the effects of all three of these contributors and
builds on the interactions between them. Market uptake
and deployment must be rigorously pursued in the future. It would mean setting new
standards, creating a more robust understanding of driver behaviour, raising
user awareness to stimulate demand for such systems, setting up appropriate
policy frameworks and providing incentives for more investment in road-safety-related
systems and services.

The main technology
objectives should include improving the passive safety design of road
vehicles, including features for protecting vulnerable road users. But they
should also include active safety technologies, technologies for providing
emergency services (e.g. e-call) and technologies for automated road-side
checks and law enforcement.

Objectives in
the field of tracking, tracing and navigation services include:

·
Providing highly accurate navigation services
that monitor how the driver is steering the vehicle and assist the driver by
providing lane information.

·
Micro-routing, i.e. providing highly detailed
route guidance information. This includes information on the surrounding
environment, routing for pedestrians and cyclists and indoor routing.

·
Strategic routing, i.e. enhanced routing
functionalities that take into account certain pre-defined strategies.

·
Receiving road safety alerts and/or notifications
directly from other vehicles (vehicle to vehicle — V2V) and possibly from other
road users.

·
Receiving information on the timing of traffic
lights when approaching light-controlled junctions, and giving the driver appropriate
instructions about the optimal speed at which he/she should drive in order to
reach the junction when the lights turn green (infrastructure to vehicle —
I2V);

·
Continuously increasing the computational
capability of route guidance and navigation services.

2.3.        Priority
field 2: Clean, efficient, safe, quiet and smart aircraft

In aviation,
technological advances are helping reduce aviation fuel consumption and
associated carbon emissions, as well as noise and other emissions (e.g. NOx) that
have an adverse effect on the environment or health. On a per-flight basis,
efficiency is expected to improve continuously through 2050 and beyond. The
White Paper’s preferred scenario assumes a 60 % improvement in aircraft energy
efficiency by 2050, compared with 2005.

In 2011, the High Level
Group on Aviation Research presented a report entitled ‘Flight path 2050 —
Europe’s vision for aviation’. This sets out the main challenges Europe must address
in order to maintain its global leadership as well as serving society’s needs. Europe
also has a vigorous programme of aeronautics and air transport research, which
is already delivering important benefits to the aviation industry, helping it
move towards the ‘2020 Vision’ objectives. This research includes EU-wide
collaborative projects under the Framework Programme, the Clean Sky Joint
Technology Initiative, SESAR (Single European Sky Air traffic management
Research), national programmes in many Member States and research
establishments as well as various industrial programmes.

Aeronautical research
is currently in a transitional phase where maturing R&D is being brought to
the market while a new innovation cycle for next-generation aircraft is beginning.
The results of the completed research will deliver significant improvements,
such as fuel-efficient engines and lighter materials. Fuel-saving design
features such as winglets have already become standard. As automation and high technology
make flying ever safer it may become possible to use unmanned and remotely-piloted
aircraft for non-military operations.

Energy efficiency
and environmental impact

Current RTD aims at 50 %
fuel burn improvements (compared to 2000) for aircraft entering the market from
2020. More significant savings are on the longer-term agenda and will help the
industry achieve its overarching goal of cutting global aviation emissions by
50 % by 2050[5].
In the short term, reducing drag and increasing the use of lightweight materials
will continue to bring fuel savings. In the medium and long term, important
gains may come from light electrical actuators, active flow control
technologies, morphing wings and new aircraft architectures (such as the blended
wing body) where the engines are better integrated. Even with the existing
fleet, potential benefits can come from optimised air traffic management (e.g.
continuous climbing and continuous descent approach, green taxiing etc.), as
discussed further under field 7.

In the short
term, further technological progress (e.g. improved aerodynamics, increased use
of lightweight turbine and compressor materials) can enhance the performance of
the existing gas turbine engine and reduce its fuel consumption and associated
CO2 emissions. Steadily moving towards low NOx combustors will also
improve the environmental friendliness of engines. As with the airframe, engine
noise can be tackled using active or passive noise reduction technologies. In
the medium term, new engine core concepts with
optimised heat management, use of heat resistant materials and of active
control, etc. can bring substantial improvement. In the longer term, innovative
architectures such as open rotor or recuperative engines have the potential to
bring significant fuel savings.

More research and
innovation are also needed to reduce the noise perceived by the public. This
calls for technological solutions such as passive shielding and active noise
control on the many aircraft components that generate noise (landing gear,
flaps, slats etc.). The design of low-noise aircraft/engine configurations is another
way to reduce noise at its source.

A further goal
set by the White Paper is to increase the share of low-carbon sustainable fuels
in aviation to 40 % by 2050. Further research and development is needed to
produce suitable low-carbon aviation fuels that can guarantee the same level of
safety currently obtained with kerosene. This includes similar lubrication
properties, a similarly low freezing temperature and high flash point, the capacity
to relight the combustor at high altitude under severe weather conditions, etc.
Furthermore, to encourage the market uptake of aviation biofuels we need
international standards and appropriate business models. Major efforts need to
be made to accelerate the large-scale production of such fuels.

The design and
manufacture of the aircraft, its operation and its recycling should be subject
to a full-cycle analysis with a view to maximising the efficient use of
resources and minimising the impact on the environment.

Safety

The safety
standard in air transport in Europe is very high and it has a good track record.
Safety must continue to be a priority when designing and testing aircraft,
their components and the air traffic management system. Lessons learned from
extreme weather events and other hazards should be continuously integrated into
the process. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) may need to review the
standards which have been developed over the last sixty years or more. The
certification methodologies should evolve, integrating modern design and
testing techniques and becoming cheaper and more efficient. This will allowing the
swift and cost-effective development of regulatory standards needed to
integrate new technologies with the highest level of safety. It would help if
the EU showed strong leadership, coordinating
safety-related research in Europe.

