Programme

8:00

Registration

8:55

Ben Holliday | Managing Director | Rotaia Media (Organiser) & Daniel MacGregor | Co-Founder | Nexxiot (Chairman)

Welcome Address

9:00

Rolf Härdi | Chief Technology Innovation Officer | Deutsche Bahn AG

The Co-operative IoT Frontier: Unlocking Unseen Potential through Sector-Wide Data Evolution.

• How Cooperation Drives IoT Data Excellence
• From Fragmented to Unified through a Collaborative Strategy for Diagnostic Data Mastery
• Hurdles and accelerators for sharing data - Benefits, limits, and Pitfalls in sharing Data

9:15

Bill Jacobs | AVP of Innovation | CSX Transportation

AI at the Edge: Transforming Rail Safety and Efficiency

• Why CSX is betting on edge AI to revolutionize rail operations
• Real-world deployments: Edge AI in action across CSX
• Lessons learned: Avoiding common pitfalls in edge AI implementation

9:30

Dr. Uwe Jasnoch | Director EMEA for GTD | Hexagon

Next-gen rail infrastructure management: harnessing digital twins, asset management and perimeter security

• Enhance decision making and operational efficiency with digital twins
• Maximize lifespan, performance and value with advanced monitoring and predictive maintenance
• Prevent interrupts with optimal digital twin-based perimeter security

9:45

John F. Orr | Executive VP, COO | Norfolk Southern

10:00

Anthony Ashbrook | CEO | Machines with Vision

From millimetre precision to autonomous maintenance: how vision AI is transforming railway operations

• Solving the positioning problem: how vision AI achieves millimetre accuracy to unlock railway maintenance automation
• Network Rail case study: transforming ultrasonic testing from fault location failure to first-time precision with Fault Navigator
• The roadmap to self-repairing railways: scaling from human navigation to fully autonomous maintenance systems

10:15

Railway Operators Panel Discussion

As railways lean on IoT, AI and data to keep services reliable, the real advantage lies in how well operators, infrastructure managers and suppliers connect their insights across the whole value chain.

• From siloed data to system-wide foresight:
  How can predictive analytics be embedded across operations and maintenance so that local insights prevent failures and delays across the entire network?
• Trust, governance and value in data sharing:
  What commercial, technical and organisational models are needed to convince all stakeholders to share data in ways that are secure, fair – and clearly beneficial for everyone?
• Building an open, interoperable digital ecosystem:
  What does a truly open rail ecosystem look like in practice, and how can the industry align on standards and platforms that unlock capacity, improve availability and cut lifecycle costs?

Panellists:

• Rolf Härdi | Chief Technology Innovation Officer | Deutsche Bahn AG
• Bill Jacobs | AVP of Innovation | CSX Transportation
• Konstantinos Kyranakis | Alternate Minister of Transport | Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Greece
• John F. Orr | Executive VP, COO | Norfolk Southern
• Martin Runge | Head of Digital Services | Siemens Mobility
• Matthaeus Decker | Head of Global Railway | SKF

10:45

Morning Refreshments in the Networking & Exhibition Area

11:15

Konstantinos Kyranakis | Alternate Minister of Transport | Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Greece

From a Fragmented Network toa Unified, Trust-Building Digital Rail Platform

• How decades of fragmentation and paper-based processes created operational blind spots
• How the organisational reform is replacing this legacy environment with one unified digital rail platform through integrating real-time date and IoT feeds
• How accurate real-time geo-location through railway.gov.gr is helping rebuild public trust

11:30

Gerhard Paal | Head of Digital Services Sales | Siemens Mobility Customer Services

Maintenance Execution and Operation Support enabled by Railigent X

• The power of choice for maintenance optimization, automation and operations support
• Combing the real and digital worlds for superior operation support and maintenance execution
• Railigent X applications support essential tasks and workflows in maintenance – perfectly interlinked with operations

