Enhancement of spatial and transport planning capacities in the promotion of the accessibility of the rail freight transport network and regional development

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B Central Europe

Date of latest update: 2025-03-13

Description

Description (EN):

Rail4Regions contributes to increasing the modal split of rail freight transportation. Today, the transport distances to the nearest rail freight access point are too long for many companies, resulting in many rail-suitable goods transported by road. Rail4Regions partners therefore co-design solutions addressed to transport and spatial planners to integrate regional rail lines to the freight transport network as means to improve the accessibility and economic feasibility of rail freight transport, hence contributing to the objectives of the EU Green Deal in the transport sector. To that aim, partners of all CE programme countries bundle their expertise and experience to address this common challenge effectively through transnational and cross-sectoral collaboration of public authorities, regional development agencies, railway and infrastructure operators, research and private sector experts. Co-designed outputs and solutions will push for investments to enhance the rail freight transport through optimised use of regional rail lines as access points to the rail freight transport network. To achieve this, in a novel approach focusing on regional rail lines, the partnership will elaborate a White Paper, co-design and test approaches focussing on sidings, single waggon transport, loading points and branch lines, and elaborate action plans for the uptake of solutions in regional plans and investment preparation. As a result, transport and spatial planners receive tools to promote the accessibility of rail freight transport as means to enhance the competitiveness of industrial areas and business activities through lower carbon footprint of transports. In three years of cooperation the project partnership aims to anchor investments in regional rail lines and their optimisation and rail freight access points in transport policies of public authorities while improved accessibility and carbon awareness leads to a modal shift of transport practises of companies.

Actual Achievements (EN):

The first year of the project implementation was dedicated to analytical activities to better understand why rail freight transport is often not an option for companies residing in central European regions, and to comprehend the attitudes and interests of different stakeholders, including freight forwarders, different levels of government and businesses. Together and based on a common methodology, the transnational partnership investigated a total of 31 case studies to identify the bottlenecks that hinder freight transport on rail. Likewise, stakeholders were invited across all partner regions to participate in workshops and discussions on how these bottlenecks might be overcome. In addition to a work paper that sheds light on the external costs of rail and road transport, including noise, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, work has begun to elaborate a White Paper to strategize how actors in central European regions can enhance businesses' access to the rail freight transport network. To further exchange about good practice approaches and to jointly elaborate and test novel solutions during the second year of the project lifetime, four transnational work groups of several partners each have been created. In these work groups the knowledge and experiences of Rail4Regions partners is bundled and thoroughly exchanged. In a first step, work group participants highlighted the shortages of existing approaches and identified objectives how novel solutions can bring added value to select target groups. The project's transnational collaboration has been facilitated by two joint workshops held in Varaždin and Koprivnica, Croatia, as well as in Budapest, Hungary. While the team visited a major freight forwarding company, that wishes to switch some of its operation from road to rail, a shunting yard that is key to single waggon transport was in the spotlight of a field trip in Hungary. Besides those two in-person meetings, regular online meetings of the consortium are key elements of the project's transnational collaboration. To allow others to follow the project's implementation, the consortium released three edition of the project newsletter, maintains the project website and regularly uses its LinkedIn profile to post news. Furthermore, a series of webinars to share results of the project's analytical phase has been announced for March and April 2024.

Project outputs: White Paper on Freight Transport Access of Rural Areas(EN)
Transnational collaboration in the elaboration and advancement of a White Paper on Freight Transport Access of Rural Areas(EN)
Urban-Rural freight transport linkages(EN)
Loading points as subnodes connecting rural hinterlands to the main shunting areas and/or terminals(EN)
Revitalization of branch and feeder lines for rail freight transports(EN)
Industrial sidings to connect industrial areas to the rail freight network(EN)
Financial and technical solutions to increase the attractiveness of single-waggon transport(EN)
Tool-box for additional loading points as subnodes connecting rural hinterlands to the main shunting areas and/or terminals(EN)
Guideline for the revitalization of branch and feeder lines for rail freight transports(EN)
Decision-making tool for (re)constructing industrial sidings to connect industrial areas to the rail freight network(EN)
Green Paper on financial and technical solutions to increase the attractiveness of single-waggon transport(EN)
Peer reviewed action plans for the involved partner territories(EN)
Website: https://www.interreg-central.eu/projects/rail4regions/

Thematic information

Logistics and freight transport

Priority: (VI-B_CE_3) Cooperating for a better connected central Europe

Priority specific objective: RSO3.2. Developing and enhancing sustainable, climate resilient, intelligent and intermodal national, regional and local mobility, including improved access to TEN-T and cross-border mobility