The main technological objectives should be
to:

·
better predict, measure, and react to extreme weather events and other hazards;

·
adopt a coherent approach to safety analysis at
early design and development stages and integrate advanced design and testing
technologies into the certification process;

·
develop new technologies that ensure safety while
providing an increased level of automation.

The life cycles in
aeronautics are long (an aircraft operates for around 30 years) and developing
new generation aircraft, systems and equipment is a very expensive business.
Consequently, continuity and support are needed at all stages of technological
research, including upstream and applied research, integrating new technologies
into aviation systems and demonstrating them. Such support is crucial to keep
Europe's aviation industry competitive, given the major investment in this
field in other parts of the world.

2.4.        Field
3: Clean, efficient, safe, quiet and smart vessels

The preferred scenario of the Impact Assessment
accompanying the White Paper assumes a 45 % improvement in energy
efficiency for ships by 2050 compared with 2005, as a result of emission
standards. Technology will play a significant role in achieving the White Paper’s
goals for the waterborne sector (which covers both maritime and inland
waterways transport).

Ships are typically used for a minimum of 20-30 years. Europe
therefore needs a change of mindset and the accelerated introduction of new
technologies if it is to meet its overall goals for the whole shipping fleet by
2050. Retro-fitting new technology into existing ships is often cumbersome and
costly. More efficient retro-fitting concepts and a new generation of far more
efficient ships therefore need to be developed, tested and brought into
operation over the next 10-20 years. Modular building techniques using standardised
modules could make for more efficient assembly, repair and retro-fitting, and could
make it easier to recycle the vessel at the end of its service life.

Energy efficiency
and environmental impact

In maritime transport,
using more efficient and cleaner energy will enable shipping companies to
reduce their emissions of conventional pollutants and greenhouse gases, and to
become more resilient to fluctuations in fuel prices. In particular, an
extensive use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is expected to reduce the
environmental impact of waterborne traffic in the coming years. More work needs
to be done on fuel cells, hybrid ships, superconductors and electricity storage
(and to a certain extent the use of wind power) if these are to become real
alternatives for maritime transport. The use of shore
side electricity (cold-ironing) should be further assessed: it could have great
potential in ports with easy access to renewable energy. Shore side electricity
can be made even more efficient by using highly-efficient conversion devices
such as fuel cells fed on renewable hydrogen or on ships’ waste water.

In inland waterway
transport, conventional engine technologies can be improved by fully or partly replacing
fossil fuels (marine diesel, gas oil) by natural gas (LNG) or by fuel gained
from renewable sources.

Building up the
infrastructure for LNG in ports can serve three types of transport carriers:
maritime vessels, inland waterway barges and trucks that frequently come to ports.

In terms of vessel design and materials, new hull materials
such as hybrid materials and carbon fibre will replace steel plates and reduce
ship weight and thus emissions. Ships can also be made more efficient by better
integrating their on-board sub-systems and optimising their energy use. Water
resistance and thus fuel consumption can be reduced by more effective and more
environmentally-friendly hull coatings and monitoring systems, optimised propellers,
optimised hull shapes, hybrid propulsion and the use of air bubble lubrication,
air cavity systems and turbulence control systems. Moreover, eliminating
ballast water from ships will prevent them from introducing alien invasive
species into fragile marine environments.

The economy of inland
waterway vessels is especially sensitive to changing infrastructure parameters such
as water depth and stream flow rate. Predicted climate changes could alter the
usual parameters, especially in free-flowing rivers. Innovations are therefore
needed to adapt vessels to such changes. For example, ships may need to be re-designed
in terms of their shape and size, and be made of new, light-weight materials.

Economic efficiency and information technologies

New ship concepts such as ‘super large container ships’ for
maritime transport and ‘barges resilient to fluctuating water levels’ for
inland navigation will also increase the system’s efficiency.

New information and
communication technologies both on board ships and on shore will make
navigation safer, enable more efficient routing, tracking and tracing, help
detect and deter pirates and optimise co-modal logistics chains. Ships
optimised for sailing new and much shorter Arctic routes will reduce travelling
distances and thus save time and energy.

In inland waterway
transport, more advanced equipment on board will make navigation not only more
efficient and environmentally friendly but also safer. Innovation should be
focused on sophisticated but affordable stowage systems, automatic ballasting
systems, remote control solutions and further automation of on-board processes.

Safety

Navigational support can
be improved by using accurate inland ship positioning data (from GPS and
Galileo), including heading data that enables automated docking assistance,
path keeping and auto-piloting, automatic collision detection and emergency
manoeuvring.

In summary, to develop
new generations of innovative and efficient ships and barges equipped with the abovementioned
technologies, Europe must combine research and innovation with market uptake
and deployment. Policy-driven action might be needed in the following areas:

·
LNG and other alternative energy sources for
propulsion

·
Energy management

·
Hull/water interaction and propulsion optimisation

·
New materials and designs used for ship
construction

·
New ship concepts

·
New information and communication technologies

2.5.        Field
4: Clean, efficient, safe, quiet and smart rail vehicles

Rail is today the only transport mode
which is largely independent of oil as a primary source of energy. Although
rail already addresses the key challenges for the transport sector, the preferred scenario of the Impact Assessment
accompanying the White Paper makes the assumption of a 40 % improvement in
energy efficiency for trains by 2050 compared with 2005, as a result of
emission standards.