11:45

Mona Sihota | Network Technical Head - Drainage and Lineside | Network Rail

Technology meets nature - Using technology to manage a growing green asset

• Train-borne cameras and aerial images to capture the network
• AI and machine visualisation to identify encroachment and sighting defects
• Creating an end-to-end platform that considered business needs as well as technology

12:00

Franziska Schneditz-Bolfras | Product Manager | voestalpine Signaling Austria GmbH

How intelligence delivers maximum turnout availability

• End-to-end system integration transforms sensor data into actionable insights
• Centralized platforms enable predictive maintenance and resource optimization
• Intelligent solutions maximize turnout availability through automated monitoring

12:15

Leon Kong | Head of Data & Innovation | Greater Anglia

From trains to tickets: building a cross-functional data platform for the railway

• Lessons from uniting engineering, operations, retail, and passenger data into one platform
• How cross-functional data changes the way decisions are made day to day
• The challenges of integration in a complex, federated rail ecosystem

12:30

Pedro Conceição | Head of Product Management | Nomad Digital

Architecting Integrated Systems for Data-Driven Journeys

12:45

Lunch in the Networking & Exhibition Area

13:45

Stefan Distlberger | Head of Business Development | Vossloh

Trust by Design

• Safety, Security, and Compliance through Vossloh Connect
• Tools to cope with future infrastructure requirements
• Enabling trust in track design

14:00

Dr. Armin Günter | Head of Digital Automatic Coupling Project | DB Cargo

Digital Automatic Coupling – a massive rail freight transformation and its obstacles

• The idea of the Digital Automatic Coupling Project, and its obstacles
• About missing trust in the reliability of new digital solutions (especially if safety-relevant), challenges in the engineering, problems with authorization and mass retrofit, need for standards, and huge concerns of stakeholders to share data
• Some approaches in our project, on how we possibly could overcome those hurdles

14:15

Lokesh Jain | Senior Program Manager & Head of the Condition Monitoring & Digitalization Competence Center | SKF

Predict, Prevent, Perform - Made easy

• Data and equipment life
• Integration and insights
• Case Studies

14:30

Arvydas Dveilys | Head of Infrastructure Maintenance Department | AB LTG Infra

DaDI - Data Driven Infrastructure @ LTG INFRA

• Digital transformation in a large public sector organization
• Single source of truth – the silver bullet for network data
• Backbone for the next generation of digital LTG INFRA initiatives

14:45

Javier De la Cruz | Managing Director | CAF Digital Services

LeadMind: Railway Intelligence in the Age of Data and AI

• From Data to Operational Intelligence: How the combination of AI, people, and a redefined operating model is transforming decision-making
• Beyond Maintenance: Real-world use cases of LeadMind in planning, service quality, safety, and sustainability
• Comprehensive Monitoring: Leveraging onboard and wayside data sources for a 360º view of operational status

15:00

Marc Silverwood | Digital Trains Programme Lead | Northern Rail

From Tracks to Data: How CAF’s Leadmind Platform is Driving Northern Trains’ Digital Transformation

• Turning Data into Action: Real-time IoT and AI insights from Leadmind boosting reliability, efficiency, and passenger satisfaction
• One Connected Railway: Integrating trains, depots, and teams through seamless digital connectivity for smarter, faster decisions
• Innovation with Impact: Measurable results in cost savings, punctuality, and sustainability proving digital transformation delivers

15:15

Afternoon Refreshments in the Networking & Exhibition Area

16:00

Hugues Brun | Data Scientist | Railnova

Enhancing Fleet Maintenance Management (ECM3) Productivity with AI-Driven Ticket Intelligence

• Defect tickets as the backbone of fleet maintenance management: how their quality impacts every downstream process
• Leveraging AI to enrich and structure ticket data, enabling faster and more reliable maintenance decisions/automatic ticket classification
• Help ECM2 analyze feedback from automatic ticket classifications (failures, incidents, wear patterns) to improve the maintenance plan

16:15

Antoine Belleguie | Innovation Projects Manager - Strategy & Development Direction | Rail Logistics Europe

Transforming freight rail safety with IoT and real-time data: The MONITOR project

• Introduction to MONITOR—a France 2030/ADEME-funded digital monitoring system by Rail Logistics Europe (SNCF), Wabtec and RTM.
• Use cases: automatic train composition, digital brake tests, in-transit anomaly detection, and axle/vibration monitoring.
• Benefits: improved safety, reduced maintenance time and emissions, and pilots planned for 2026.

