This action may be requested to provide relevant inputs to the Europe’s Rail Scientific Steering Group and ERRAC. The Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking expects to finance successful proposals from universities or similar high-level institutes covering each at least one PhD student in the following proposed areas or additional or different scientific areas to be proposed, always in relation to the EU-Rail Programme:

PhD Topic –Low-Height Noise Reduction Barriers in Rail Transport

Rail operations can have a significant negative impact on the environment in general, but mostly on the residents living around rail corridors or urban / sub-urban metro lines.

The expected outcomes for this research topic shall include the investigation of relevant noise reduction techniques, design, construction and validation requirements for low-height noise barriers solutions in the rail sector as follows:

• Critical design and implementation parameters for Low-Height Noise Barriers. These parameters must take into consideration the location for the installation of such barriers (i.e. as close to the track as allowed by the safety regulations) , the maximum reduction of noise generated by the trains operating in that area, , providing the most advantageous cost/benefit for such solutions.
• Model the dependencies between various heights and materials for such solutions and the Noise Reduction levels and noise propagation. This research should investigate the impact of various barrier heights and material types on the noise reduction levels and the noise propagation models.
• Identification of sustainable materials for low height noise barrier solutions. This topic shall explore the use of materials that align with circular economy principles and contribute to meeting the greener transport targets around Europe, while meeting the rail safety requirements. Such solutions may include plant-based barriers, hedges or bushes, which could provide additional environmental benefits.
• Additional Benefits of Low-Height Barriers This topic shall assess the secondary benefits of low-height noise barriers. These may include: improved living conditions for residents living next to rail corridors due to reduced rail noise levels; enhanced train passengers experience due to unobstructed views; better on site visibility, leading to better facilitation of rescue operations; improved site accessibility for rail maintenance, etc
• Cost-Benefit Analysis This research shall build a solid cost-benefit analysis of various low-height barrier solutions in comparison with the traditional noise barriers. This analysis shall consider all the relevant aspects and benefits for these noise reduction solutions, including: reduced material usage, lower complexity, lower costs, lower manufacturing time, etc.
• Constructability and the impact on Landscape Aesthetics The research scope may be combined with any of the above topics. The outcome of this topic shall provide an evaluation of the impact of low-height noise barriers on the landscape aesthetics, including the benefit of less visual disruption compared to taller barriers, as well as their constructability and the suitability of their installation in various areas of the rail corridors.

The outcomes of the PhD research topics mentioned above shall also address the following aspects for the low height noise barriers in the rail industry:

• Provide justified actionable insights and recommendations for the design, implementation, adoption
• Detail the benefits and benefits measurements models proving their cost-effectiveness, environmental sustainability, social impact, etc.

PhD Topic – smart grids and micro smart grids in the railway system

The transition towards a sustainable energy efficient multimodal European transport system has been the driver for emerging technologies in the railway sector, such as smart grids and micro smart grids. Such innovations support a more diverse and effective energy supply and demand management in the rail sector while integrating renewable energy sources and optimizing energy consumption in the rail sector. Another area of interest is the elimination of the dependency of the rail energy supply on other external sources by exploring solutions for the integration of less conventional energy sources in the rail electrical power supply network such as hydrogen, etc.. It is expected that the integration of these technologies will improve the efficiency of the rail power supply while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and long-term operational costs, in line with the European Green Deal objective to reach climate neutrality by 2050.

The expected outputs of the proposals under this PhD topic should investigate approaches for systematic analysis of various energy technologies to be integrated in the rail supply network, an effective energy management , challenges, risks and associated controls, as well as solutions to address the technological, regulatory and economic impacts. The relevant areas of focus for these proposals shall cover the following:

• Energy Market Segment Analysis in the Concept of Smart Grids and Micro Smart Grids for Railways. This shall be a first research stage and shall analyse the current market status of smart grids and micro smart grids in the rail sector based on the outputs of EU-RAIL JU’s Flagship Area 4 (FA4) be considered in this section[2]. The outcome of this research shall provide the results of the scientific-technical analysis regarding the possible solutions for the integration and/or replacement of ‘As Is’ rail power supply sources with emerging energy technologies. The analysis shall include technical and economic viability of such solutions. The analysis shall be based on operational concepts, maintenance requirements, technology lifespan, and shall include an assessment of the economic impact on major railway players (i.e. Infrastructure Managers, Railway Undertakings, etc.).
• Impact assessment of new power supply sources/technologies on the current Regulatory Framework and its capacity to adapt to energy innovations in railways. This research topic shall analyse the impact of the current technical and legal regulations on a traditional rail supply network integrated with the renewable energy sources as per the relevant topics above. This analysis shall map the transition towards a self-sustained and green(er) railway energy supply, also taking into consideration the impact on the global energy grid.
• Commercialization and Standardization Roadmap for a self-sustained, integrated rail power supply grid. This topic shall investigate appropriate governance models for such a rail power supply grid and its efficient management, commercialization and standardization. The outcomes of this research shall include proposed solutions for feasible regulatory commercial frameworks for the rail energy market operations, identify the key players in both the railway and energy sectors, opportunities, challenges and risks in case of a large-scale deployment.

The outcome of the PhD should provide a series of practical and theoretical recommendations for deriving a model that could influence energy, regulatory, and technological development for the future of sustainable railway transport.

Other and different PhD subjects can be proposed by the applicants.

Research results are expected to contribute to the Europe’s Rail Programme and explore new possibilities and ideas. At the same time, the PhD researchers who are part of the Europe’s Rail JU activities, are expected to become European ambassadors of the possible bright and innovative future that the rail sector has in the years to come.

Interactions with other EU-RAIL projects:

The action to be funded under this topic shall interact with PhDs EU-Rail ( GA 101175856 ) and Academics4Rail (GA 101121842) in order to exchange within the community of scientific research and to growth the PhD subjects and interaction with industrial partners, as well as with the action that is expected to be funded under the following topic : HORIZON-JU-ER-2025-FA4-01: A sustainable and green rail system.