The overall
vision for the future of rail transport is to increase its role in the European
transport system by providing seamless and integrated high-speed passenger
services and long-distance freight services, as well as efficient metropolitan
and urban mass transport. To attain this, technological improvements will need
to be made within the rail system (including rail vehicles).

Key topics for research and
innovation related to rolling stock should be:

- Braking technology. Improvements are needed especially to facilitate the
operation of longer and heavier trains (management of longitudinal forces) and to
reduce noise. New designs for braking systems and new materials for brake
components are both important aspects of innovation and development. Better
braking technology can also improve the performance of high-speed and regional
passenger networks.

- Innovative electric power
supply/management and propulsion systems. These can help reduce energy
consumption and make better use of regenerated energy in the rail system, for
example by temporarily storing energy on board or on the ground. Improvements should
also be made to the power supply for freight wagons (‘electrification of freight
trains’). There is an increasing demand for access to electric power on freight
wagons, both for railway-internal use (e.g. activation of brakes) and — mainly —
for heating/cooling of reefer-containers/reefer swap bodies carried on trains.
The lack of power supply on freight wagons makes it much more difficult for
rail operators to enter certain market segments. The development of
cost-efficient dual-power/hybrid-locomotives would enable new production
methods in single wagonload, intermodal and trainload operations.

- New high-strength and light-weight
materials. These help further improve the payload-deadweight ratio in
rail traffic and enable new vehicle designs.

The following research and innovation
topics should address the rail system more broadly (interplay between rolling
stock and infrastructure, smart systems or cross-cutting issues):

- Train formation
technologies/coupling (automatic central
couplers). The introduction of automatic central
couplers would have a number of highly desired system effects, such as making
it possible to operate longer and heavier trains, rationalising the train
formation process and making it easier to supply on-board power to freight
trains. By extension, it would also enable new production methods, such as
Train Coupling and Sharing (TCS). Research and innovation should help create the
right technology for an Automatic Central Coupler and to outline possible
migration strategies.

- Process innovation in servicing and
maintaining complex rolling stock and infrastructure. This is important
for improving reliability and productivity and for reducing life-cycle costs.
Continuous process innovation and the provision of such services by the railway
suppliers will also help ensure that European rolling stock manufacturers
remain competitive,  especially
vis-à-vis new market entrants from China/Asia. Standardising components
should greatly help rationalise vehicle maintenance. Research should also
address the question of mutual recognition of inspections and better international
cooperation in accrediting Certified Bodies. This would enable the Single
European Railway Area to function better.

- Automation. This is clearly important in relation to automated coupling and
automatic brake testing. It is also important when applied to the terminal
handling of wagons and intermodal loading units. Moreover, remote-controlled
locomotives running in the middle or at the rear of trains would make it easier
to introduce long trains. A breakthrough in the automated operation of
metropolitan railway systems is already under way, while automated or
semi-automated trains operating mainline services could become a reality within
the time horizon of the White Paper. Research and innovation should also cover
the socio-economic implications of automation, and its impact on working
conditions. Automation should also be applied to the detection of derailments. Automated
train operation will rely heavily on information technologies (IT).

- Development and
better use of information technologies. Better IT should pave the way for intelligent freight
wagons and trains, making it possible to improve not only traffic
management but also operational performance and productivity. Better IT will
also address passengers’ and freight customers’ needs for information in order
to optimally integrate rail into advanced and demanding logistic solutions and
travel chains.

- Security. This is important
for enabling high-value goods to be carried by rail and for maintaining
customer confidence in rail's ability to transport damage-sensitive goods.
Research and innovation are also needed to improve rail transport links with
countries outside the EU.

- Transhipment technologies. Rail-rail
transhipment in particular is important for implementing new production methods
for intermodal traffic. It is also becoming crucial for developing rail traffic
along the Europe-Asia axis, which has to cope with two different gauges.
Furthermore, transhipment technology needs to become more efficient in
intermodal terminals that connect rail with road, sea and air transport. For
example, direct transhipment between ship and train is important for innovative
main-port to dry-port connections, and good links with airports are needed for the
introduction of high-speed rail freight services. An important aim must be to
reduce energy consumption in transhipment processes, in order to further
strengthen the environmental competitiveness of intermodal transport solutions.

3.           R&I AREA: Infrastructure and Smart Systems

3.1.        Strategic
Objective

To further the
EU's aim of creating a Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the White Paper sets certain benchmarks. The key targets are to create
a fully functional and EU-wide multimodal TEN-T ‘core network’ by 2030, leading
to a high-quality and high-capacity network by 2050, with a corresponding set
of information services.

A transport
system with a multimodal backbone and that relies on optimal modal choices to
enhance its efficiency must have multimodal terminals strategically located
along the network. Multi-modal infrastructure
interfaces are essential for cross-modal optimisation, both for passenger and
freight transport. Along the same lines, the White Paper calls for all core
network airports to be connected to the rail network by 2050, and for core
seaports to be linked to the rail freight system and the inland waterway
system, where possible.

Transport infrastructure must also
contribute to low-carbon transport by providing appropriate recharging and
refuelling facilities for innovative low-carbon vehicles and vessels, and these
facilities must meet established distribution standards. The ‘core network’
should test best practices and innovative technologies with a view to
minimising the environmental impact of transport.

Efficiently integrating the different modes
of transport requires the availability of reliable, updated and interoperable flows
of data and information regarding transport nodes and links. ICT solutions are
also needed to optimise the use of the existing infrastructure. This will be
cheaper and have less environmental impact than building new infrastructure. Thus
one of the White Paper's ten goals is the deployment of the modernised air
traffic management infrastructure (SESAR) in Europe by 2020.

