ERRAC

What ERRAC does

ERRAC (European Rail Research Advisory Council) is a non-profit European Technology Platform established in 2001 and headquartered in Brussels (with operational meetings also held at UIC headquarters in Paris). Its core function is to coordinate European rail research and innovation by convening approximately 45 representatives from the full stakeholder spectrum — railway manufacturers (notably via UNIFE), operators (via UIC), infrastructure managers, the European Commission (DG MOVE, DG RTD, DG ENERGY, DG GROW, DG CONNECT, DG HOME), the EU Agency for Railways, Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking, EU Member States, academia, and users' groups. The organization does not develop proprietary technology products; instead it produces strategic publications (Future Tracks, Rail Research and Innovation Agenda, Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, Rail 2050 Vision, Rail 2030 Priorities, Manifesto of Future Mobility), runs annual student competitions in collaboration with EURNEX and Europe's Rail, and operates an Ambassador Programme focused on Sustainability, Inclusivity, Individuality and Multi-Modality.

ERRAC is governed by a Chair (since July 2024, Dr Ralf Kaminsky from Siemens Mobility / UNIFE), two Vice-Chairs (Christophe Chéron from SNCF representing operators, and Dr Marion Berbineau from Université Gustave Eiffel representing academia), and a secretariat jointly operated by UIC and UNIFE. Its business model is non-commercial: the organization is funded through EU Framework Programme grants (e.g., FP7 grant agreement n° 516424) and voluntary member contributions from rail sector stakeholders, with participation in its working groups and plenary meetings being non-mandatory for member organizations. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

The organization's go-to-market is event-driven and influence-driven rather than commercial: ERRAC convenes bi-annual plenary meetings, three working groups (Strategic Programme, Projects, Communication), two Permanent Advisory Groups (Academia, Member States), and participates in major European transport events including the Transport Research Arena (TRA) and InnoTrans in Berlin. Its primary value proposition is shaping favorable EU funding landscapes for rail R&I under Horizon Europe and Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking, and serving as the single coordinated European voice for rail research and innovation priorities.

Name

ERRAC

Legal name

European Rail Research Advisory Council

Website

https://errac.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rail Research Coordination Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) (BPADAEAB)

Keywords

• Rail research coordination
• Transport innovation advisory
• European Technology Platform
• Stakeholder convening
• Research agenda development

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership contributions and EU funding support: ERRAC operates as a non-profit European Technology Platform. Its activities are supported through voluntary participation of rail sector stakeholders and EU Framework Programme funding. The organization advocates for rail research funding through Horizon Europe and Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ERRAC coordinates European rail research and innovation stakeholders — including manufacturers, operators, infrastructure managers, the European Commission, EU Member States, academics and users' groups — to define joint research agendas and shape EU funding programs (Horizon Europe, Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking). It produces strategic publications such as Future Tracks, RRIA and SRIA, and runs engagement programs including an annual Student Competition and the SPARK knowledge database, serving as the formal advisory body to European institutions on rail research priorities.

Product overview

ERRAC (European Rail Research Advisory Council) is a European Technology Platform established in 2001 to coordinate and advise on rail research and innovation across Europe. Rather than offering a traditional product suite, ERRAC serves as an advisory and coordination body that produces strategic publications and manages programs. The core offerings include strategic vision documents (Future Tracks, RRIA, SRIA, Rail 2050 Vision, Rail 2030 Priorities, Manifesto of Future Mobility) that define research priorities for the European rail sector. Additional offerings include the ERRAC Student Competition program to engage young researchers, the ERRAC Ambassador Programme for expert outreach, and knowledge-sharing platforms like SPARK database. These publications and programs work together to shape favorable funding landscapes and drive innovation initiatives across the European rail ecosystem, collaborating with joint undertakings like Shift2Rail and Europe's Rail.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Future Tracks Strategic publication outlining ERRAC's vision and goals for rail transport research and innovation in a changing Europe, addressing harmonisation, digitalisation, automation, multimodality and next-generation rail technologies for European institutions and rail stakeholders.
• Rail Research and Innovation Agenda (RRIA) Strategic research and innovation agenda that defines ERRAC's priorities, key challenges and opportunities for the European rail sector over the coming decades, used as input to European Commission and Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking programming.
• Rail Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) Strategic agenda setting out how a new programme of technical and operational innovation can transform the contribution of European railways to mobility, prepared as the foundation for Europe's Rail under Horizon Europe.
• Manifesto of Future Mobility — Railways are the First Choice Policy manifesto encouraging European policy makers to recognise railways' crucial role, emphasising sustainability, inclusivity, individuality and multimodality and positioning rail as the first mobility choice.
• RAIL 2050 Vision Document Long-term vision document defining where the European rail sector aims to be by 2050 and outlining the European R&I effort required to make rail the heart of mobility provision in Europe.
• Rail 2030 Research and Innovation Priorities Time-focused strategic document defining concrete research and innovation priorities, key questions and milestones for European rail transformation in the 2020–2030 period.
• SPARK Database Free interactive knowledge-sharing web tool that lets the rail industry share and find research and project information, reducing duplication and maximising the value of innovation efforts.
• ERRAC Student Competition Annual competition to highlight excellent scientific results in railway studies and give former master's and PhD students access to the rail industry, run jointly by ERRAC, EURNEX and Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking.

