Your daily round-up of Europe’s Rail highlights, straight from the floor of InnoTrans 2026! InnoTrans kicked...
EU-Rail at InnoTrans 2026 — Highlights of the Day 1 (22 September)
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EU-Rail at InnoTrans 2026 — Highlights of the Day 2 (23 September)
Your daily round-up of Europe’s Rail highlights, straight from the floor of InnoTrans 2026
Today, InnoTrans got into full swing, with Europe’s Rail highlighting a series of key innovations and discussions across the programme. The demo on Autonomous Rail Operation and a DAC High-Level Demonstration showcased how digitalisation and automation are transforming European rail. On our stage, our Executive Director raised the key role of Railway Innovation, in cutting costs and boosting global competitiveness, while our Head of System Pillar Ian Conlon called for the support of an European ERTMS deal, and provided our perspective on climate-proofing and cybersecurity in Rail. Finally, across five Innovation Tours, participants explored Europe’s Rail’s members initiatives in assets, operations and services.
Explore the highlights from the second day of InnoTrans 2026!
Demo about “Autonomous Rail Operation – Autonomous movements at depot”
In the presence of Magda Kopczyńska, Director-General at DG MOVE, Giorgio Travaini, Executive Director at Europe’s Rail and Iosu Ibarbia, CTO at CAF, this demo showcased EU-Rail innovation through a live demonstration of Europe’s Rail Flagship Project FP2-R2DATO. It brought to life the future of rail operations by showcasing fully autonomous depot movements controlled remotely from Berlin, with trains operating in Oslo without a driver onboard. It demonstrated how cutting-edge automation, real-time connectivity and intelligent control systems can safely execute complex shunting operations across borders, redefining how rail assets are managed.
High-Level Demonstration of the Next Generation towards Full Digital Freight Train Operations
The eagerly awaited high-level demonstration event, showcasing the coupling of trains using both legacy equipment and Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC), took place this afternoon at the HVLE railway centre in Spandau.
Two freight trains competed live in the process of train formation and departure: one representing the old world (traditionally fitted with a Screw Coupler) and another showing the new world (using the DAC coupler).
The demonstration enabled participants to see the technology in action with their own eyes, comparing both approaches live and experiencing how a faster, smarter, and fully digital technology can transform today’s timeless, analogue, offline, and disconnected operations.
From coupling, redefined through the Digital Automated Coupler (DAC), to operations, redefined through Train Consist Detection (TCD), and train readiness, redefined through the Automated Brake Test (ABT), the demo made the benefits of the new technology visible in real time. Led by rail stakeholders involved in European DAC Research and Innovation activities and organised in collaboration with Europe’s Rail, more than a technical demonstration, this iniative represented a major milestone in Europe’s transition from traditional systems to innovative fully digital freight train operations.
The demonstration convened around 80 high-level representatives from across the rail ecosystem, including European institutions, trade unions, industry leaders, and sector associations. Together, they highlighted and promote the core values advanced by European rail as part of the European way of life: sustainability, connectivity, and cooperation.
“Today’s demonstration was more than a showcase of technology – it is proof of what the European Union can achieve by joining forces with the entire rail sector to face a complex, system-wide challenge. Digital Automatic Coupling, combined with digital train consist detection and automated brake testing, shows how we can transform freight operations from analogue and disconnected processes into a more digital, automated and efficient railway. Now we must turn this achievement into a standardised European solution through industrialisation and first pre-deployment activities. Sharing the results across the sector will be essential to build confidence, accelerate innovation and deliver the benefits of digital and logistics freight operations across Europe.”
Giorgio Travaini, Executive Director at Europe’s Rail stated in the opening remarks.
The event brought also the perspective of Eric von Breska – EU – Director for Investment, Innovative and Sustainable Transport – and operators – represented by Maria Antonietta Zocco, Technical Director, Mercitalia Intermodal S.p.A. and Mark Topal Gökceli, CTO ÖBB-Holding AG – wagon keepers – represented by Gilles Peterhans, Secretary General “UIP-International Union of Wagon Keepers – and the industry – represented by Paolo Pagliero, Group Vice President Engineering Wabtec and Thomas Anton, Managing Director Knorr-Bremse SfS GmbH.
Panel Sessions at the Central Stage
Key highlights from the panels led by EU-Rail taking the stage include:
1. Panel Session “Innovation: a must to cut costs & boost global opportunities”
Europe’s Rail Executive Director joined the debate on how Innovation is helping the European railway sector to reduce costs, improve performance, and be a springboard for strengthening industrial competitiveness and expanding global market opportunities, including for SMEs. On the stage with Giorgio Travaini, Oana Gherghinescu, Executive Director at ERA, Maciej Gladyga, ERF President and high-level representatives from our members of Alstom, Adif and SNCF.
The discussion focused on key innovation areas such as predictive maintenance, digital asset management, robotics, automation, and data-driven solutions, highlighting their contribution and the necessary condition for better operational efficiency and cost reduction at EU level and beyond for infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, and suppliers.
2. Speaker’s corner: “Operational harmonisation of digital signalling: Time for change to keep rolling!”
Ian Conlon – Head of System Pillar at Europe’s Rail – and Oana Gherghinescu – Executive Director at ERA – highlighted the role that ERTMS can play to address high cost and complexity of digitalising European railway systems. They called member states and industry to support the delivery of an ERTMS Deal proposed by the European Commission: a European Blueprint for ERTMS that specifies a more complete CCS target system. The panel was moderated by Joachim Luecking, Head of Unit at DG MOVE.
Innovation Tours
As was the case yesterday, today around 30 participants were able to join Europe’s Rail’s programme managers on five themed tours of the stands of 14 of our members, discovering all the innovations our members are developing in collaboration with Europe’s Rail in the areas of Assets, Operations and Services.