TRKC updates Thematic Research Summary on Intelligent Transport Systems
10 Aug 2010: 

The Transport Research Knowledge Centre (TRKC) has published a new, updated version of its Thematic Research Summary on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).

ITS include several combinations of communication, computer and control technology developed and applied in the domain of transport to improve system performance, transport safety, efficiency, productivity and level of service, as well as environmental impacts, energy consumption and mobility.

The new TRS on ITS has been updated for 2010 and is available for download from the Thematic publications section of the TRKC website.

Waterborne transport (2010) - new updated Thematic Research Summary
12 Jul 2010: 

There is a growing imbalance between modes of transport in the European Union – the growing success of road and air transport is resulting in worsening congestion, which could be helped by a greater focus on waterborne transport. This paper provides a structured guide to the results of Research and Technical Development projects relating to Waterborne Transport, carried out in transport research programmes throughout the European Research Area.

The new TRS on Waterborne Transport has been updated for 2010 and is available for download from the Thematic publications section of the TRKC website

TRKC updates Thematic Research Summary on Freight Transport
9 Jul 2010: 

Freight Transport addresses the movement of all kinds of goods from raw materials to finished goods and waste products. It makes use of local, regional, national and international transport systems and is increasingly adopting intermodal and multimodal solutions. It is also concerned with the organisation and management of the supply chain and logistics activities.

This Thematic Research Summary on Freight Transport aims to provide the reader with a synthesis of results of completed European research projects related to that theme.

The new TRS on Freight Transport has been updated for 2010 and is available for download from the Thematic publications section of the TRKC website.

Rail Transport: New Thematic Research Summary published
8 Jul 2010:  This Thematic Research Summary on rail transport aims to provide the reader with a synthesis of results of completed European research projects related to that theme. This is done spearately for three sub-themes identified as important in the rail-related research reported in this summary.

This new TRS helps the reader keep abreast of the latest research in the EU on the topic. The first part includes a brief overview of the scope of the theme and summarises the main policy developments at EU level relevant to the theme. The second part contains a synthesis of the main findings and policy implications from research projects and identifies the implications for further research.

The new TRS is available for download from the Thematic publications section of the TRKC website.

New Thematic Research Summary on "Economic aspects of sustainable mobility" now online
28 Jun 2010: 

This Thematic Research Summary aims to provide the reader with a synthesis of results from European Union-funded research projects related to the economic aspects of Sustainable Mobility. The theme “economic aspects of sustainable mobility” deals with the investigation of the ways in which economic efficiency and beneficial development impacts can be pursued as well as of the ways in which they are measured and assessed.

Policy developments at EU level have traditionally been related to the opening of the markets to competition, the competitiveness of the EU industry and the securing of funds to develop the Trans-European network infrastructure. More recently, much of the transport policy debate has centred around the use of pricing as a tool to correct market distortions and combat congestion and pollution. The principle has been accepted that the undesired impacts of transport activities should be disconnected from economic growth.

The first part of the report includes a brief analysis of the scope of the theme, and a policy review where the main policy developments at EU level are summarised. The second part includes a synthesis of the main findings and policy implications from research projects and is concluded with an overview of the implications for further research.

The new TRS is available for downloaded from the "Thematic publications" section of the TRKC website.

TRKC draws interest with TRA2010 workshop on “Accessing Transport Research Information”
28 Jun 2010: 

An audience of some 50 participants attended the workshop on "Accessing transport research information" organised by the Transport Research Knowledge Centre (TRKC) at the Transport Research Arena 2010 on Wednesday 9 June.

Four databases - TRKC, ELTIS, Press4Transport and ENTrada - presented themselves, as well as the forthcoming database on transport research programming from the ERA-Net initiative.

Following a lively debate that overan the session's scheduled time-slot, the workshop concluded that the main problem is the scattered landscape of numerous transport research databases and portals. This should be tackled, as the major barrier facing all databases is the difficulty in finding and accessing information sources, as well as the question of trustworthiness of the sources.

Call for proposals by ERA-NET TRANSPORT initiative “Climate-friendly freight network”
28 Jun 2010: 

Freight transport is essential for economic development and efficient transport and distribution of freight is at the top of the wish list for many countries. A new emerging transnational funding initiative under ERA-NET TRANSPORT wants to push European knowledge even further. The funding countries behind the continuously open funding initiative are Austria, France, Germany and Sweden.

The basic consideration is to set only a wide thematic framework and to provide room for researchers to develop high quality project ideas in the following areas:

1. Urban freight distribution
2. Long-distance transport and the freight transport corridors
3. Intermodality on freight transport
4. Intelligent logistics

More detailed information is included in the guide for applicants, which can be downladed at the ENT website (http://www.transport-era.net/action-groups/ent18-climate-friendly-freight-network.html ).

Due to the open nature of the cut-off dates for this transnational research initiative it is recommended to contact the national contact point for your programme/country, before starting a proposal process. To potential applicants it is highly recommended to submit proposals before 31 July 2010.

Participants from Austria have to hand in at the latest by 15 July 2010.The national contact point can advise on frame conditions, cut-off dates and can give a first validation of the research idea. Further it is recommended to draft a pre-proposal of max 10 pages outlining the research idea and potential partners.