On 20 February 2024, the first MultiModX EU project workshop, arranged with the support of the SESAR Joint Undertaking, took place at UIC HQ in Paris, bringing together approximately 50 experts representing the airline, airport, passenger, rail operator, and air traffic management sectors.
Morning session highlights
The workshop’s morning session commenced with a deep dive into innovative scientific approaches, guided by Dr Kay Plötner, Strategic Research Coordinator at Bauhaus Luftfahrt.
His insightful introduction set the stage for the objectives of the MultiModX project. Special guest Jérôme Delmeulle, SESAR 3 JU Programme Manager, further explained the essence of multimodality and passenger experience, emphasising the pivotal role of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking in advancing the air and rail network integration.
Presentations throughout the morning session explored MultiModX Solutions, including the Performance Framework SOL-1, Schedule Designer SOL-2, and Disruption Manager SOL-3.
Afternoon World Café sessions
The afternoon was focused on discussion and debate via the World Café sessions. This forum allowed concrete solutions for the future of air and rail transport to be explored, featuring a wide range of perspectives from experts across various domains.
The insights gained from the MultiModX Workshop roundtable encompassed discussions on future policy options, regulations, and passenger rights, as well as proposed solutions for air-rail cooperation and the optimal alignment of flight and rail schedules. Participants emphasised the need for incentives and intergovernmental initiatives, a clear understanding of liabilities, and explicit passenger rights on tickets. The participants explored the challenges and benefits of multi-modal journeys, suggesting government subsidies and distributing compensation based on journey parameters.
Additionally, MultiModX presented several solutions, focused on evaluating increased cooperation between air and rail transport. The first solution addressed obstacles to the air-to-rail shift, including insufficient train connections, time constraints, and data accessibility issues. The second solution focused on aligning flight and rail schedules, taking the different rail operator, airline, and passenger perspectives into account.
Constraints like time pressure and capacity limitations were also identified, which underlined the need for infrastructure to be upgraded and regulations to be harmonised.
The third solution focused on disruption management, proposing strategies such as enhancing technology, facilitating regulations, and funding support. The importance of adapting to delays, reassuring passengers, and streamlining the provision of information was highlighted. Discussions also revolved around responsibilities and liabilities, with the establishment of a multimodal network manager and fast-track channels for multi-modal passengers being suggested.
The workshop concluded with collective insights and feedback being given, serving as a platform for in-depth discussions among experts from various domains of the transport sector. The goal is to advance towards a more integrated, efficient, and sustainable future for multimodal transport.
The MultiModX project is supported by the SESAR3 Joint Undertaking and its members under grant agreement no. 101114815, running from July 2023 to December 2025 with a combined grant amount of 1,750,380€.
The workshop organisers encourage you to follow the MultiModX project through its website and social media, with plans for another workshop to be held in late 2024 to share key takeaways from the conclusions.
The MultiModX project is available on social media; follow us on X @MultiModX_eu and LinkedIn.
Or check out our website at MultiModX project - Improving railway security through awareness and training, with even more information being available on the SESAR website.
