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Driving the Future of Rail: WDF Vienna 2025 Set New Benchmarks in Digital Signalling
Over three dynamic days at Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere, the Wayside Digitalisation Forum 2025 brought together leading railway operators, technology providers, system integrators, and experts from around the world.
www.frauscher.com
WDF 2025 – Keynote by Mayank Tripathi
© Frauscher Sensor Technology
The event focused on the ongoing digital transformation of railway signalling and wayside infrastructure. Attendees highlighted the value of sharing real-world experiences from digitalisation projects across countries, with particular attention to the importance of standardisation and complexity reduction across borders – topics that resonated far beyond Europe.
Technical speeches, inspiring conversations
The technical sessions of WDF 2025 were structured around multiple thematic streams, covering the full spectrum of digital signalling, system architecture, predictive maintenance, and cross-system integration. Speakers from Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia showcased diverse implementation experiences, offering a truly global perspective on the challenges and opportunities of digital signalling transformation. All streams were interspersed with extended breaks, allowing for personal dialogue and exchange. Key highlights included:
. Digital Interlocking as a platform for ETCS rollout, featuring insights from DB InfraGO’s Donauwörth project amongst others
. EULYNX and modular signalling architectures, addressing how standardization enables a flexible, interoperable future, emphasized in a presentation from the EULYNX consortium and others
. Predictive Maintenance and Digital Twins, presented by ÖBB and international technology partners
. Monitoring and diagnostics, with contributions from Network Rail, KONUX, and others
. Operational value through digital diagnostics, including best practices from Infrabel
Standardisation and complexity reduction – central to the debate
One of the most discussed topics throughout the forum was how standardisation — particularly through initiatives like EULYNX — can make signalling systems interoperable across borders while reducing engineering and operational complexity. “We had controversial discussions about this in both panels”, says Michael Leining, Managing Director, Nextrail, who moderated the discussions on stage: “System integration was the other big topic that we were speaking about. There are challenges for all the infrastructure managers as well as suppliers to handle system integration when it comes to standardization.” In total, all participants emphasised that digital transformation requires not only technological advances but also organisational and regulatory alignment.
A strong signal of success
The Wayside Digitalisation Forum 2025 was a resounding success — a testament to the sector’s collective commitment to progress. The event fostered an exceptional atmosphere of collaboration and openness. Participants valued not only the technical depth of the sessions but also the cross-industry networking opportunities that will help accelerate global efforts to digitalise railway infrastructure. Key figures underline its impact:
. Around 220 attendees
. Speakers and participants from 30 countries, 5 continents and 81 railway companies
. 29 speakers delivering 20 presentations and 2 panel discussions
By connecting real-world experiences with visionary strategies, WDF 2025 strengthened its position as a key platform for the future of wayside digitalisation.
The message from Vienna was clear: the digital transformation of rail signalling is well underway — and collaboration across industries and borders is the key to making it a sustainable success.
www.frauscher.com
© Frauscher Sensor Technology
The event focused on the ongoing digital transformation of railway signalling and wayside infrastructure. Attendees highlighted the value of sharing real-world experiences from digitalisation projects across countries, with particular attention to the importance of standardisation and complexity reduction across borders – topics that resonated far beyond Europe.
Technical speeches, inspiring conversations
The technical sessions of WDF 2025 were structured around multiple thematic streams, covering the full spectrum of digital signalling, system architecture, predictive maintenance, and cross-system integration. Speakers from Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia showcased diverse implementation experiences, offering a truly global perspective on the challenges and opportunities of digital signalling transformation. All streams were interspersed with extended breaks, allowing for personal dialogue and exchange. Key highlights included:
. Digital Interlocking as a platform for ETCS rollout, featuring insights from DB InfraGO’s Donauwörth project amongst others
. EULYNX and modular signalling architectures, addressing how standardization enables a flexible, interoperable future, emphasized in a presentation from the EULYNX consortium and others
. Predictive Maintenance and Digital Twins, presented by ÖBB and international technology partners
. Monitoring and diagnostics, with contributions from Network Rail, KONUX, and others
. Operational value through digital diagnostics, including best practices from Infrabel
Standardisation and complexity reduction – central to the debate
One of the most discussed topics throughout the forum was how standardisation — particularly through initiatives like EULYNX — can make signalling systems interoperable across borders while reducing engineering and operational complexity. “We had controversial discussions about this in both panels”, says Michael Leining, Managing Director, Nextrail, who moderated the discussions on stage: “System integration was the other big topic that we were speaking about. There are challenges for all the infrastructure managers as well as suppliers to handle system integration when it comes to standardization.” In total, all participants emphasised that digital transformation requires not only technological advances but also organisational and regulatory alignment.
A strong signal of success
The Wayside Digitalisation Forum 2025 was a resounding success — a testament to the sector’s collective commitment to progress. The event fostered an exceptional atmosphere of collaboration and openness. Participants valued not only the technical depth of the sessions but also the cross-industry networking opportunities that will help accelerate global efforts to digitalise railway infrastructure. Key figures underline its impact:
. Around 220 attendees
. Speakers and participants from 30 countries, 5 continents and 81 railway companies
. 29 speakers delivering 20 presentations and 2 panel discussions
By connecting real-world experiences with visionary strategies, WDF 2025 strengthened its position as a key platform for the future of wayside digitalisation.
The message from Vienna was clear: the digital transformation of rail signalling is well underway — and collaboration across industries and borders is the key to making it a sustainable success.
www.frauscher.com