16:30

Maximilian Eichhorn | CEO | Nexxiot

Asset & Fleet Intelligence – increasing operational performance of railways

• Steel assets can be transformed into digital assets
• From Asset Visibility to Asset & Fleet Intelligence
• Use Case and value capture

16:45

Kamal Mezgouti | IoT Product Leader | SNCB/NMBS
and Ange Feuba | Team Team Lead Data | SNCB/NMBS

From Sensors to Adoption: Building Open IoT Solutions for Rail

• Designing IoT solutions that support managers, technicians, and decision-makers
• Ensuring reliable data capture and governance for large-scale deployment
• Enabling open and integrable solutions within digital twin environments

17:00

Jenny Hudson | Managing Director | Transmission Dynamics & Murven Wan | Mechanical Engineer and Product Delivery Manager | Transmission Dynamics

Intelligent Insights from Trains with Brains®: Predicting the Unpredictable

• Proven success stories demonstrating the measurable impact of AI and smart sensing in rail
• Turning IoT data into actionable insights that prevent failures and reduce maintenance costs
• Showcasing how predictive analytics and edge intelligence are transforming rail reliability and safety

17:10

Infrastructure Manager Panel Discussion

As budgets tighten and expectations rise, IoT, AI and advanced analytics are becoming the only realistic way for railways to boost performance, cut disruption and extend asset life without massive new capex.

• From pilots to platform thinking:
  Many organisations have successful pilots, but struggle to scale. What are the critical steps to move from one-off use cases to integrated, enterprise-wide IoT, AI and data platforms?
• Designing a single, scalable digital spine
  In an environment of disparate systems, vendors and asset owners, how do we move towards a unified, scalable architecture that connects infrastructure, rolling stock and wayside assets into one real-time source of operational insight?
• What makes data ‘prime’ – and shareable? Which technical, organisational and commercial barriers are stopping stakeholders from sharing high-quality, decision-ready data – and what needs to change to unlock that value?

Panellists:

• Sebastian Schaffrath | Team Lead AI Factory PdM/CBM | DB InfraGo
• Arvydas Dveilys | Head of Maintenance | LTG Infra
• Harry Sanders | Manager Data, Informatie & Analytics | ICT A&B | ProRail
• Robert Rydell | Industry Director – Government, Transportation & Defence | Hexagon
• Simon Giovanazzi | CEO | infraView GmbH, Part of DB E.C.O. Group
• Eric Garzon | CCG | In a Blink (INVITED)

17:40

Chairman’s Closing Comments

17:45

Drinks Reception in the Networking & Exhibition Area

18:45

Networking Gala Dinner in the Conference Hall

20:45

End of Day 1

9:00

Daniel Ferreira | Head of Data & Innovation | MRS Logística

Innovation in Motion: MRS’s Digital Transformation through Data and AI

• Building the Data Foundation: How MRS structured its data strategy to support operational excellence and deliver measurable business value.
• Innovating with Purpose: key use cases where data-driven innovation transformed decision-making and collaboration across teams.
• AI as a Strategic Engine: MRS AI strategy, the challenges in adoption and a vision for the future of intelligent rail operations.

