PARTICIPATION OF CAF SIGNALLING IN UNIFE. SHIFT2RAIL INITIATIVE
CAF Signalling is, through CAF Group, a member of UNIFE and it actively participates in various initiatives carried out within this European Railway Industries Association, by far the most representative body in the sector. Amongst the companies that are direct members -such as CAF- and others that take part through other intermediate associations, UNIFE represents more than 80% of the European market and over 50% of the world market. These figures underline the European leadership in the railway industry globally.
Amongst initiatives developed by UNIFE in which CAF Signalling takes part, worth noting are large-scale R&D activities aimed at driving innovation in the rail industry that require collaboration between industry companies and other players. Such initiatives are described below.
The most ambitious initiative in which CAF Signalling is involved is SHIFT2RAIL. This is a R&D+i initiative developed by the European Industry as a whole for making R&D+i investments amounting nearly €1,000 million aided by European funds. This initiative comprises five different areas, one of them devoted to Smart Systems for rail Traffic Control and Signalling, where the R&D+i activities are focused within the SHIFT2RAIL initiative.
CAF is a founding member of the SHIFT2RAIL initiative, which was approved in 2014 by the European Commission within the H-2020 framework in order to address an ambitious comprehensive R&D programme for railways running between 2015 and 2022. Within such program, CAF Signalling takes part in the “Innovation Program 2 – Advanced Traffic Management & Control Systems”, being directly involved in most “Technical Demonstrations” as defined in the Work Programme proposal, with a set of projects aimed at achieving meaningful innovations for the offering of the European industry as a whole and keeping its leadership in Traffic Signalling and Control globally, specifically relying in the success of ERTMS as a recognized standard worldwide.
Participation of CAF Signalling in SHIFT2RAIL is structured into different areas in various “Technical Demonstrations” that are focused as a whole on achieving new signalling systems that are more efficient in terms of traffic capacity, rail service quality and environmental sustainability in the relevant segments, both regarding passengers and cargo.
CAF Group is one of the eight players promoting this initiative, having committed each of them a figure of at least €30 million as contribution to SHIFT2RAIL.
