KEYSTONE demonstrates the next step towards a digital road freight ecosystem

Image source: Highways News, Kevin Borras, 28 April 2026

The three-year EU-funded KEYSTONE project, of which Coventry University is a partner, is heading into his closing month and has demonstrated how standardised digital data exchange can support more efficient, transparent and connected road freight operations.

The project, with partners also including the Technical University of Madrid, Etalätär Innovation and TTS Italia, consists of two pilot deployments. Pilot 1 (P1) focuses on a road transport setting based on a monomodal road transportation scenario with port interaction, in which a truck transports a container to the Port of La Spezia in Italy and port-related controls are carried out with support for automated ETA transmission and digital document handling in eCMR format.

Pilot 2 (P2) was conducted in an intermodal transport setting, combining rail and road operations along a chain from Rotterdam terminal to CIM Novara terminal, followed by a roadside inspection in Italy, to validate real-time data availability and compliance verification across the intermodal chain.

Through its pilot activities, KEYSTONE (Knowledgable comprEhensive and fullY integrated SmarT sOlutioNs for rEsilient, sustainable and optimized transport operations) tested how transport operators, ports, terminals and enforcement authorities can exchange information through standardised APIs, real-time ETA data and digital transport documents such as eCMR (electronic consignment note). This shows how road freight operations can move away from fragmented, paper-based processes towards a more connected digital ecosystem.