On 18-21 May 2026, OPEN ENLoCC participated at the Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2026 held 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.
In this context, the European Network of Logistics Competence Centres and its members brought their experience in fostering the development of logistics at the regional level across the European Union, particularly through their work in EU-funded research projects.
Showcasing EU-funded Projects at the ALICE-ETP booth
During the 4-day conference, the OPEN ENLoCC team, represented by Marco Alvi and Giorgia Facchini, respectively Communication Manager and Financial Manager, animated the TRANSCEND 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.
They also supported the dissemination of the MED COLOURS project, co-funded by the Interreg Euro-MED programme, in the Urban Logistics neighbourhood along with its member ITL – Institute of Transport and Logistics Foundation. The project is getting close to its final conference, register now!
Regional Collaborative Logistics into the research arena
At TRA 2026, OPEN ENLoCC was proud to contribute to the European discussion on the future of logistics and freight transport through a presentation dedicated to Regional Collaborative Logistics (RCL).
During the conference, Riccardo Maratini, Programme Manager at OPEN ENLoCC, presented the paper “Strategic Challenges, Opportunities and Enablers of Efficient Regional Collaborative Logistics”, co-authored together with representatives from ITL – Institute for Transport and Logistics and the University of Maribor.
The presentation explored how logistics systems can become more efficient, resilient and sustainable through stronger collaboration among regional stakeholders, highlighting the strategic importance of the regional dimension as the “middle layer” between urban logistics systems and long-distance transport corridors.
Site visit at the Mahart Container Centre
During this year’s conference in Budapest, OPEN ENLoCC jointly organised a site visit for its members and partners with the MAHART Container Centre (MCC), one of the transferability demonstrators of the TRANSCEND project. It was a great opportunity for participants to dig more deeply into the local logistics ecosystem, as the Budapest fluvial port accounts as one of the biggest and up-to-date port and distribution center of commodities in Europe.
Today, the MCC FreePort 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.
A big thank you to the colleagues of MCC for hosting this insightful visit and for having warmly welcomed to their terminal!