Berlin became the pre-eminent meeting place for the global railway industry from September 20 to 23 when this year’s InnoTrans took place there. This four-day event ended on a high point with the best results in its history. Compared with its immediate predecessor, exhibitor numbers rose by seven per cent and trade visitor participation by four per cent. 2,955 exhibitors from 60 countries presented their products and an extensive range of services on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. All available space on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds was occupied, a total of 112,000 square meters.
The Outdoor Display featured 127 innovative vehicles. Among the highlights were 149 products making their international debuts – convincing proof of the innovative strengths of the railway industry and the appeal of this trade show as a marketing platform and its ability to promote innovation. This year’s InnoTrans attracted 144,470 trade visitors from more than 140 countries to Berlin. Satisfaction levels among the trade visitors were in excess of 90 per cent.
InnoTrans gives an impetus to business
Once again this year InnoTrans justified its reputation as the world’s largest market place for the industry. Contracts worth millions and numerous joint ventures were signed and announced at the trade show. For example, Vossloh and CRCC High-Tech Equipment Corporation Limited (CRCCE) have signed two contracts for the construction of self-propelled high speed grinding machines and an agreement has been signed between Solaris and the Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe for the delivery of 14 of the latest generation of Solaris Urbino 18 buses.
Stadler announced several successful negotiations leading, for example, to an order from Alpha Trains for the conversion of 44 electric multiple units. Bombardier Transportation and the manufacturer China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) have extended and intensified their cooperation with the signing of a strategic joint venture agreement.
InnoTrans is also gaining in importance as a hub for communication between politics and industry. For example, during the trade fair the Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) approved support for two development projects for alternative drive systems, one with a value of four million euros for Bombardier and a further eight million for Alstom.
Highlight: vehicle presentations on the outdoor display
Trade visitors were able to inspect no fewer than 127 rail vehicles on the Outdoor Display. Leading domestic and foreign exhibitors made use of the trade show to present their latest vehicles to an international audience for the first time, or for the symbolic handover of vehicles to their customers.
Alstom exhibited its new regional train, the fuel cell-powered Coradia Lint, on the Outdoor Display. Siemens demonstrated the “Velaro Türkei” high-speed train and the “Metro Riad” underground train. Both celebrated their world debut. Johannes Max-Theurer, managing director of Plasser & Theurer, handed over a new Series 705.1 tunnel inspection vehicle to Dr. Roland Bosch, head of Production at DB Netz AG.
Stadler handed over the new EC250 “Giruno” Eurocity train in the presence of Andreas Meyer, CEO of the Swiss national rail operator SBB, and Peter Spuhler, Group CEO and proprietor of Stadler. Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks presented its new road-rail Unimog.
Survey of exhibitors and trade visitors
Exhibitors and trade visitors revealed that they were very satisfied with the outcome of InnoTrans 2016. According to a representative survey, around 90 per cent of exhibitors would recommend this event to others and clearly intent to take part in the event again. Some 90 per cent of exhibitors anticipate commercial results following the trade show.
Trade visitors obtained a positive overall impression of the trade show, the range of exhibits and the commercial results. Trade visitors attending InnoTrans 2016 again included a high proportion of leading decision-makers. Within their respective companies half of all trade visitors exercise a decisive or contributory influence on purchasing and procurement decisions. This was also reflected in the large number of business deals that were finalized. 90 per cent of the trade visitors would recommend this trade show to others.
InnoTrans Convention offers an outstanding dialogue between experts
For visitors and industry experts the InnoTrans Convention offers a level playing field for professional discussions. There were eleven events in the five main forums, dealing with mobility issues of current and future relevance. For example, at the Dialog Forum the focus was on digitization in rail passenger and freight transport, and on the technology for digital services.
With some prominent figures the Rail Leaders‘ Summit took place under the heading of “Innovation in the Digital Age: Rail faces the challenges of the Future“. Alexander Dobrindt, federal minister for transport and digital infrastructure, emphasized the innovative strengths in the railway sector. The railways have always set the tone for innovations.
The International Design Forum provided an arena for discussions about closer links between design and mobility. The discussions by the speakers at the DB Innovation Forum took place under the heading of “Open Innovation@InnoTrans – Creating a better and more sustainable mobility“. Among the topics dealt with at the International Tunnel Forum were the added value of building information modelling (BIM), i.e. interconnected design, planning and building in the construction of tunnels.
Public Days attract 16,000 train enthusiasts
On 24 and 25 September some 16,000 train enthusiasts and adventurous families gathered on the Outdoor Display at Messe Berlin. The 3,500 metres of track featured the latest freight cars, locomotives, trams, entire trains and special rail vehicles. Providing plenty of enjoyment away from the tracks were several bouncy castles, a super Fun Slide and the country’s largest toy train set that visitors could walk around, covering 120 square meters. There were talks by Deutsche Bahn about regional railway topics, vocational training, construction projects and environmental protection. On Sunday Deutsche Bahn organised the Railwayman’s Day, where visitors’ question were answered by, among others, Berlin’s Transport Senator Andreas Geisel and the Deutsche Bahn representative for Berlin, Alexander Kaczmarek.
