TRA is organised every two years. TRA gathers stakeholders from all transport networks (road, rail, waterborne and aviation), bringing notably research and industry communities closer to each other and providing a forum where they can exchange views and ideas with the policy makers on the challenges and opportunities the industry faces. The event is open to researchers, academics, students and young researchers, engineers; transport infrastructure managers and owners; traffic operation managers, transport operators; SMEs and start-ups; industry, vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, ship builders; public authorities, governmental bodies; non-governmental organisations; other transport stakeholders and decision makers. The European Commission is co-organiser of the TRA2024 conference, together with the Irish host. TRA is a truly multimodal transport conference covering all transport modes (road, rail, waterborne, air transport) and it is directly supported by several European Technology Platforms (ERTRAC, ERRAC, WATERBORNE TP, ALICE, ECTP, ACARE) and associations like ETRA (European Transport Research Alliance) and CEDR (Conference of European Road Directors).

Under the heading of “Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable and Inclusive Mobility”, the Transport Research Arena 2024 (TRA 2024) will explore, discuss and demonstrate these major paradigm shifts specifically directed at areas of our life such as transport, mobility, logistics and industrial production. TRA gives visibility to both national and international transport research. TRA provides a global platform for Europe’s achievements in transport research and technology. TRA 2024 will include a broad spectrum of research and innovation activities, which will range from basic research to application-oriented engineering, social, technical and economic aspects, as well as policies and standards. TRA 2024 covers all modes of transport: road, rail, waterborne, aviation, and cross-modal aspects. The format of the event consists of a daily Plenary Session setting up the theme of the day, which will be then developed in three parallel Strategic Sessions. Both Plenary Sessions and Strategic Sessions will be held in the form of a panel discussion facilitated by the professional moderators who will be briefed in advance. The main sessions are fully reflecting the multimodal and multidisciplinary nature of the transport sector and, for this reason, address all stakeholders simultaneously.

Themes

Several Special Sessions are organised by the European Commission. They are in the form of a typical podium session or panel discussion. The intention is to provide opportunities to scientists and other professionals to discuss and exchange on relevant topics (that are not covered by other sessions or events) with TRA 2024 participants.

Programme

In addition to the conference sessions, TRA2004 will also offer to the delegates a large exhibition with a multitude of booths held by the main transport stakeholders. It takes place at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS). There will be an important exhibition area with both static and live demonstrations on the latest technology developments ( electric vehicles, batteries, hydrogen buses, automated vehicles, etc.). Among these, the European Commission (EC) stand will gather several Directorates-Generals (DG) and European services, including DG Research and Innovation (DG RTD), DG Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), the Joint Research Centre (JRC), CINEA executive agency, …, with the aim to showcase some of the best European research projects in the different transport modes supported by the EU R&I Framework Programmes (H2020 and Horizon Europe). For the 1st time, there will be a dedicated stand (attached to the EC stand) with 4 Joint Undertakings: Clean Aviation, Clean H2, EUs Rail and SESAR. Moreover, the EC stand will also propose a series of lunchtime presentations, according to the following programme: