Mat4Rail kicks off – First meeting at the coordinating partner CIDETEC

From 4th-5th October 2017, Mat4Rail members from all over Europe, representing 16 Beneficiaries attended the Mat4Rail kick-off meeting in San Sebastián, Spain to discuss the project and the network’s potential for the trains of the future. Mat4Rail is a project funded through a Shift2Rail Materials Open Call to design the the railway of the future.

The Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (S2R JU) is a public private partnership in the rail sector, providing a platform for cooperation that pursues research and innovation activities in support of the achievement of the Single European Railway Area and improve the attractiveness and competitiveness of the European rail system.
During the consortium meeting the partners focused on the two main workstreams: Materials and Interior Design. The former (Materials) relies on the development of lightweight carbodies by the replacement of metallic parts by Fibre Reinforced Composites . The second work stream (Interior Design) relies on the smart modular design of train interiors for increasing the passenger capacity and comfort.

The Mat4Rail project has now kicked-off and we look forward to what results the next two years will bring.