The Association NEWOPERA Aisbl was formed in 2007 under Belgian law.

NEWOPERA is an International  Non  Profit  Association engaged on research and demonstration  activities  focused on Rail freight/Intermodality innovation, mobility optimization , technology evolution, energy saving and  environment friendly processes. Analysing the weaknesses of the European rail freight system the NEWOPERA founders, composed of former executives of two leading shippers, plus two major road and combined transport operators and the second largest railway undertaking, suggested the idea of a dedicated rail freight network as a step-change for achieving sustainable mobility. The NEWOPERA name derives from the NEWOPERA Project “New European Wish – Operating Project for European Rail Axes”. The project officially started on 1 January 2005 with a total project duration of 3.5 years. NEWOPERA studied the necessary step changes for achieving a long-term scenario 2020 of a core Rail network predominantly dedicated to freight. After the NEWOPERA project completion, an International Non Profit Association was formed named NEWOPERA Aisbl registered in Belgium, having the main objective of continuing the NEWOPERA project work striving for its full market implementation. The rail freight dedicated network alone is not sufficient for achieving sustainable mobility, but is the first indispensable stone of a long term strategy to be implemented on a step by step basis having in mind the available technologies the  resources conservation and  environment protection The  European Rail Network for Competitive Freight  legislation  passed by the European parliament in September 2010  together  with the  full implementation of the TEN T network are  a major  recognition  of the NEWOPERA  project approach.
NEWOPERA Aisbl is pursuing through its network of Members/Partners and through the participation to EU Commission projects the fulfilment of this Vision.

NEWOPWERA Aisbl is member of the European Technology Platform ALICE, set up to develop a comprehensive strategy for research, innovation and market deployment of logistics and supply chain management innovation in Europe.

THE NEWOPERA EUROPEAN COMMISSION CO-FINANCED PROJECTS