Priority policy objective (Interreg specific objective): PO3 A more connected Europe by enhancing mobility

Type of intervention: 101 Reconstructed or modernised railways - TEN-T comprehensive network

Partners (11)

Lead Partner: Thüringer Ministerium für Infrastruktur und Landwirtschaft

Partner’s ID if not PIC: PAN 20820 | National identification number (EN)

Department: Department 5 - Strategic Spatial Development, Demography and Forests Unit 51 - Regional development and Spatial planning

Address: Werner-Seelenbinder-Straße, 99096 Erfurt, Germany

Department address: Werner-Seelenbinder-Straße, 99096 Erfurt, Germany

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Regional public authority

Website: https://infrastruktur-landwirtschaft.thueringen.de/

Total budget: EUR 526 500.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 421 200.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 105 300.00

Contractors:

Name: core-consult GmbH
VAT registration or tax identification number: DE 262152487
Name: Werbeagentur Kleine Arche
VAT registration or tax identification number: 151/122/05478

Provincia di Novara

Name: Provincia di Novara

Department: Financial and Human Resources Department

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 01059850030 | National tax ID (EN)

Address: Piazza Matteotti , 28100 Novara, Italy

Department address: Piazza Matteotti , 28100 Novara, Italy

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Local public authority

Website: https://www.provincia.novara.it/

Total budget: EUR 99 360.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 79 488.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 19 872.00

Contractors:

Name: Studio Bicchieri
VAT registration or tax identification number: IT02289620730
Name: Valerio Cipolli
VAT registration or tax identification number: IT02585250026
Name: Fulvio Quattroccolo
VAT registration or tax identification number: IT02168440044
Name: Giancarlo Bertalero
VAT registration or tax identification number: IT09612620014
Name: Andrea Rosa
VAT registration or tax identification number: IT10590170014

T BRIDGE

Name: T BRIDGE

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 941009514

Partner’s ID if not PIC: IT02727930360

Address: Via Garibaldi, 16124 Genova, Italy

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Enterprise, except SME

Website: https://www.tbridge.it/

Total budget: EUR 289 695.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 231 756.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 57 939.00

KORDIS JMK, a.s.

Name: KORDIS JMK, a.s.

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 906062548

Partner’s ID if not PIC: CZ26298465

Address: Nové sady, 600 02 Brno, Czech Republic

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Infrastructure and (public) service provider

Website: https://www.idsjmk.cz/

Total budget: EUR 277 800.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 222 240.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 55 560.00

Małopolska Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego

Name: Małopolska Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 676-005-88-47 | National VAT number (EN)

Address: Kazimierza Kordylewskiego, 31-542 Kraków, Poland

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Sectoral agency

Website: https://www.marr.pl/

Total budget: EUR 105 680.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 84 544.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 21 136.00

Rail Cargo Hungaria Árufuvarozási Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság

Name: Rail Cargo Hungaria Árufuvarozási Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság

Partner’s ID if not PIC: HU13594567

Address: Váci út, 1133 Budapest, Hungary

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Infrastructure and (public) service provider

Website: https://rch.railcargo.com/

Total budget: EUR 168 000.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 134 400.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 33 600.00

Varaždinska županija

Name: Varaždinska županija

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 15877210917 | National tax ID (EN)

Address: Franjevački trg, 42 000 Varaždin, Croatia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Local public authority

Website: https://www.varazdinska-zupanija.hr/

Total budget: EUR 100 160.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 80 128.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 20 032.00

Contractors:

Name: ACADEMICA d.o.o.
VAT registration or tax identification number: 33692620715
Name: ACADEMICA Ltd.
VAT registration or tax identification number: 33692620715

Sveučilište Sjever

Name: Sveučilište Sjever

Department: Department for logistics and sustainable mobility

Partner’s ID if not PIC: HR59624928052

Address: Trg dr. Žarka Dolinara, 48000 Koprivnica, Croatia

Department address: Trg dr. Žarka Dolinara, 48000 Varaždin, Croatia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: https://www.unin.hr/

Total budget: EUR 172 200.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 137 760.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 34 440.00

Prometni institut Ljubljana d.o.o.

Name: Prometni institut Ljubljana d.o.o.