9:15

Gemma Salazar Luque | VP of Strategy, Product Policy, Marketing, Technical & Innovation | Hitachi Rail

HMAX for Rail: How new modular, scalable digital solutions are revolutionizing rail maintenance and operations

• Rail operators face mounting pressure to deliver reliable, cost-effective services while managing ageing infrastructure, labour shortages, cost inflation, and sustainability targets.
• With around 50% of the cost of operating a railway coming from maintenance and energy, there is significant opportunity to use AI powered solutions to drive meaningful improvements that can benefit passengers, operators and PTOs alike.
• This presentation will feature insights from a range of case studies from urban and intercity rail transport operators, as well Hitachi's vision for the AI revolution in Rail

9:30

Heiko Loskill | AI Office Lead | DB InfraGO & Sebastian Schaffrath | Team Lead AI Factory PdM/CBM | DB InfraGo

How to get out of data and AI PoC-hell

• Challenges of growing data and AI use cases
• Transforming ideas into reusable products and business impact
• Lessons learned and good practices from DB InfraGO Strategy and AI Office

9:45

Alan Dittrich | Head of Digital Solutions, Rail Drive Systems | ZF Group

ZF connect@rail – the digital revolution of a condition monitoring system

• Sustainable Rail Transport: How ZF Connect@Rail enhances maintenance processes for sustainability
• Impact on Preventive Maintenance: The disruption and benefits of condition monitoring systems
• Reality of Digitalization: Assessing the revolutionary impact of successful digitalization

10:00

Abdulrahman Abughazala | Lead Systems Engineer | SAR (Saudi Railway Company)

10:15

Alexander Meier | Associate Partner | Wavestone

From Delay to Decision: How Graph Neural Networks Keep Trains Moving

• Detect disruptions before they happen through graph-based pattern recognition
• Predict network-wide impacts and propose optimal rerouting in real time
• Move towards self-optimizing rail operations powered by intelligent graphs

10:30

Yorick Teeuwen | Track Data Engineer | Rhomberg Sersa Rail Machine AG

The way to Sustainable Investment Decisions in Railway Asset Management

• Requirements for structures and data to achieve consistency across processes and systems
• Data consolidation processes relating to linear structures and time aspects
• Key success factors and recommendations

10:45

Morning Refreshments in the Networking & Exhibition Area

11:15

Jani Myllymäki | IT Director – Logistics IT & Digitalization | VR Group (INVITED)

11:30

José Antonio Marcos | Head Area Manager of Smart Maintenance Engineering | Talgo

11:45

Harry Sanders | Manager Data, Informative & Analytics | ICT A&B | ProRail

Using passenger trains to replace measurement trains

• Scaling up earlier trials on building sensors in passenger trains
• Using operations research to defining which and how many passenger trains we need to equip with sensors
• Collecting and analysing sensor data using machine learning techniques

12:00

RESERVED

12:15

RESERVED

12:30

Vegard Bjørseth | Head of Data and Analytics | Vy (INVITED)

12:45

Bernt Junker | Director Annual Planning & Asset Management | TX Logistik

Multimodal shift and carbon footprint

• How can asset management contribute to zero emission
• Can zero emission support to save costs?
• Theory meets real life

13:00

Helmut Klarer | Chief Information Architect - Enterprise Architect Infrastructure Technology und Networks | ÖBB Holding AG

“No InfoSec - no Business” or “Lollypop InfoSec” or tbd…

• CyberSecurity in Sektor Railway
• Cyber Resilience Act facing AI, IoT and “internal” Services
• AI CyberSecurity; think different

13:15

Lunch in the Networking & Exhibition Area

14:15

Round Table Discussion Groups

1. Serialization in Rail: Opportunities and Challenges
2. Overcoming Barriers to Unlock Real Impact on Fleet Availability
3. Automating the Rail Maintenance Management Workflow with AI
4. How to build a value-generating digital ecosystem overcoming individual constraints
5. What are the most impactful AI/ML use cases you've encountered, and what future trends and emerging technologies do you foresee that will add the most value to the rail industry?
6. Next Generation Rail Communication: FRMCS Ready? How Europe Is Bridging Communication, Control and Connectivity
7. From Data Chaos to Business Clarity: Making Sense of Infinite Sources
8. Challenges in a data flow from measurement to management decision
9. IoT for predictive maintenance
10. The future of predictive maintenance in rail: Opportunities, challenges and innovations
11. The past, present and future of big data and AI in digital asset management: what are the challenges and opportunities?

15:30

Chairman’s Closing Comments & End of Conference