Four days of research, innovation and debate in Budapest

The Transport Research Arena is Europe’s largest and most prestigious conference on transport research and innovation, organised every two years by the European Commission and leading professional partners. The 2026 edition in Budapest, held under the theme “Re-Generation in Transport“, brought together researchers, industry experts, policymakers and civil society representatives from across Europe and beyond.

For a company like FIT Consulting, whose work sits at the intersection of research, innovation and transport policy, TRA is not simply an event to attend. It is a strategic opportunity to contribute to the conversations that will shape European mobility and logistics for years to come. FIT Consulting was there with an active and varied programme across all four days, with Paola Cossu, Fabio Cartolano, Paola Astegiano and Sergio Barbarino.

The Physical Internet from concept to implementation
On the first day of the conference, Sergio moderated the special session on global and European Physical Internet research and innovation programmes, with Paola Astegiano among the speakers alongside Fernando Liesa, Andrea Condotta, Ioanna Fergadiotou and Eric Ballot.
The session addressed how the Physical Internet is advancing from concept to large-scale implementation, with a strong focus on multimodality and last-mile logistics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Collaborative research and innovation consultant opened with a clear-eyed assessment: “Physical Internet has demonstrated, through many pilots and initiatives around the world, that it is a very rational idea. It addresses many imperatives: sustainability, efficiency and resilience. Still, adoption and scaling remain a challenge.”

The panel converged on a shared view: the Physical Internet enables scalable collaboration and innovation while addressing competitiveness, resilience and sustainability, but making it unavoidable requires aligned efforts across research, industry and policy. Paola Astegiano drew the conclusions: “Physical Internet should not be seen as a set of isolated solutions, but as a systemic transformation that requires aligned research, innovation, policy and business models across stakeholders and across scales.”

In this framework, Paola presented how Physical Internet principles are being operationalised through concrete cases from DISCO and IKIGAI, both coordinated by FIT Consulting, and Shift2Zero.

IKIGAI at the ALICE Logistics Innovation Theatre
The following day, the ALICE Logistics Innovation Theatre provided another stage for FIT Consulting. Paola Astegiano, Head of Unit Research and Innovation, presented the IKIGAI project to a a high-profile audience of researchers and industry professionals gathered around the ALICE stand.
Three other projects linked to FIT were also featured: DISCO and GOLIA, both under FIT Consulting’s coordination, and AUTOSUP, in which FIT plays an active role as partner.

Digitalisation of the transport sector: from pilot purgatory to scaled solutions
During the high-level Plenary 4 on “Digitalisation of the Transport Sector“, alongside Stephane Petti (European Investment Bank), Andreas Boschen (SESAR Joint Undertaking), Rugilė Andziukevičiūtė-Buzė (Transport Innovation Association) and Gábor Peté (4iG), Paola Cossu addressed one of the sector’s most pressing structural challenges: the transition from fragmented transport and logistics systems to integrated digital supply chains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Representing both FIT Consulting and ALICE, Paola highlighted the importance of trusted data sharing and horizontal collaboration across logistics and multimodal supply chains as the foundation for creating the interoperability and standards needed to scale digital technologies. The panel agreed that digitalisation must be driven by real operational and market needs rather than technology for its own sake.

The session covered a broad agenda, organised around key relevant topica.

• On data and interoperability: trusted data sharing, the role of eFTI and digital freight documentation, and cybersecurity and digital resilience by design.
• On new technologies: AI applications for predictive analytics and operational efficiency.
• On governance and market: scaling innovation through deployment and public procurement, and Europe’s competitiveness and technological sovereignty.

DISCO, coordinated by FIT Consulting, and URBANE, another Horizon Europe project in which FIT is actively involved, served as concrete examples of how collaborative digital ecosystems can improve logistics efficiency while preserving commercial confidentiality and competition.

Her message to the audience captured the urgency of the moment: “Universality of digital information flows across multimodal supply chains will leverage at scale the entire sector, but we must shift from the ‘purgatory’ of pilot trials to ‘paradise’ of scaled market-based innovative solutions. We should go fast towards the age of zero-info gaps in the digital information flows across multimodal supply chains, boosted by trusted data improving visibility, horizontal collaboration, interoperability and clear processes and governance.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across the plenary, a common conclusion emerged: the priority is no longer defining new frameworks, but deploying and integrating the tools and systems already available, through trusted data sharing, interoperable systems and stronger collaboration between public authorities, industry and logistics stakeholders.

The day continued with Paola moderating Strategic Session 4.2 “Leveraging the power of digitalisation for efficient logistics“, organised by Giuseppe Luppino from ALICE and bringing together Wilhelm Patzner (CER Cargo), Angelos Amditis (ICCS), Lars Deiterding (HACON), Szymon Oscislowski (DG MOVE) and Sascha Gill (United Waterways). The session explored how digitalisation can enable more efficient, sustainable and resilient multimodal transport and logistics, addressing real-world challenges in multimodal coordination where fragmentation still hinders performance and decarbonisation. Speakers shared their experience and short-term prospects, with an eye already on TRA 2028 in Milan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A recognition for a long-standing research partner
At the TRA Visions 2026 Gala, Georgia Ayfantopoulou from CERTH was honoured among the winners of the Senior Researcher Awards, and we are really proud of this recognition.  Georgia is a long-standing research collaborator whose perseverance, intellectual rigour and genuine commitment to bridging research and practice have advanced projects that matter for Europe’s transport future.
An award that also carries particular significance for Paola Cossu, who received the same recognition at TRA 2024 in Dublin. Well done and well deserved.

Five posters, five projects
The poster area added another dimension to FIT Consulting’s presence at TRA. Paola Astegiano and Fabio Cartolano were also available throughout the conference to present five projects currently underway: Shift2Zero, LOCUS, DISCO, GOLIA and UPPER, covering urban logistics, mobility planning and sustainable freight.