Partner’s ID if not PIC: SI34722645

Address: Kolodvorska, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Infrastructure and (public) service provider

Website: https://prometni-institut.si/

Total budget: EUR 168 000.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 134 400.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 33 600.00

Žilinská univerzita v Žiline

Name: Žilinská univerzita v Žiline

Department: Department of Railway transport

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 999969606

Partner’s ID if not PIC: SK2020677824

Address: Univerzitná, 01026 Žilina, Slovakia

Department address: Univerzitná, 01026 Žilina, Slovakia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: https://www.uniza.sk/

Total budget: EUR 168 000.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 134 400.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 33 600.00

Fachhochschule Erfurt

Name: Fachhochschule Erfurt

Department: Transport and Spatial Planning Institute

Partner’s ID if not PIC: DE241446583

Address: Altonaer Straße, 99085 Erfurt, Germany

Department address: Altonaer Straße, 99085 Erfurt, Germany

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: https://www.fh-erfurt.de/

Total budget: EUR 197 820.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 158 256.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 39 564.00

Partners map

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Enhancement of spatial and transport planning capacities in the promotion of the accessibility of the rail freight transport network and regional development

Project acronym: Rail4Regions

Project ID: CE0100127

Project start date: 2023-02-01

Project end date: 2026-01-31

Project status: ongoing

Relevant linked projects:

REIF (Interreg Central Europe 2014-2020) (EN) | Two pilot projects realized within the REIF project have led to results which Rail4Regions partners will be able to capitalise on. In Thuringia, the LP has demonstrated the feasibility of an approach allowing to reopen rail lines for freight transport. The approach is based on wide stakeholder involvement, a step-by-step roll-out and coordination with a restablishment of passenger transport. In Slovenia, PP4 elaborated planning documents to connect an industrial park with companies mainly in the automotive sector to the railway network through a new siding. The lessons learnt in those pilot actions will be thoroughly analysed and used as basis to co-elaborate draft solutions addressing the revitalisation of branch and feeder lines and the establishment of a decision-making tool for industrial sidings. (EN), TransRegioAlliance (EN) | TMIL is member of the TransRegioAlliance of East German transport project promoters. The alliance is managed by the German Association for Housing, Urban and Spatial Development. The network facilitates the dissemination and uptake of innovation in the transport sector with focus on results of Interreg projects. Other regional public authorities of the East German länder are members of the network which hence can be addressed to share outcomes of Rail4Regions with other regional public authorities. (EN), ChemMultimodal (Interreg Central Europe 2014-2020) (EN) | The project was dedicated to the intermodality of the transport of chemical goods. Novara participated as partner and was co-responsible for the implementation of a pilot action aimed at testing the project's elaborated tool-box, including a calculator for CO2 emissions. To that aim, Novara engaged in a dialogue with individual companies to get a better understanding of their approaches to the transport of chemical goods with the aim to point them towards multimodal transport alternatives involving rail and short-sea transport. In result of the pilot action, companies achieved a better understanding about the environmental impact of their transport and low-carbon alternatives. (EN)

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 2 273 215.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 1 818 572.00

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 80.00%

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, EUR 1 818 572.00. Co-financing rate, 80.00%.

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Deliverables:

Joint methodology for case studies
Case studies covering all partner regions (at least 24, hence 3 from each addressed territory)
Partner workshop
Overview of bottlenecks hindering rail freight transport
Stakeholder mapping methodology
Stakeholder mapping for each territory
Stakeholder workshops (8)
Work paper summarizing attitudes and expectations of stakeholders towards rail freight transport
Assessment of external effects on the local freight transport system
Draft White Paper
Adopted White Paper (O.1.1)
Work group formation and procedures for intra-group exchance
Work papers summarizing available knowledge and experience
Benchmarks for anticipated solutions
Tool-box for loading points
Guideline for the revitalization of branch/feeder lines
Decision-making tool for industrial sidings
Living lab for single waggon transport
Test of the tool-box for loading points (O.2.1)
Piloting the Guideline for the revitalization of branch/feeder lines (O.2.2)
Test application Decision-making tool for industrial sidings (O.2.3)
Living lab for single waggon transport (O.2.4)
Common methodology to assess shifting potentials and benefits of the solutions found
Joint pilot action evaluation report
4 final solutions (O.2.5, O.2.6, O.2.7 and O.2.8)
Online publication of solutions and of their potential benefits (4)
Video tutorials (4)
Targeted event presentations (at least 8)
Capacity building workshops for regional stakeholders (8)
Methodology to assess shifting potentials
Work papers on shifting potentials (8)
Common action plan template
Methodology for the calculation of potentials of CO2 emission reduction of the action plans
Draft action plan for each territory (8)
Peer review methodology and implementation guideline
Online peer review training
Peer review visits and feedback reports (8)
Stakeholder workshops (8)
Finalised action plans (8)
8 adopted action plans
Policy conference to promote wider uptake and transfer

