RINA CONSULTING

Their core work

RINA Consulting is a Brussels-based arm of the RINA Group, an Italian engineering and certification company. In H2020, they specialize in railway systems engineering — particularly signaling (ERTMS/ETCS), interoperability standards, and intelligent transport IT systems. They provide technical consulting on rail safety, semantic data interoperability for multimodal transport, and energy harvesting for rail infrastructure. Their work spans both the digital layer (journey planning, data standards) and the physical layer (rolling stock, charging systems) of European transport.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

RINA Consulting's early H2020 work (2015-2016) centered on digital transport — journey planning platforms, semantic web interoperability, big data for travel, and GNSS-based train positioning. By 2017-2018, their focus shifted decisively toward hard rail engineering: ERTMS/ETCS signaling standards, train integrity systems, energy harvesting for trackside equipment, and radio communication protocols. This mirrors the Shift2Rail programme's own evolution from conceptual IT frameworks toward deployment-ready rail infrastructure technologies.

RINA Consulting is moving from transport data/IT consulting toward deeper rail systems engineering, making them a strong fit for future projects on ERTMS deployment, digital rail twins, or rail energy autonomy.

How they like to work

RINA Consulting never coordinates — they join as a participant or third party, splitting almost evenly between the two roles (8 participant, 7 third party). The high third-party count suggests they are often brought in by RINA Group entities already in the consortium, contributing specialized expertise without leading workpackages. With 255 unique partners across 24 countries, they operate in large Shift2Rail-type consortia rather than small focused teams, making them an accessible and well-connected partner to recruit.

With 255 unique consortium partners across 24 countries, RINA Consulting has one of the broadest networks in the European rail research ecosystem. Their Brussels base and Shift2Rail involvement connect them to major rail operators, manufacturers, and research institutes across Western and Southern Europe.

What sets them apart

RINA Consulting bridges the gap between IT/data systems and physical rail infrastructure — a rare combination in the Shift2Rail ecosystem where most partners specialize in one or the other. Their ability to work on semantic interoperability standards AND signaling hardware prototypes means they can contribute to both the digital and physical layers of rail modernization. As part of the larger RINA Group (a major classification and certification body), they bring an engineering rigor and standards expertise that pure research organizations lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• RUN2Rail
  Their largest funded project (EUR 182,500), focused on next-generation running gear for sustainable and intelligent rail vehicles.
• IT2RAIL
  Appeared as both participant and third party — a flagship Shift2Rail project on seamless door-to-door journey planning using semantic web and big data.
• ETALON
  Represents their evolution into energy harvesting for rail signaling — an unusual intersection of energy and transport that signals future direction.