On 18-21 May 2026, TRANSCEND project has been successfully represented at the Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2026 in Budapest, Hungary. The TRA Conference represents the Europe’s largest event for transport and mobility research initiated by the European Commission, which bring major stakeholders from across the continent and beyond. Under the theme “Re-Generation in Transport”, TRA 2026 highlights renewal and transformation in response to social, environmental, and technological challenges in this sector.
As representative of the TRANSCEND project, OPEN ENLoCC, the European Network of Logistics Competence Centres, has animated the project stand at the ALICE-ETP space in the Ports & Airports Neighbourhood along with other projects, such as Clarion, OLGA, Stargate, MAGPIE and PIONEERS. Moreover, Marco Alvi, Communication Manager of OPEN ENLoCC, held a pitch presentation at the ALICE Innovation Theatre, presenting the project objectives and result to the audience attending the exhibitors’ area.
During the conference, Pantelis Lappas and Babis Ipektsidis from NetCompany showcased their poster “Risk-Aware Dynamic Paths Using Machine Learning and Multi-Criteria Analysis”, written in collaboration with the Institute of Transport and Logistics Foundation (ITL). This work illustrated the application of the TRANSCEND Control Tower to the Bologna pilot. It was a great occasion to promote the solutions developed within this the project to the researcher community joining the conference.
Site visit at the MAHART Container Centre
Attending this conference in Budapest was also a great opportunity to visit the MAHART Container Centre, one of the transferability demonstrators of the TRANSCEND project. Open ENLoCC organised with MCC a site visit to the fluvial container centre, with the participation of project partners and other OPEN ENLoCC’s members representatives.
Budapest Freeport, as one of the biggest and up-to-date port and distribution center of commodities in Europe, was inaugurated in 1928. Today, the Mahart Container Center is the only currently operating trimodal container terminal in Hungary, connecting road–rail–waterway corridors serving operators working across Europe and Asia, recording in 2025 a turnover of 488.085 TEU.
Gabor Spelleberg and Fabian Zoltan hosted the participants at the terminal, presenting the history and the current development of the container centre, giving a tour also through the logistics site. It was a unique experience for guests to combine the knowledge get through the TRA conference with a first-hand experience of the logistics reality along the Danube River.
A big thank you goes to the colleagues from MAHART Container Centre for welcoming guests from across Europe, fostering the exchange of knowledge beyond the TRANSCEND project!