Catalan public railway operator providing live metro and rail infrastructure as a testbed for predictive maintenance, security, and 5G transport innovation.
FGC is the public railway operator of Catalonia, running metro, commuter, and tourist rail lines in the Barcelona region. In H2020, they serve as a real-world testbed and end-user for railway innovation — contributing operational expertise in maintenance, safety, security, and passenger transport. Their participation brings actual rail infrastructure and rolling stock into R&D projects, bridging the gap between laboratory research and live railway operations. They also engage in 5G connectivity trials and security systems for public transport networks.
SIA focused on vehicle-infrastructure health monitoring, LOCATE on locomotive bogie condition maintenance, and HERMES on smart freight wagons — all addressing component degradation and maintenance optimization.
SAFETY4RAILS developed cyber-physical threat detection for metro and railway, PREVENT PCP procured innovative security systems for public transport, and AUGGMED built mixed-reality training scenarios relevant to security response.
5G-PICTURE and Int5Gent both deployed 5G infrastructure including mobile edge computing and software-defined networking, with FGC providing railway use cases for connectivity trials.
EuTravel optimized multimodal travel ecosystems, INTERMODEL EU simulated multimodal infrastructure, and DIAMOND examined inclusive transport system design.
HERMES developed smart freight wagons for granular materials and LOCATE addressed freight railway bogie maintenance, signaling growing interest in freight operations.
In the early period (2015–2018), FGC focused broadly on transport infrastructure — smart freight wagons (HERMES), multimodal travel (EuTravel), and simulation of transport hubs (INTERMODEL EU). From 2019 onward, their participation sharpened toward two clear priorities: predictive maintenance of railway components (SIA, LOCATE with explicit focus on wheels, bogies, pantographs, and degradation models) and security of public transport networks (SAFETY4RAILS, PREVENT PCP with anomaly detection and threat tracking). The shift from general transport R&D to data-driven maintenance and security reflects a maturing digital railway strategy.
FGC is moving toward data-driven railway operations — expect future interest in AI-based maintenance, digital twins for rail infrastructure, and integrated cyber-physical security for metro networks.
FGC always participates as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as an end-user and infrastructure operator rather than a research lead. With 166 unique partners across 24 countries, they operate in large, diverse consortia typical of transport and security calls. Their value to any consortium is clear: they provide real railway infrastructure, operational data, and a live testing environment that few partners can offer.
FGC has built a broad European network of 166 unique partners across 24 countries, reflecting extensive engagement in large transport and security consortia. Their connections span research institutions, technology providers, and other transport operators across the EU.
FGC offers something rare in H2020 consortia: a mid-sized public railway operator willing to open its live infrastructure for R&D testing. Unlike large national rail companies (SNCF, DB), FGC operates both metro and regional lines at a manageable scale, making pilot deployments faster and more practical. Their dual focus on maintenance and security, combined with 5G trial experience, makes them an ideal partner for any project needing a real-world railway testbed in southern Europe.
