Rail Roundtable

Last week, industry experts from the rail sector gathered at our head office for the Rail Roundtable to discuss the future of rail transport and the Federal Government’s agenda.

Following the welcome, our Rail Pulse Check provided an overview of the current state of the industry: Where do we stand today – and what decisions are needed to enable transformation?

Johanna Leisch, Managing Director (COO) at KONUX, then demonstrated the contribution innovative technologies can make to the future of the rail sector. In another keynote, Robert Dorn, Managing Director of the Federal Association of Regional Rail Passenger Transport, shared the perspective of regional transport on the Federal Government’s planned measures.

During the fishbowl discussion, participants reached a shared conclusion: ambitious goals can only be achieved through cooperation, clear prioritisation and decisive action.

The get-together at the end offered space for exchange, new contacts and ideas that drive progress.

Our Key Take-aways:

• Ambitious: The Federal Government is sending a strong signal with a comprehensive package of measures.
• Lack of focus: To create real impact, clear priorities and consistent implementation are essential.
• Right direction: The agenda addresses the sector’s key challenges.
• Legacy burden: Decades of underinvestment are slowing progress.
• Bottleneck in skills and planning: Capacity in construction, planning and staffing will determine success.
• Cooperation as the key: Real change requires close alignment between federal government, states, Deutsche Bahn, operators and the construction industry – supported by long-term reliable funding.

The Rail Roundtable made one thing clear: the direction is set – now it’s time for decisive action to put the rail industry on a future-ready track.