Develop sustainable. cost-effective solutions to improve accessibility to/from/ within low-density semi-rural peripheral regions (defined as ‘holes within the EU Pentagon’ and areas outside the ‘Pentagon’. peripheral to national territories. and/or disadvantaged by poor access through rail and air hubs to central EU regions) by regional tram systems linking to high-quality multimodal interchanges at national/international rail or air hubs. These will be tested by knowledge transfer across 5 demonstration regions: Nordhessen (Kassel)(DE). Fylde Coast (Blackpool)(UK). West-Vlaanderen (Diksmuide/ Koksijde/ Veurne)(BE). Valenciennes (FR) and Nijmegen-Kleve (NL). Two alternative solutions will be examined: (i) TramTrain systems integrating urban tramway and national rail systems (ii) Low-cost tram extensions using exclusive right-of-way through urban areas. This will be achieved by: - Learning from the experience of successful schemes already implemented. notably in Nordhessen(DE); - Jointly reviewing opportunities and obstacles (technical. legal. administrative) in applying this experience in other regions - Developing appraisal techniques (technical. financial and territorial) to generate investment proposals. ready for implementation. in selected cities and regions - Testing new technological and multimodal approaches to adapt the infrastructure (tracks. interchanges) in selected demonstration projects. 5 key Work Packages: WP1- Transnational knowledge transfer on technical & legal challenges in the development of regional tram systems WP2- Appraisal of the economic feasibility & developmental/territorial impacts of regional tram systems WP3- Knowledge transfer in improving the inter-operability & accessibility of transport hubs linking the regional tram systems to regional/national gateways WP4- Joint development of innovative marketing strategies addressing potential users and the private sector WP5- Implementation of the communication strategy