The conference and its associated trade exhibition took place in September 2021. For more than 2,000 participants, it was the much-awaited first opportunity for a face-to-face exchange. Plasser & Theurer was at the heart of it all and was involved in the conference programme. “The dawn of a new mobility age”: the conference theme underlines the important role railways play in Germany, Europe, and the world. The Railway Forum targets experts from the public, private, and industry sectors. Top managers, executives from Central Procurement at Deutsche Bahn and their suppliers were among the participants.

After two days filled with conversations and discussions, Johannes Max-Theurer, CEO of Plasser & Theurer, put it this way: "The first large-scale event after the pandemic was important for strengthening the mutual understanding of railway and industry. As “Team Rail”, climate change is a challenge we are facing together. It takes a joint effort to tackle it.”

Advantages of an in-person event

Dr. Florian Auer, Director of Global Technology and Innovation, presented “Smart Machines” to the expert audience. Plasser & Theurer has experience with new technologies in the field of increasingly automated and autonomous track construction. Digitalisation has long since become an integral part of it, bringing about major advances in quality and speed, from planning and infrastructure surveying to the automation of the working sequences on the track. “The digital transformation our branch is undergoing, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, made the 7th Railway Forum a very special event,” says Auer.

As “Smart Maintenance Partners”, experts and decision-makers were welcome to learn more about this at our exhibition stand. The machines of the successful E³-programme were the main focus of interest. Johann Dumser, Director of Global Marketing and Communications, sums it up as follows: “As an in-person event, the 7th Railway Forum had some clear advantages compared to online events. Thanks to face-to-face conversations, new relationships were formed and existing ones strengthened." The 8th Railway Forum will once again take place in Berlin, from 5 to 6 September 2023.