About Translate4Rail

Translation for breaking language barriers in the railway field

Background

  • Rail freight and its future rely heavily on cross border exchanges
  • Corridors support a seamless approach for the rail freight offering
  • Nonetheless, interoperability barriers still exist, such as the B1 level language proficiency requirement
  • Allowing greater flexibility in terms of language without jeopardizing safety is a priority

Facts and Figures

  • Topic: S2R-OC-IPX-02-2019 breaking language barriers
  • Time frame: December 2019 – end November 2021
  • Grant agreement n°881779
  • Budget: 248k€
  • Coordinator: UIC Freight Department

Objectives

PROVIDE

Provide drivers and traffic controllers with a set of predefined messages in normal and exceptional circumstances in all countries.

ENABLE

Enable communication on the basis of these messages using a digital tool, via a prototype developed in the context of the project.

TEST

Pilot testing will take place on different corridors.

robot

Project impact

Digital technology can support driver/signaler communication.

The approach/concept will improve:

  • Reliability
  • Capacity
  • Efficiency
  • RU competitiveness
  • Driver motivation
  • Sustainability of the system.

Project deliverables

Translate4Rail will deliver the following:
  • A Benchmark analysis of the state of the art in the field of speech to speech technology (within and outside the industry)
  • A list of pre-defined messages tailored for rail operation
  • Functional requirements for a translating tool
  • Guidelines for implementation based on pilot testing
  • Recommendations for uptake perspectives at European Level
  • Report on safety aspects
  • Communication plan
  • Data management plan
  • Project management and quality assurance plan

Translate4Rail prototype tool demonstration

Project structure

Consortium

UIC - International union of railways

Documents

AUTHORS Union Internationale des Chemins de fer (UIC) and RailNetEurope (RNE). ACKNOWLEDGEMENT NOTICE This document is a deliverable of the Translate4Rail project. This project has received funding from the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 881779. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Shift2Rail JU members other than the Union. Design with confidence using AutoCAD 2016 software – https://abcoemstore.com/product/autodesk-autocad-2016/. Richer design context, more intelligent tools. LEGAL NOTICE The content of this document reflects only the author’s view and the JU is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. The information in this document is provided “as is”, and no guarantee or warranty is given that the information is fit for any particular purpose. The users use the information at their sole risk and liability.  COPYRIGHT NOTICE No part of this document may be copied, reproduced, disclosed or distributed by any means whatsoever, including electronic without the express permission of the authors. The same applies for translation, adaptation or transformation, arrangement or reproduction by any method or procedure whatsoever. The sole exceptions – noting the authors names and the source – are analyses and brief quotations justified by the critical, argumentative, educational, scientific or informative nature of the publication into which they are incorporated. 
thumbnail of d1.1-benchmark

D1.1 Benchmark

thumbnail of 2021-01-24 D1.2 Enhanced list of PDMs

D1.2 Enhanced List of Predefined Messages

thumbnail of deliverable-1-3-tool-requirements

D1.3 Tool requirements

thumbnail of 20210720-T4R-D2.1-Part1

D2.1 Guidelines for implementation and description of the pilots – Part 1

thumbnail of 20210720-T4R-D2.1-Part2

D2.1 Guidelines for implementation and description of the pilots – Part 2

thumbnail of 20210720-T4R-D2.1-Part3

D2.1 Guidelines for implementation and description of the pilots – Part 3

thumbnail of 20200709T4R – D4.1 Disseminsation and Exploitation

D4.1 Dissemination and Exploitation

News

February 19, 2025

Reminder – Register now: Train Driver Communication Conference

Three years after the conclusion of the Translate4Rail project, UIC is excited to share the initiatives, achievements and explore the question: “What challenges remain in implementing language tools for seamless rail communication across Europe?” via the Train Driver Communication Conference which will take place on 6 March 2025 at the UIC Headquarters in Paris. Read more…

February 9, 2023

Demonstration of the Translate4rail project

The Translate4Rail (T4R) project has been developing a prototype tool, for which a demonstration was held on 1 February 2023 in a meeting at the UIC HQ in Paris with the participation of the French National Safety Authority (EPSF), representatives from the Railways and Guided Transport Division of the French Ministry of Transport, SNCF Fret, and project members, including UIC, RNE and Read more…

September 28, 2022

UIC and ONCF at InnoTrans in Berlin to promote the World Congress on High–Speed Rail to be held in March 2023 in Morocco

Over 2,800 exhibitors from the world’s railway companies, associations, and manufacturers, among others, gathered for InnoTrans at the Messe Berlin from 20 to 23 September 2022. After a four-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, this edition attracted many high-profile visitors and companies eager to share the latest rail developments.
For the first time, ONCF ( Read more…

December 15, 2021

During the final event of the Translate4Rail (T4R) project, UIC and RNE presented a language tool prototype solution to help overcome language barriers in international train operation

Judit Sandor, Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking Project Officer for T4R, opened the event by highlighting that rail plays an important role, particularly when it comes to the modal shift. “We know that multiple languages present a key challenge and that this requires attention. We must make sure that trains running between countries can be operated safely and efficiently.”
The different languages in international rail operation represent a key obstacle to interoperability. However, the sector’s ambition to implement a Read more…

Contacts

Project coordinator: UIC Freight Department

This project has received funding from the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 881779.

Contact Us