Visions for the mobility of tomorrow to be presented at InnoTrans

Credit: InnoTrans

From 18-21 September the comprehensive programme of conferences at InnoTrans 2018 provides an opportunity for international developers, companies and operators to respond to questions about current and future issues in the transport sector.

The InnoTrans convention is the venue for high-level discussions between decision-makers from politics and business. Based on the various different segments of the trade fair – from Interiors to Tunnel Construction – this event will embrace a large number of international, multi-disciplinary topics.

The Dialog Forum, a series of events being held at the Palais am Funkturm, looks at the opportunities for digitisation, the growing demands of customers and the far-reaching need for innovative systems. Global warming, as well as pollution by nitrous oxide, noise and fine dust particles all intensify the need for cleaner transport. This event is taking place under the auspices of the German Transport Forum (DVF), the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), the Association of the European Rail Industry Federation (UNIFE) and the German Railway Industry Association (VDB).

The VDB event ‘Rail Transport 4.0 – Innovation within the Railway Industry for more Climate Protection and more Customer Quality’ (19 September 10:00-12:00) features innovations from the industry such as smart infrastructure, low noise transport, predictive maintenance and driverless vehicles. The objective is ‘Zero emissions’. At ‘Digitalisation in rail freight transport – challenges and chances for businesses’ (19 September 14:00-16:00) the discussions will deal with the current demands and background conditions for the new digital and multimodal transport chains.

UNIFE has announced that a discussion will take place about the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) (20 September 10:00-12:00). The focus will be on concepts for achieving the seamless deployment of the ERTMS, with automated services and improved cyber-security.

The VDB is addressing the subject of ‘Innovation Paths 4.0 – VDB Future Workshop’ (21 September 10:00-12:00). Here the subject of the discussions will be mobility in the digital age and the opportunities for the Internet of Things. Start-ups in the industry will be using elevator pitches to present their latest developments.

The Rail Leaders’ Summit is an invitation-only event on the first day of the trade fair with some outstanding participants: ministers of transport and chairmen of the boards of rail companies from around the world will be attending this conference on 18 September 15:00-17:00 to discuss the subject of ‘RAILtropolis – The future of cities is rail’, where they will look at the prospects for efficient, sustainable transport in the world’s rapidly growing cities.

The International Tunnel Forum (19 and 20 September 14:00-16:00) examines the new requirements and working structures needed to ensure the rapid construction of tunnels. There is a steady increase in the number of tunnels under construction around the world. For the period up to 2030, the sum of €270 billion has been earmarked for the maintenance and expansion of transport routes in Germany alone.

The International Design Center Berlin (IDZ) is staging the International Design Forum on 19 September (10:15-14:30). The main theme is ‘From Interior Visions to Extended Mobility – Innovative Transport Solutions for a Changing World’, and under this general heading participants will be looking at new sensor technology for customer-friendly, intuitive communication.

The 11th Public Transport Forum will focus on digitalisation in local public transport. On 20 September (10:00-12:30) operators and experts will be putting forward ideas and engaging in discussions with the audience about new forms of mobility, improved public transport in rural and the ensuing challenges that this presents for IT.

The Internet of Things and redesigning the forms of mobility on offer will be the subjects dealt with at the DB Innovation Forum, which made its debut at InnoTrans 2016. This half-day conference provides an opportunity for managers, developers and scientists to examine the subject of ‘Shaping intermodal mobility together’ (20 September 12:00-17:00).