EU-Rail at InnoTrans 2026 — Highlights of the Day 1 (22 September)

Your daily round-up of Europe’s Rail highlights, straight from the floor of InnoTrans 2026! 

InnoTrans kicked off today, and EU-Rail started this year’s edition of the leading international trade fair for transport technology with a vibrant day full of celebration, innovation and high-level exchanges.

From celebrating women driving change in the railway sector with the 2026 Women in Rail Award, to welcoming the InnoTrans VIP Tour at the European Stand and guiding visitors through cutting-edge innovations throughout the fair with the Innovation Tours. At the European Stand, visitors can discover the impact of the EU-Rail JU programme into life: more than 13 physical demonstrations and 20 virtual ones are continuously running at the European booth (Hall 4.2, Stand 260), showcasing tangible innovations visitors can see, experience, and imagine shaping the future of rail.

Explore the highlights from the first day of InnoTrans 2026!

VIP Tour

The starting of our InnoTrans has been also marked by high-level visits from Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Jean-Luc Crucke, Belgian Federal Minister for Mobility, Elina Immonen, Director of Unit for Passenger Rail Services and the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications and Steffen Bilger, Federal Minister for Transport of Germany, and many more.

Women in Rail Award Ceremony

The day continued celebrating the individuals, teams and organisations that are driving change and creating concrete opportunities for women in the railway sector with the Women in Rail Award Ceremony during the Women in Mobility Luncheon event, at Palais, right after the InnoTrans Opening Ceremony. Congratulations to this year’s Award winners:

• Women Empowerment and Leadership Award: Captrain
• R&I in Railway Award: Cecilia Vale, Universidade do Porto .
• Next Generation in Rail Award: Suzanne Flynn, Irish Rail.
• Women in Rail Operations Award: Réka Németh, MAV.

Innovation Tours and Live Demonstrations

Innovation was at the heart of the first day: a wide range of activities both at and beyond the European Stand,  with six themed Innovation Tours – bringing participants into a journey across Europe’s Rail members’ stands at InnoTrans to explore innovations in DAC, Operations, Asset, and Services – and over 20 live demonstrations at the stand, showcased the latest innovations and edge technologies which will transform the European railway sector in the future – for a more digital, interconnected and sustainable rail system in Europe and beyond.

Throughout the fair, visitors at the European stand also had the opportunity to meet railway experts at the Info Points and discover the work of the EU-Rail Flagship Areas and System Pillar and Deployment Group.

Panel Sessions at the Central Stage

Today’s programme was also rich in insights and engaging discussions, with the conversations taking place on the Central Stage. Key highlights from the panels led by EU-Rail taking the stage include:

1. Panel Session “Shaping the future of rail: a collective drive for competitiveness”

Moderated by EU-Rail Executive Director Giorgio Travaini, this session examined how strategic partnerships such as EU-Rail are pivotal in delivering the next generation of European rail, ensuring it is smarter, more resilient and fit for the future. Expert perspectives delivered by leaders from the European Commission, the rolling stock sector, infrastructure management, railway undertakings, and the EU-Rail States Representative Group emphasised that bridging the gap between research breakthroughs and practical market uptake across the entire European rail ecosystem is essential to unlocking safety, operational efficiency, and seamless multimodal integration.

2. Panel Session: “Space Meets Rail: Unlocking Satellite Communications for Europe’s Railways”

This session, moderated by Judit Sandor, explored the growing role of satellite communication and space-based services in supporting the digital transformation of the European railway system. The discussion highlighted the work undertaken within EU-Rail together with the sector and its SATCOM Expert Group to assess, develop and demonstrate the use of secure satellite communication solutions for railway applications.

Find out more about the other days of EU-Rail at InnoTrans

• 21 September – European train to InnoTrans