VERBAND DER BAHNINDUSTRIE IN DEUTSCHLAND (VDB) EV

Their core work

VDB is the German Railway Industry Association, representing manufacturers and suppliers of rail vehicles, infrastructure, and signalling systems in Germany. In H2020, they contributed industry perspective and requirements to the Shift2Rail programme, specifically in rail freight modernization — covering wagon design, maintenance strategies, and electrification of freight operations. Their role is to channel the collective voice of the German rail supply industry into EU research priorities, ensuring that innovation aligns with real market needs and deployment feasibility.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

VDB's early H2020 work (2016–2018) focused on broad freight rail modernization — real-time network management, maintenance for wagon bogies, and hybridisation of legacy shunters. By 2019–2023, their focus sharpened toward specific hardware and operational improvements: wagon design, smart asset monitoring, automatic coupling, electrification of propulsion, and enabling longer freight trains. The trend shows a shift from exploratory system-level studies toward concrete, deployment-ready freight innovations.

VDB is moving toward digital and automated freight rail operations — automatic coupling, condition monitoring, and electrified propulsion — signalling readiness for the next wave of European freight rail deployment projects.

How they like to work

VDB participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, which fits their role as an industry association providing requirements and market validation rather than leading technical R&D. Their 42 unique partners across 8 countries indicate broad consortium exposure, likely through the large Shift2Rail programme consortia. Working with VDB means gaining access to the collective perspective of the German rail supply industry — they bring market requirements and deployment context rather than laboratory research.

VDB has worked with 42 unique consortium partners across 8 countries, built almost entirely through the Shift2Rail rail freight programme. Their network is concentrated in the European rail freight ecosystem, connecting major rail manufacturers, research centres, and railway operators.

What sets them apart

VDB is not a research lab or a company — it is the collective voice of the German rail manufacturing industry, one of the largest rail supply markets in Europe. Partnering with VDB means your project gets direct input from the companies that actually build and sell rail freight equipment. For consortium builders, VDB brings industry validation and a path to market adoption that individual companies or universities cannot provide alone.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FR8RAIL
  The foundational project in VDB's H2020 portfolio, receiving their largest single funding (EUR 24,400) to define functional requirements for sustainable European rail freight.
• FR8RAIL IV
  The most recent and most ambitious in scope — covering automatic coupling, 1500m long trains, and electrification — representing the culmination of the FR8RAIL series toward a Single European Railway Area.