Similarly, the White Paper calls for the
deployment of equivalent land and waterborne transport management systems,
including the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and rail
information systems based on the Technical Specification of Interoperability (TSI)
relating to telematic applications for passenger services (TAP) and for freight
(TAF). Also to be deployed are maritime surveillance systems (SafeSeaNet), the long-range
identification and tracking of vessels, River Information Services (RIS),
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) with a strong road transport basis, and the
European Global Navigation Satellite System (Galileo). The preferred scenario
modelled for the Impact Assessment accompanying the White Paper envisages lower
congestion and higher energy efficiency thanks to the deployment of these
intelligent transport systems.

The White Paper also makes a strong EU commitment
to move towards fully applying the ‘user pays’ and ‘polluter
pays’ principles, and calls on the private sector to eliminate distortions (including
harmful subsidies), to generate revenues and to help finance future investment
in transport. In future, transport users are likely to
pay for a higher proportion of infrastructure construction costs than it is
presently the case. This would make for less distorted modal choices and more judicious
decisions on organisation and localisation of activities. The pay-back period
for construction costs should be consistent with the economic life of the
facility. By way of illustration, the preferred scenario of the Impact Assessment accompanying the
White Paper assumes that the external costs of operating heavy goods vehicles,
passenger cars, motorcycles, passenger and freight rail services, inland
navigation and aviation will be fully internalised by 2050.

In addition, the White Paper proposes setting
up a validated framework for charging urban road users and for applying access
restriction schemes. Interoperability standards would have to be drawn up for the
equipment, to reduce production costs and improve users' acceptance, and there
would have to be a careful examination of how to avoid negative impacts on accessibility
to urban centres.

This R&I area covers three fields:

·
Smart, green, low-maintenance and climate-resilient
infrastructure

·
Europe-wide alternative fuel distribution
infrastructures

·
Efficient modal traffic management systems
(including capacity and demand management)

3.2.        Field
5: Smart, green, low-maintenance and climate-resilient infrastructure

Infrastructure in the
form of roads, airports, waterways, ports and rails/stations along with the
relevant multi-modal interfaces make for a coherent, more efficient and safer
transport system. Parts of the European transport networks already face
congestion problems, especially on urban roads and near ports and airports, and
there are bottlenecks at terminals for all modes. Given the likely future demand
for transport and the limited funding available for major spending on infrastructure,
new ways must be found to improve the management of Europe's existing transport
infrastructure. At the same time, infrastructure maintenance and renewal can
impose a considerable financial burden on authorities and infrastructure
managers, raising the need for more cost-effective construction and maintenance
materials and techniques. New materials and monitoring systems can also help make
the networks less vulnerable to climate change and limit the environmental
impact of their construction, maintenance and operation.

Several promising
technologies are already mature or are expected to be available in the medium
term. The priorities are to develop integrated solutions that exploit
technological improvements in related fields and to promote innovative
applications that lead to interactive technologies and
systems. At the same time, steps must be taken to improve the infrastructure
interfaces needed for efficient intermodal and
cross-modal applications, and to develop new materials and construction
methods to reduce resource use and maintenance. Synergies with other fields
should be sought wherever possible, especially with those in this R&I area
(e.g. applications to help integrate, in a synergetic way, inland waterway
shipping activities with other uses of rivers and canals).

The main action in future should combine
research, demonstration and implementation work on all transport modes:

·
Design and create efficient infrastructure
networks for improved mobility, specifically targeting transport network
systems and stressing the importance of interoperable and inter-modal networks
and interfaces across Europe, including interfaces between neighbouring
countries.

·
Develop coordination mechanisms and structures
that would allow operators to provide seamless services with a minimum number
of interruptions. The structures and mechanisms must be sufficiently resilient to
handle the impact of these services, using integrated information and
communication systems.

·
Set up multimodal centres throughout the
European transport network and deploy eco-innovations in existing terminals,
e.g. new terminal design concepts in ports to facilitate interaction between
modes.

·
Take steps to reduce the consumption of natural
resources. Set specific targets for the energy embodied in construction
materials and raw materials. Reduce waste and make construction materials more
easily recyclable. In particular, develop innovative materials and technologies
for recycling and reusing construction waste that are likely to have an impact
on the logistics system.

·
Find innovative ways to improve safety, such as
technologies and infrastructures for informing drivers about road hazards, and road
infrastructure that is ‘self-explanatory’ and ‘forgiving’.

·
Carry out R&D to extend the life-span of
existing infrastructures, to achieve a better understanding of degradation and
ageing processes and to reduce disruption caused by network congestion.

3.3.        Field
6: Europe-wide alternative fuel distribution infrastructures

As already outlined in fields 1 to 4,
alternative fuel propulsion systems are going to be central to the development
of road vehicles, vessels, aircraft and trains. The large-scale uptake of such
vehicles, addressed by this field, depends partly on the availability of
alternative fuels, in terms of their production and of the refuelling
infrastructure.

All fuel options need to be assessed
according to how far they have progressed along the research and innovation
chain and how ready they are for large-scale deployment. in the various transport
modes. Major transitions in fuel infrastructure need support and fostering to
meet the stated objectives. Today’s lack of harmonised alternative
fuelling infrastructure slows down development, reduces opportunities for
economies of scale and, subsequently, increases costs and hampers acceptance by
businesses and consumers.

