The project to deploy electronic freight transport information (eFTI) is now entering the piloting stage for national eFTI deployments. Full-scale pilot operations “with the aim of moving from national to international pilots” are expected to start are expected to start in 2025.
The current plan envisions 12 national pilot frameworks and eight international ones, for a total of 20, as eFTI4EU, the entity overseeing the project stated. The focus of the pilots will be on what eFTI4EU calls the authority side. More specifically, a spotlight will be placed on the eFTI Gate, the platform that will act as an access point to exchange eFTI data. A Proof of Concept for the eFTI Gate should be ready by this fall.
‘eFTI will make intermodality more efficient’
The main aim of eFTI is to digitise transport documents, which are still largely on paper in physical form. Consequently, one of its main tasks will be saving labour resources in data processing and speeding up the information exchange process. According to those involved in the project, eFTI4EU will make intermodal services more efficient, especially when crossing borders.
However, it is difficult to estimate costs and timeframes as the situation varies in different EU member states. Currently, different countries have different systems, and migrating to eFTI will have different costs, depending on the level of digitisation of the various operators. “While acknowledging that different countries have different ways to implementing eFTI (…) the initiative emphasizes the value of agile development processes and interstate cooperation”, eFTI4EU concluded.