Brussels, 18/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - Research is a vital instrument in increasing the competitiveness of the rail sector, as the Parliamentary committee on transport and tourism put it, when it adopted the report for opinion by Jaromír Kohlíèek (GUE/NGL, Czech Republic) on 11 October, on activities in the field of research, technological development and demonstration as part of the seventh framework programme. Giles Chichester (EPP-ED, United Kingdom), who is a member of the committee on transport and research which is competent on the substance of this dossier, stressed the importance of being able to count on an adequate European budget for transport. Only two Member States have a national research programme for the rail sector, he said, at the presentation of the findings of work carried out by the European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC) on 12 October, as part of the first strategic agenda for research on the rail sector between now and 2020. ERRAC, a platform which brings together representatives of the rail sector, industry and the political world, was created by initiative of the European Commission to define a joint strategy and long-term priorities for research in the railway sector. Interoperability, intelligent mobility, the environment, safety, innovative material and production methods are key elements, but Christopher Irwin, a representative of the interests of transport users (European Passengers'Federation), asked that in the future, priority be given to safety, reliability, accessibility to trains and information, affordable prices and "ambience". The seventh framework programme recognises transports as a research sector in its own right and will follow a systematic approach including users, vehicles and infrastructures, explained Jack Metter, Director in DG Research. The fact that community funding has increased over the years "means that the industry is prepared to pay for some of the project itself", said Luisa Prista, head of the Transport unit at the Commission's DG Research.