Imagine you ship goods by train across Europe, but you never really know where your cargo is, trains are late, and connecting to trucks or ships is a nightmare. Smart-Rail tackled exactly that — they built tools and tested them in three real corridors to make rail freight work more like a modern delivery service: trackable, reliable, and flexible. Think of it as giving rail freight a GPS-and-coordination upgrade so shippers actually want to use trains instead of just trucks. They even tested smart contracts to automate agreements between the many companies involved in moving goods by rail.
European companies shipping goods by rail face chronic problems: trains are unreliable, cargo tracking is poor, switching between rail and trucks is inefficient, and coordinating between dozens of operators is slow and expensive. This pushes shippers toward road transport even when rail would be cheaper and greener. The result is higher logistics costs, missed delivery windows, and inability to meet sustainability targets.
The project produced 61 deliverables including a control tower concept for long-distance rail freight, smart contracts for automating multi-party rail agreements, data exchange architecture connecting different operators, and new business models for wagonload services. All were tested in 3 Living Labs on real European corridors including the Rotterdam-Genoa route.
If you are a freight forwarder struggling with unreliable rail schedules and poor cargo visibility — this project developed data exchange tools and a control tower concept tested across 3 Living Labs that improve shipment tracking and connectivity between rail and other transport modes. The 24-partner consortium built working business models for multi-party rail coordination.
If you are a retailer managing cross-border supply chains and want to shift cargo from road to rail but worry about reliability — Smart-Rail tested dedicated wagonload train services and reliability management tools on the Rotterdam-Genoa corridor. Their methods address the 5 key pain points shippers face: reliability, lead time, costs, flexibility, and visibility.
If you are a terminal operator dealing with poor rail-port connectivity and scheduling chaos — this project built and tested a control tower for long-distance rail freight transport in Living Lab 2, specifically tackling how rail connects with other modes. The smart contracts deliverable addresses automated coordination between multiple operators.
The project received EUR 5,999,213 in EU funding across 24 partners over 3 years. Implementation costs for individual companies would depend on existing IT infrastructure and which tools are adopted. Contact the coordinator for licensing or collaboration options.
Yes — the project specifically tested solutions in 3 Living Labs covering real rail corridors, including the Rotterdam-Genoa (Betuwe) route. With 20 industry partners from 11 countries, the tools were designed for cross-border, multi-operator environments.
The project produced 61 deliverables including smart contracts for rail and data exchange architectures. IP is held by the consortium led by TNO (Netherlands). Businesses interested in using these tools should contact the coordinator to discuss licensing terms.
Smart-Rail was designed to align with EU transport policy objectives and builds on existing initiatives like European Corridor Management and national logistical information centres. The methodology integrates with current regulatory structures rather than replacing them.
The project ran from 2015 to 2018 and produced tested tools across 3 Living Labs. Since solutions were validated in real operations, deployment timelines would depend on your current systems. The control tower and data exchange tools were designed for incremental adoption.
The project developed a methodology and architecture for data exchange between different operators, specifically designed to work with existing systems. The architecture uses established data exchange standards and connects to national logistical information centres already in place.
Smart-Rail built a portal for exchanging information, data, and tools where users can share experiences. The project closed in 2018, but TNO and the 24-partner network remain accessible for follow-up collaboration and knowledge transfer.
This is a heavily industry-driven consortium with 20 out of 24 partners coming from industry (83%), including 12 SMEs. Led by TNO, the top Dutch applied research organization, the project spans 11 countries across Europe — covering major freight corridors. The minimal academic presence (just 1 university) and strong industry weight signal that this project was built for practical adoption, not theoretical research. The geographic spread across AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FR, HU, IT, NL, and NO ensures the solutions account for different national rail systems and regulations.
TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) — reach their transport and logistics division
Want to connect with the Smart-Rail team to explore how their tested rail freight tools could work for your supply chain? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction.
