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IT2RAIL · Project

One-Stop Multimodal Travel Shopping Platform Connecting Trains, Buses, and Last-Mile Services

transportPrototypeTRL 5
it2rail.eu

Imagine booking a trip from your front door to a conference in another city — train, metro, bike rental, all in one search, one ticket, one app. Right now that's impossible because every transport company runs its own booking system and none of them talk to each other. IT2RAIL built the digital plumbing that lets all these systems share data automatically using smart web technologies, so a single travel companion app can plan, book, and reroute your entire door-to-door journey without you switching between five different apps.

By the numbers
37
consortium partners across Europe
10
countries represented in the consortium
27
industry partners in the consortium
11
SMEs involved in development
73%
industry participation ratio
42
total project deliverables produced
3
proof-of-concept resolver packages delivered
The business problem

What needed solving

Travelers today must juggle multiple apps and websites to plan a single trip that combines train, bus, metro, and last-mile transport. Transport operators lose customers because their services are invisible in competitors' booking platforms. The lack of a common data layer across European transport means billions in potential multimodal ticket revenue go uncaptured.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered 42 outputs including 3 proof-of-concept semantic resolver packages (Location, Travel Expert, and Event resolvers) that can discover, query, and aggregate transportation data from distributed sources. It also developed a travel companion concept with a secure cloud-based personal wallet for storing travel rights and tickets.

Audience

Who needs this

MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) platform operators wanting to aggregate multiple transport providersNational and regional rail operators seeking to integrate with multimodal journey plannersTravel technology companies building cross-border ticketing solutionsCity transport authorities wanting seamless first/last-mile connections to intercity railRide-sharing and micro-mobility companies looking to appear in multimodal travel searches
Business applications

Who can put this to work

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) Platforms
SME
Target: MaaS startups and transport aggregators

If you are a MaaS platform struggling to integrate dozens of regional transport operators into a single booking experience — this project developed a proof-of-concept interoperability layer using semantic web technology that lets your app discover and aggregate travel options from distributed data sources. With 37 consortium partners across 10 countries testing this, the architecture was designed to scale across European transport networks without requiring every operator to adopt the same data standard.

Railway and Public Transit Operators
enterprise
Target: National or regional rail and transit operators

If you are a rail operator losing passengers because travelers can't easily combine your trains with local transit for the first and last mile — this project built semantic resolvers (Location, Travel Expert, and Event resolvers) that let your services appear in multimodal journey planners automatically. The system was validated with 27 industry partners and eliminates the need for bilateral integration agreements with every travel app on the market.

Travel Technology and Ticketing
mid-size
Target: Travel tech companies and ticketing solution providers

If you are a ticketing company dealing with the fragmentation of standards across bus, rail, and ride-sharing — this project created an open interoperability layer that insulates your application from that fragmentation. The proof-of-concept included a personal travel wallet stored in the cloud with secure travel rights, enabling one-stop-shop ticketing across 10 countries worth of transport systems.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement this interoperability technology?

The project did not publish pricing or licensing fee data. As a publicly funded EU research project (RIA), the core interoperability specifications and semantic web components were developed with public money, which typically means results are available under open or favorable licensing terms. Contact the coordinator for specific commercial terms.

Can this scale to cover an entire national or pan-European transport network?

The architecture was explicitly designed to be "completely scalable" and was tested with 37 partners across 10 countries. IT2RAIL was the first step of the larger SHIFT2RAIL IP4 programme, meaning the full-scale deployment was planned as follow-on work. The proof-of-concept resolvers were built on distributed data queries, avoiding dependence on a single centralized database.

Who owns the intellectual property and can we license it?

The project was coordinated by UNIFE, the European Railway Industry Association, with 27 industry partners and 11 SMEs in the consortium. IP ownership typically follows the EU grant agreement rules where each partner owns the results they generated. Contact UNIFE for licensing and access to the interoperability specifications.

Does this comply with EU transport data regulations?

The project explicitly addressed data protection with a secured personal wallet in the cloud and included an "urban trust scheme" among its key topics. It was designed to work within the EU regulatory environment and the consortium included partners from 10 EU member states and associated countries.

How long would integration take for our existing systems?

The interoperability layer was specifically designed to limit impacts on existing systems, without prerequisites for centralized standardization. This means transport operators would not need to overhaul their current IT infrastructure. Based on available project data, the exact integration timeline was not published but the design philosophy prioritized backward compatibility.

What exactly was delivered and demonstrated?

The project produced 42 deliverables in total, including 3 progressive proof-of-concept releases: core features, additional features, and full features of Location, Travel Expert, and Event resolvers. These resolvers use semantic web technology to discover, query, and aggregate transportation data from distributed sources.

Is there ongoing technical support or a community around this?

IT2RAIL was the foundation for the broader SHIFT2RAIL IP4 innovation programme, which continued development after the project ended in 2018. The SHIFT2RAIL Joint Undertaking (now Europe's Rail) maintains and advances this work. Contact UNIFE or check the Europe's Rail programme for current status.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a heavyweight consortium with 37 partners from 10 countries, heavily tilted toward industry at 73% — well above the typical EU project mix. The coordinator, UNIFE, is the European Railway Industry Association, giving the project direct access to the railway sector's decision-makers. With 27 industry partners and 11 SMEs alongside 3 universities and 3 research organizations, this was clearly built by the people who run European transport, not just study it. The broad geographic spread (Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, UK) means the technology was designed to work across very different national transport systems from day one.

How to reach the team

UNIFE (Union des Industries Ferroviaires Européennes) in Belgium coordinates this project. SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction to discuss licensing, integration, or partnership opportunities.

Order a report on this consortiumSee UNION DES INDUSTRIES FERROVIAIRES EUROPEENNES - UNIFE profile →
Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how IT2RAIL's multimodal interoperability technology could fit your platform? SciTransfer can connect you with the right people in the consortium and provide a tailored briefing on commercial opportunities.

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