Contribution to wider strategies and policies:

EuropeanGreenDeal The EU Green Deal foresees a reduction of transport-related emissions by 90 per cent by the year 2050. With rail being the transport mode with the lowest carbon emissions, solutions elaborated and tested by Rail4Regions directly contribute to the Green Deal’s objectives. Moreover, regional action plans to upscale found solutions will be marked for their carbon emission reduction potentials based on thorough calculation (modal shift from road to rail).
TerritorialAgenda2030 The TA 2030 identifies sustainable connections as a cornerstone for the priority of “A Green Europe”. It specifically calls for better links between regional planning and the further development of the European rail network. Rail4Regions addresses this need through the elaboration, testing and transfer of novel solutions to increase the accessibility of the rail freight transport network and their integration in spatial planning and regional development policies.
Other EU Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy
The strategy calls for a twin climate and digital transition of the transport sector and identifies the need for better integration of sustainable freight transport and regional planning. Rail4Regions will directly contribute with its White Paper on Freight Transport Access of Rural Areas and evidence-based solutions in the fields of branch/feeder lines’ integration to the freight transport grid, industrial sidings, loading point infrastructures and single waggon transport.
EUStrategyAdriaticIonianRegion Topic 2 of EUSAIR’s Pillar 2 addresses the promotion of intermodal connections to the hinterland. Solutions elaborated, tested and prepared for upscaling by Rail4Regions directly contribute to this objective, especially in regard to territories addressed in HR and SI. Here, hinterland branch and feeder lines are often disused for freight transport and lack loading points to increase the number of companies which have access to the rail freight transport network.
EUStrategyAlpineRegion The project is linked to the EUSALP’s Action Group 4 Mobility where objectives are formulated addressing the modal shift from road to rail, integrated planning, interoperability and better cooperation of all transport stakeholders. The project’s White Paper and anticipated solutions directly contribute to this process and are of specific relevance for the partner territories in Novara (IT) and Slovenia covered by EUSALP.
EUStrategyBalticSeaRegion Rail4Regions links to the EUSBSR’s PAs Transport and Spatial Planning. PA Transport aims at capitalising transnational rail corridors and macroregional upscaling of sustainable solutions. PA Spatial Planning in turn focuses on regional cohesion, including the rail transport accessibility of hinterland areas. Rail4Regions aims at providing transferable solutions contributing to both aims.
EUStrategyDanubeRegion EUSDR PA 1b “To improve mobility and multimodality-road, rail and air links” sets as targets among other efficient freight railway services and enhanced multimodality. Proposed subject matters include the identification of locations for new railway transport loading points and access to the RFCs of the Danube Region. The project directly contributes to the objectives with solutions aimed at improving interoperability and accessibility of the rail freight transport network in HU, HR and SI.

Programme Common Output Indicator:

RCO 084 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects, Measurement unit:
RCO 116 - Jointly developed solutions, Measurement unit:
RCO 083 - Strategies and action plans jointly developed, Measurement unit:
RCO 087 - Organisations cooperating across borders, Measurement unit:
RCO 120 - Projects supporting cooperation across borders to develop urban-rural linkages, Measurement unit:

Delivered output indicator(s):

(RCO87) Organisations cooperating across borders: 17.0
(RCO120) Projects supporting cooperation across borders to develop urban-rural linkages: 1.0

Programme Common Result Indicator:

RCR 084 - Organisations cooperating across borders after project completion, Measurement unit:
RCR 104 - Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations, Measurement unit:
RCR 079 - Joint strategies and action plans taken up by organisations, Measurement unit:

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSBSR

EUSBSR Priority (Policy) area / Horizontal action:

EUSBSR Degree of compliance:

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSALP

EUSALP Priority (Policy) area / Horizontal action:

EUSALP Degree of compliance:

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSDR

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSAIR

EUSAIR Priority (Policy) area / Horizontal action:

EUSAIR Degree of compliance:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B Central Europe

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2025-03-31

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

100 / 100 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

1 017 / 1 018 (99.9%)

Notes on the data

Programme's webpage last visited on 2025-03-17.

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Enhancement of spatial and transport planning capacities in the promotion of the accessibility of the rail freight transport network and regional development

Description

Thematic information

Partners (11)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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