CIMNE’s Innovation Unit in Transport, CENIT, joined European partners in Paris in June for the closing meeting of RAIL4CITIES, an international project under the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, hosted at the headquarters of the UIC – International Union of Railways. Represented by team members Francesc (Paco) Gasparín and Alex Mumbrú, CENIT spent two days collaborating with leading institutions including the Technical University of Munich, BABLE Smart Cities, FACTUAL, and representatives from the Toulouse and Tomaszów Mazowiecki Living Lab Rail Stations.

The RAIL4CITIES project embraces the idea that railway stations are more than transport nodes. They are dynamic urban spaces that influence mobility, public life, land use, and sustainability in cities. RAIL4CITIES aimed to redefine stations as Sustainable City Promoters (SCP) and design a comprehensive, operational model that would support a new vision for rail stations as drivers of urban transformation.

The main objectives of the meeting were to finalise and review the project’s concluding documentation, align plans for the upcoming public event in September, and reflect on the scientific and practical contributions delivered throughout the project. The discussions also looked towards future opportunities to build on RAIL4CITIES' outcomes through follow-up initiatives.

The final meeting served as an important milestone to consolidate achievements, exchange feedback, and ensure that the methodologies and tools developed during the project are ready for practical use by decision-makers and stakeholders across Europe.

According to Mumbru, “The final RAIL4CITIES meeting was crucial to consolidate the technical outcomes of the project, align the consortium on the final deliverables, and plan the upcoming public event.”. According to the researcher, the sessions provided “a valuable space to assess the scientific impact generated”, as well an opportunity to “exchange on methodological approaches”, and outline “potential pathways for future research and implementation within Europe’s sustainable mobility framework.”

More than transport nodes

The RAIL4CITIES project also developed a common European methodology and tool to facilitate the implementation of this model, taking into account critical barriers such as market pressures, complex stakeholder ecosystems, and policy misalignments.

Throughout the project, CIMNE has played a key role in supporting both technical and strategic aspects, including:

• Supporting KPI selection and evaluation frameworks

• Conducting desktop research and primary data collection on railway stations

• Gathering and organising survey responses and creating a structured public-private database

• Providing spatial analysis of stations and their urban surroundings

• Designing methodologies for impact analysis, including Theory of Change, Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), and Social Return on Investment (S-ROI)

• Assisting with project development and modelling within Living Labs

• Leading components of impact analysis and business modelling at local levels

CIMNE’s Innovation Unit in Transport will continue collaborating with project partners and supporting the roll-out of tools and insights developed during RAIL4CITIES.

Read more about CENIT’s contribution to the project in the latest issue of Innovation in Transport Review