A level playing field and a stable
regulatory framework for all fuel alternatives is required, to reduce the long-term
risk for investors. EU legislation on CO2 emissions and on the carbon
content of all fuels in the European fuel mix need to set increasingly
stringent targets and clear roadmaps beyond 2020 for all modes of transport.
This will give industry the signal it needs to make firm plans for investing in
alternatively-fuelled transportation technologies. The Renewable Energies
Directive (2009)[6]
is an important framework to promote the use of renewable energy sources, including
in transport. The EU is the only region of the world with binding
sustainability criteria for biofuels and biomass, and this should influence global
production.

Without prejudging on-going and future work
on alternative fuels for transport, the following fuels represent potential
according to experts.

For liquid biofuels, the petroleum-based
fuel infrastructure can be used. Research and innovation activities could look
at ways of changing the existing infrastructure and setting up a dedicated
distribution system for higher-blend biofuels (above 10 % ethanol and 7 %
biodiesel), and should develop and implement standards for refuelling equipment
and components.

Synthetic fuels (HVO, Fischer-Tropsch fuels, and especially those obtained from
sustainable biomass) provide an important alternative and should be promoted
(a) to bring research results closer to the market, (b) to enhance the efficiency
and economic viability of production processes, and (c) to lower the initial
investment costs by having not only a stable regulatory framework but also
incentive schemes. The supply of alternative fuels for aviation is particularly
dependent on the availability of synthetic / 2nd generation /
advanced sustainable alternative fuels. Synthetic fuels should be fully
fungible with conventional fossil fuels, and therefore would not require
specific new infrastructure.

For gaseous methane fuels, efforts
should be put into developing harmonised standards for bio-methane or
Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) injection in the existing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
grid, as this would promote CBG as an economically viable alternative. These
fuels should preferentially be fed into the existing gas grid. Captive fleets
may be fuelled from exclusive CBG facilities such as sewage treatment plants.

For hydrogen (fuel cell electric
vehicles), standard development is well advanced, and there are even globally
harmonised requirements. The transportation and storage of hydrogen still need
further development. Building up a European hydrogen filling network could
start by linking existing pre-commercial infrastructure networks to strategic
corridors.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is a technically viable alternative fuel for medium- and long-distance
road and waterborne transport. The EU should help it move from research and
demonstration to close-to-market readiness by supporting targeted
infrastructure pilot schemes. To exploit LNG's full potential, more investment
is needed in additional refuelling infrastructure in ports and along the main corridors
of the European road and ports networks.

For electricity, the power grid is
available but a recharging infrastructure needs to be built and the grid needs
to be strengthened. The research and innovation agenda should include optimising
the electrical architecture for electric vehicles and integrating the grid with
the charging infrastructure – which should include fast charging, wireless
charging and two-way charging.

Well-to-Wheels/Well-to-Wake (WTW) and Life-Cycle
Analysis (LCA) need to be further developed if they
are to be used as a common basis for assessing the carbon footprint and the
environmental, economic and social impacts of conventional and alternative
fuels in all transport modes. Sustainability criteria should be applied
consistently, including indirect effects in the EU and elsewhere.

3.4.        Field
7: Efficient modal traffic management systems (including capacity and demand
management)

To fully achieve its strategic
objectives in the field of modal traffic information systems, the EU needs advanced
traffic management systems in all modes. This means developing sub-roadmaps
for each of the modal initiatives (SESAR, ERTMS, RIS, ITS and SafeSeaNet). A
combination of technological and organisational solutions can help improve the
efficiency of infrastructure use, manage transport demand and support
decarbonisation. Most of the elements needed for deployment and market uptake
are already in place, but interoperability is still a key issue and further progress
is necessary here.

The following areas
should be further developed and effectively deployed in the future:

·
Open standard electronic platforms for on-board
units for exchanging information (with ground stations or other vehicles) on
location, speed, date, time, network class, security and safety-related issues.

·
Technologies allowing data to be collected (in
real time, as well as short term forecasting) and synthesised into information
on the infrastructure condition and capabilities, the traffic conditions and
instructions to users to reduce congestion.

·
Technical standards for sending traffic and
travel information and data, and standards for managing traffic on a network,
including the development of any necessary communications infrastructure.

·
The full interoperability of these standards,
allowing the free exchange of such information, and a single common data
registry for storing traffic information and management data by mode and across
the modes.

The framework for
accelerating the development and deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems
(ITS) in road transport has been set out Directive 2010/40/EU adopted on
7 July 2010. Under this Directive the European Commission has to adopt within
the next seven years specifications (i.e. functional, technical, organisational
or services provisions) to address the compatibility, interoperability and
continuity of ITS solutions across the EU. The first priorities will be traffic
and travel information, the eCall emergency system and intelligent truck
parking.

The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is a cornerstone of the Commission’s
strategy to improve interoperability in the European railway system. Europe is currently host to more than 20 different ground
systems. Deployment of ERTMS will enable trains to carry a single European
system on board, thus reducing costs for infrastructure managers. Equally
suited to high-speed and conventional railway lines, the system will
significantly enhance network safety. ERTMS Level 3 needs further
development, and research should also investigate whether GSM for railways (GSM-R) can be replaced or complemented by data transmission using
the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).

In maritime
transport administrative procedures are complex, time-consuming and, even
today, are often done on paper. Major European ports have advanced information
systems, which deliver considerable quality and efficiency gains. However, the
interoperability between port information systems is limited. SafeSeaNet is to
develop into the core system for all the information tools needed to support
maritime safety and security and to protect the marine environment.
Furthermore, the e-Maritime initiative aims to foster the use of advanced
information technologies to promote interoperability in its broader sense. It
aims to stimulate coherent, transparent, efficient and simplified solutions in
support of cooperation, interoperability and consistency between Member States
and transport operators.