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking (ERJU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024ERRAC works closely with Europe's Rail JU as the successor to Shift2Rail. ERRAC provides strategic input to the JU's research program and represents the sector's R&I vision to the JU.
• UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de fer)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001UIC serves as a key organizational partner for ERRAC. The UIC Head of Research and Innovation serves as ERRAC Secretary. UIC provides the secretariat infrastructure for ERRAC operations.
• UNIFE (European Rail Industry)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001UNIFE represents the rail manufacturing industry in ERRAC. UNIFE provides co-secretariat support alongside UIC and contributes industry perspectives to the research agenda.
• European Technology Platforms (ACARE, ALICE, ERTRAC, WATERBORNE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerERRAC collaborates with other transport ETPs for cross-sector research coordination and joint advocacy for transport research in EU Framework Programme FP10.
• European Commission (DG MOVE, DG RTD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerERRAC communicates the rail sector's R&I vision to European Commission DGs to shape favorable funding programs like Horizon Europe.
• EURNEX (European Rail Research & Education Network)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEURNEX collaborates with ERRAC on student competitions and research coordination activities, particularly for engaging young researchers.
• EU Agency for RailwaysmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe EU Agency for Railways participates in ERRAC activities to ensure regulatory alignment with rail research priorities.
• European Union Member StatesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU Member States participate in ERRAC through the Permanent Advisory Group for Member States, coordinating national rail research with European priorities.
• Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (predecessor)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerERRAC served as the Advisory Council for Shift2Rail and contributed to formulating its research program before the successor Europe's Rail JU was established.
• MÁV (Hungarian State Railways)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMÁV serves as a national exhibitor at TRA 2026 and helps mobilize the Central European transport and rail ecosystem.
• Siemens MobilitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSiemens Mobility provides the ERRAC Chair (Dr Ralf Kaminsky). The company is deeply involved in ERRAC governance and represents the rail supply industry perspective.
• SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSNCF provides the ERRAC Vice-Chair (Christophe Chéron) and represents the rail operating community perspective in ERRAC governance.
• Université Gustave EiffelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversité Gustave Eiffel provides the ERRAC Vice-Chair/PAG Chair (Dr Marion Berbineau) and represents the academic community in ERRAC.
• SBB (Swiss Federal Railways)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBB collaborated with ERRAC on the new logo design ('The Switch') and previously provided ERRAC leadership (Roland Moser as former Chair).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ALICE (Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe): ALICE is the ETP for logistics and supply chain research coordination in Europe. It shares ERRAC's ETP mandate, stakeholder coordination model, and EU Framework Programme funding relationships, with overlapping members in transport and freight sectors.
• ACARE (Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe): ACARE is the ETP for European aviation research, structured similarly to ERRAC as a stakeholder convening body that develops strategic research agendas. Both organizations produce vision documents, coordinate industry-academia-policy engagement, and compete for transport research funding allocations.
• UNIFE (European Rail Industry): UNIFE represents European rail equipment manufacturers and co-operates ERRAC's secretariat. UNIFE shares ERRAC's research coordination mandate from an industry perspective, with overlapping governance and joint advocacy on rail R&I priorities.
• WATERBORNE (European Maritime Technology Platform): WATERBORNE is the European Technology Platform for waterborne transport research and innovation. As one of ERRAC's named cross-modal collaboration partners, WATERBORNE operates under an identical ETP coordination model with similar EU institutional engagement patterns.
• Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking (ERJU): ERJU is the EU's rail research public-private partnership that ERRAC directly advises. While ERRAC sets strategic research priorities, ERJU funds and manages the actual research projects, making them complementary coordinating bodies in the European rail R&I ecosystem.
• ERTRAC (European Road Transport Research Advisory Council): ERTRAC is the European Technology Platform for road transport research, serving the same coordination function as ERRAC but for the road sector. Both operate under the European Commission's ETP framework, coordinate similar stakeholder types, and compete for shares of the same EU Framework Programme funding.
• UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de fer): UIC is the worldwide railway industry association that operates ERRAC's secretariat. UIC shares ERRAC's stakeholder coordination mission for the rail sector, though at a broader international level, and provides operational infrastructure for ERRAC activities.

Broad incumbents

• UITP (International Association of Public Transport): UITP is the global association for public transport authorities and operators, covering urban and regional rail alongside bus and metro. While ERRAC focuses on rail R&I coordination, UITP covers broader public transport policy and operations with some research coordination overlap.
• CER (Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies): CER is the European rail operators' and infrastructure managers' industry association that advocates for rail at EU policy level. While ERRAC focuses on research coordination, CER covers broader operational, regulatory, and policy advocacy, with overlapping stakeholder engagement.

Emerging players

• EURNEX (European Rail Research & Education Network): EURNEX is a network of European universities focused on railway research and education, collaborating with ERRAC on student competitions and academic engagement. While ERRAC coordinates industry-wide research priorities, EURNEX specifically focuses on the academic and young researcher pipeline for rail research.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ERRAC_Rail
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/errac

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ERRAC