At InnoTrans 2026, digitalisation has been framed as a major theme, with suppliers using the event to demonstrate how connected systems, data and software are changing railway infrastructure and rolling stock.

Across the exhibition, manufacturers are applying digital technologies to areas ranging from signalling and train detection to predictive maintenance, fleet management and passenger information. A recurring theme is the move away from standalone systems towards connected products that can make greater use of existing digital infrastructure.

One example comes from Frauscher Sensor Technology, where Manfred Sommergruber, Product Manager of Train Detection Systems, presented the potential for digital communication to change how train detection systems are connected to railway infrastructure.

Sommergruber, Product Manager of Train Detection Systems

© Frauscher

Speaking at InnoTrans on 23 September, Sommergruber argued that traditional train detection architectures remain heavily dependent on dedicated cables connecting individual trackside sensors with centralised evaluation equipment.

These point-to-point connections require cable ducts, civil works, installation, testing and maintenance, all adding to the infrastructure required over a railway system’s lifecycle.

To reduce costs, he highlighted the shift towards more connected signalling architectures, with intelligent field elements and object controllers increasingly communicating through standardised digital networks.

Rather than connecting every train detection point to a central location using dedicated signalling cables, Frauscher is exploring how sensors can connect directly to an existing Ethernet backbone. This would allow the digital network already present within railway infrastructure to become the communications layer for trackside equipment.

Frauscher is thus demonstrating a concept prototype at InnoTrans based on its RSR360 Pro digital sensor and a future train detection platform.

Sommergruber noted that this approach could reduce the amount of dedicated infrastructure required while also allowing more information to be transmitted from the trackside.

Higher-bandwidth digital connectivity could, for example, allow additional sensors to be incorporated for applications such as temperature and vibration monitoring. Data from these sensors could then be used by diagnostic systems for applications including track condition monitoring.

The presentation reflected a wider shift at InnoTrans towards railway products that are not simply individual pieces of hardware, but connected components within a broader digital ecosystem.

Sommergruber described this transition as moving “from cables to connectivity”, with the potential for simpler infrastructure, lower lifecycle costs and greater use of data generated at the trackside.

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