The inland
navigation sector needs to create a common architecture that offers
sufficient consistency and synergy across applications. Over the past few
decades a significant number of services and systems have been developed for
shipping traffic and transport management. River Information Services (RIS) are
information technology related services designed to optimise the resource
management of the waterborne transport chain by enabling information exchange
between vessels, lock and bridges, terminals and ports. The development of RIS,
in combination with cost-effective and environmentally friendly logistics
operations, enhances the competitive edge of inland waterway transport in the
supply chain.

In the case of Air
Traffic Management (ATM), the strategic objective
is to achieve a fully functional Single European Sky (SES) promoting seamless
air travel. SES legislation aims at tripling capacity, halving the ATM cost per
flight, improving safety by a factor of 10 and reducing the environmental
impact of each flight by 10 %. The Single
European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) Programme is the technological pillar of the
SES. It aims to develop the new generation of air traffic management systems,
capable of ensuring the safety and fluidity of air transport worldwide over the
next 30 years[7].
The timely development and deployment of SES technologies and procedures will
boost Europe’s innovation capacity and its global industrial competitiveness, giving
the EU a strong voice in standardisation bodies. ATM modernisation will give
Europe's aeronautical supply industry a world-wide market.

For the years following
2020, the ‘Flight path 2050’ report[8] sets an ambitious goal for
European air traffic management. By 2050, Europe's ATM system should be able to
provide a range of services, round the clock, to handle 25 million flights per
year by all types of aircraft — fixed wing and rotorcraft — whether manned,
unmanned or autonomous. In 2020-2030 safe, efficient and high-performance 4-D
trajectory operations will need to be implemented, based on the distribution
and use of the best available information. In order to cost-effectively provide
the number and range of services needed, increased automation will be essential.

More elaborate descriptions of the corresponding systems for
all modes of transport will be drawn up during the road mapping phase. These
descriptions will take into account capacity management aspects. The priority is to develop, demonstrate and implement electronic tolling (or fee) systems to be used for road
tolls or road/rail pricing schemes. Concession schemes might be
considered, as well as pre-financing through congestion charges in the case of
extension works. The technologies applied should offer the possibility of ‘smart’
charging i.e. varying the charges according to the type of user, the location, the
time of day and traffic conditions. Interoperability is crucial for e-toll
systems and should allow users to travel across Europe with a single electronic
tolling device.

The focus in the short and medium term
should be on deploying the following (subject to modal specificities):

·
Smart fee collection systems that charge for the
use of infrastructure depending on the level of congestion and external costs.

·
Automated vehicle identification technologies that
use barcodes, radio-frequency based identification (RFID), plate recognition,
GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems), etc.

·
Automated vehicle classification using video
cameras or sensors, or storing the vehicle class in the customer record.

The following issues should also be
considered:

·
transaction processing (prepaid or post-paid
systems);

·
violation enforcement (physical barrier, plate
recognition, police at toll gates, etc.);

·
technical interoperability of on-board
equipment;

·
procedural interoperability for contractual
agreements;

·
treatment of non-equipped users;

·
protection of personal data.

One roadmap per mode (air, inland
navigation, maritime, rail and road) is planned to be drawn up during the
second phase of the work.

4.           R&I
AREA: Transport Services and Operations for Passengers and Freight

4.1.        Strategic
Objective

The third
research and innovation area emphasises the role of services in bringing
together the application of technologies into a sustainable, resource-efficient
and safe transport system for passengers and freight. The uptake of new
transport technologies and solutions depends to a large degree on whether these
can be used for developing services that satisfy user needs.

Given the
expected continuation of urbanisation, as well as the ageing of Europe’s
population, delivering mobility and transport services in urban areas is of
particular importance. The White Paper refers to a move towards ‘zero-emission
logistics’ and sets the goal of achieving essentially CO2-free
logistics in major urban centres by 2030. The White Paper also recommends halving
the use of ‘conventionally-fuelled’ cars in urban transport by 2030 and phasing
them out in cities by 2050. Public transport's share of
the transport mix has to increase, its accessibility to all must be improved
and it must be fully integrated with non-motorised forms of mobility.

The White Paper
also emphasises the need to optimise the performance of multimodal logistics
chains in long-distance transport. In particular, it sets the benchmark of ensuring
that 30 % of road freight 300 km are shifted to other modes by 2030, and
more than 50 % by 2050. If cargo owners and freight forwarders are to make
greater use of non-road modes, the services provided by the alternative modes
must meet the customers’ expectations.

Major research and innovation efforts are
required to establish the framework for a European system of multimodal
transport information, management and payment services by 2020. A European
Integrated Multimodal Information and Management Plan should provide continuous
and reliable traffic and travel data and information of relevance to all modes
and networks. It should do so via universal access and data exchange across
regions and borders, enabled by feasible business models.

This R&I area covers three fields:

·
Integrated cross-modal information and
management services

·
Seamless logistics

·
Integrated and innovative urban mobility and
transport

4.2.        Field
8: Integrated cross-modal information and management services

Deployment of traffic
information systems has so far been largely ‘unimodal’ in scope and extent (see
Field 7), leaving wider cross-modal applications for the future. Application of
ICT in the various transport modes has gone ahead in a rather fragmented way,
each mode developing its own platforms and standards. The current lack of
integrated cross-modal approaches could hamper the further development of
interoperable systems and technologies. Although developing modal traffic
management systems is crucial for each of the modes, achieving the objectives
of the White Paper of an integrated European transport system, information
flows must also support cross-modal operations and services for passengers and
freight. Online information, electronic booking and
payment systems integrating all means of transport would facilitate multimodal
travel. For example, the recent ‘Flight
path 2050’report has set an objective for the door-to-door transport chain (less
than 4 hours for 90 % of travellers by 2050), which would need ‘perfect’
organisation and integration of transport services, including ICT.

To achieve an EU-wide integrated and
cross-modal system, the key technology objectives are:

·
Integrated management within networks and
between different modal networks across borders, with the emphasis on seamless
transfers from one mode to another. Also seamless interfaces between long-distance
and local (e.g. urban) networks, for both freight and passenger transport.

·
Integrated and real-time information provision
to all users of the transport system, cutting across the modes and borders and
offering cross-modal usage information. The strategic coordination between
traffic and travel information and network management is an important enabler
of seamless mobility.

·
Smart navigation and routing systems and
services providing (among other things) personalised information,
environmentally-aware routing and a full presentation of the implications of
the different travel choices. Also, systems providing optimal routing
strategies, as opposed to today’s routing suggestions, for routes with the
lowest degree of travel time uncertainty and the highest degree of reliability.

·
Smart integrated and interoperable electronic
reservation and ticketing systems available through user-friendly web interfaces,
and covering all available public transport modes and their interfaces,
including smart-pricing and eco-pricing.

The main action for the
future should include:

·
Expanding standardisation and achieving
interoperability of standards and services.

·
Greater coordination between information
services and network management tools.

·
Intelligent operational decision-support systems
in the management of transport networks.

·
More refined and sustainable business structures
for the provision of traffic information and management services.

·
Implementation measures for the uptake of
integrated electronic tickets and smart cards.

·
Applications analysing real-time data on users’
behaviour, to improve system management and planning.

·
Development of smart information devices and
communication systems that provide real- time data on public transport
schedules, tailored to each user’s specific needs.

·
A comprehensive approach to security in the
design and operation of transport infrastructure and services (in all modes),
including non-intrusive detection methods and highly-secured networks for sending
and processing the data and information needed for traffic management and
operations control.

·
Innovative approaches to operations to address
the environmental and health impact of transport, including noise.

·
A more robust understanding of what drives user
behaviour and behavioural testing of information systems to identify what
works.

4.3.        Field
9: Seamless logistics

Setting up seamless and efficient
multimodal freight transport services will require parallel action to create cleaner,
safer, smarter and quieter transport means (for all modes of freight transport,
see fields 1 to 4 above). It will mean optimising freight streams and ensuring
seamless connections with interurban freight transport and distribution
services, including efficient terminal operations and consolidation centres. It
will also mean collecting and monitoring data to help users and planners make
better decisions.

Research and innovation (R&I) is needed
to support the optimisation of freight streams, deliveries and services, as set
out in the new White Paper, the ITS Action Plan[9],
the ITS Directive[10],
and the Logistics Action Plan[11].
This R&I should focus mainly on the following:

·
Fleet management, aiming to optimise the
utilisation and scheduling of a fleet of freight vehicles (or wagons or
vessels) while reducing its negative impacts.

·
Delivery management, including restricted access
zones, quiet night-time deliveries, dedicated infrastructure for loading and
off-loading, and parking management.

·
Exploiting the opportunities for shifting
freight distribution, deliveries and services towards more efficient, low-impact
options, including innovative distribution systems.

These objectives should be seen in
combination with the other fields outlined above, and against the background of
developing and implementing the next-generation freight transport environment
known as e-freight. This will see the introduction of cargo item intelligence,
interaction between the item and the agents throughout the transport chain and
the emergence of new applications for the management of transport operations
from order capture to payment and invoice control.

Tracking and Tracing, together with Navigation services in general, involves the
use of technologies for identifying the position of a vehicle or load unit in
real time and across all modes and stages of transport. These technologies also
provide instructions as to the optimal route to one’s destination, using the
concept of ‘connected traveller — connected well’.

The use of
existing GPS positioning systems is fundamental to tracking and tracing. The
key European technology in this area is the Galileo satellite navigation system
which will provide a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service
under civilian control.

It will be
inter-operable with both GPS and GLONASS, the other two existing global
satellite navigation systems.

One strategic necessity for the future is the
universal coupling of navigation services with real-time traffic data
(invariably enhanced with historical data sets and short-term traffic
predictions) so as to provide route guidance based on real-time traffic
conditions. Several tracking- and tracing-related applications are currently being
tested in real-life environments, e.g. cooperative systems, intersection
management and control, freight fleet management with real-time loading and
delivery space booking, various routing applications, etc.

Research and
innovation work on logistics services and operations could address the
following topics:

·
Technologies for the multimodal management of
freight transport, including: pre-trip planning technologies for goods
vehicles; intelligent fleet and transport management
systems; navigation and in-vehicle routing with real-time
data, to optimise travel times and protect environmentally-sensitive areas from
freight traffic.

·
Intelligent cargo applications, especially at
the consolidation and distribution terminals, to enable multimodal freight
operations. These applications include gathering,
storing, analysing and providing real-time cargo data to help users and
planners make better decisions and support the bundling of freight deliveries.

·
The development of intelligent freight
distribution services; new service concepts such as home delivery; application
programmes and technologies for optimising deliveries in urban areas (reducing both
the time and the environmental footprint); seamless connection with the
interurban freight transport systems; environmentally-friendly city logistics.

·
Enforcement of restrictions (e.g. parking,
loading / unloading, entering restricted zones / streets, etc.).

Technology objectives for future tracking
and tracing research and development relate to:

·
Tracking and tracing freight vehicles or individual
cargo on line, and providing detailed information to the relevant stakeholders.

·
Adapting the regulatory and safety framework to
suit the development of new technologies for tracking and tracing.

·
Developing interoperability between, and
integration of, the monitoring tools used by all relevant authorities in all
sectors, ensuring full interoperability between tracking and tracing systems.

4.4.        Field
10: Integrated and innovative urban mobility and transport

European towns and
cities are today facing a considerable challenge. They need to meet the demand
for mobility and transport services from their businesses, industries and
citizens while at the same time mitigating the negative effects of transport.
In many of Europe’s urban areas, the challenges are manifold: congestion, urban
sprawl, air quality, noise, limited accessibility, insufficient safety and
security. To address these challenges it is essential that urban transport be integrated
with regional, inter-urban and long-distance transport. The White Paper calls for increasing the share of public transport and
this will necessitate major improvements in the quality of its services. To
ensure that more people use public transport, operators will have to provide quality,
reliability, safety, security and accessibility (especially for persons with
reduced mobility) at an affordable price. It will also be critical to ensure
integration with non-motorised forms of mobility.

To bring about the
necessary transformation of urban transport systems requires new transport
technologies and innovative policy-based measures. These measures must be
integrated into local strategies, set out in urban mobility plans that are duly
validated and sustainable.

Greater use of
public transport could be boosted by providing a wider range of options. Some could
use existing concepts (such as trolleybuses) or involve new ways of operating
the service (e.g. the Rapid Transit Bus; using smaller buses outside rush
hours; ‘transport-on-demand’ via advance reservation systems; automated
operation of metropolitan rail systems). Information on the choices available and
on how to purchase tickets is being revolutionised through personal mobile
communication devices, but the uptake may vary from one demographic group to
another. Perceived waiting times can be drastically reduced. If a greater
percentage of travellers use public transport, this could allow operators to increase
the number and frequency of their services and to reinforce urban-rural links,
thereby generating a virtuous circle for public transport.

When it comes
to integrating urban and long-distance transport systems, it is essential that airports
and other important nodes be fully integrated with road and rail transport
services. A seamless approach to
security could avoid multiple and redundant checks and thus save time and money.
New digital technologies and non-intrusive inspection methods also have the
potential to save passengers time and money. In parallel, however, an increased
use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for management and
control systems increases the risk of misusing digital information and
therefore requires highly-secured data transmission systems.

The European Commission
has been supporting R&D in this field, for example through the CIVITAS
Initiative since 2002. Future action will target the following:

·
Testing integrated packages of new technologies
and innovative concepts for urban mobility and transport under real-life
conditions, in the following categories: clean fuels and vehicles; car-independent
lifestyles; public transport of passengers; demand management strategies; mobility
management; safety and security; transport telematics and urban freight
logistics.

·
Informed policy-making: developing frameworks
for assessing impacts and processes.

·
System design: developing integrated local
strategies for better and sustainable urban mobility and transport.

·
Greater involvement of civil society (awareness
raising; changing mobility patterns and social norms; citizen engagement, ‘design
for all’ principles and standards).

·
Support for urban, regional and national
authorities through technical assistance to increase their capacity to deliver
change and to elaborate Urban Mobility Plans fully aligned with their
Integrated Urban Development Plans, as defined in the 2011 White Paper on
Transport[12].

[1]               Add reference
to STTP communication.

[2]               Scientific Assessment of Strategic Transport
Technologies, EC Joint Research Centre, EUR 25211 EN, 2012.

[3]               Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area —
Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system, COM(2011)
144 final .

[4]               According to the reports from Member States on their
Renewable Energy Action Plans, on the contribution of the different forms of
energy towards the 10 % target set by the Renewable Energy Directive, the
estimated shares by 2020 are (total EU): 9.3-9.5 % of liquid biofuels, 1.0 %
of electricity from renewable sources, up to 0.2 % of bio methane supplied
through the gas grid and 0.001 % of hydrogen from renewable.

[5]               Together with optimised ATM and operations and
biofuels.

[6]               Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from
renewable sources.

[7]               SESAR is composed of three phases: The definition
phase (2005-2008), the development phase (2008-2013) and the deployment phase
(2013-2020). The SESAR Programme is now in its development phase managed by the
SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU). The deployment phase (2013-2020) covers the
large scale production and implementation of the new ATM infrastructure. This
infrastructure will be based on the new technologies and procedures resulting
from the development phase and will contribute to achieving SES objectives that
will lead to high performance in European air transport. The cost of deployment
is estimated at 30 billion Euros over the period 2008-2025. One of the key
results of the SESAR definition phase is the European ATM Master plan, which
constitutes a commonly developed roadmap, endorsed by the EU Council and
recognised by all stakeholders, to achieve deployment of new generation of ATM
technologies and procedures within the next 10-15 years. The Master plan steers
the work programme for the development phase and similarly will be a key tool
to govern the SESAR deployment phase. .

[8]               'Flightpath 2050 Europe’s Vision for Aviation' Report
of the High Level Group on Aviation Research, 2011. http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air/doc/flightpath2050.pdf

[9]               Action plan for the deployment of Intelligent
Transport Systems in Europe. Communication from the Commission. COM(2008)
886 final. .

[10]             Directive 2010/40/EU on the framework for the
deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and
for interfaces with other modes of transport. .

[11]             Freight Transport Logistics Action Plan.
Communication from the Commission. COM(2007) 607. .

[12]             Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area —
Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system, COM(2011)
144 final .

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