Berlin (AFP) – Trains powered by artificial intelligence, autonomous shuttles... The German railway group Deutsche Bahn, the laughing stock of the country for its lack of punctuality, is working on the mobility of the future, a metamorphosis complicated by the exorbitant cost of renovating railway infrastructure and bureaucracy.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 11:48

At the InnoTrans fair in Berlin, bringing together the world's railway giants, a brightly colored train called Automated Train is parked in an aisle.

The machine can travel without a driver from a railway depot to a station, at a maximum speed of 40 km/h. Thanks to lidars (laser radar), ultrasonic sensors and infrared cameras, it can spot dangers on the track and brake alone.

The German Ministry of the Economy subsidized this program to the tune of 42 million euros, as part of a plan worth around a hundred billion promised by 2030 to modernize the decrepit infrastructure of Deutsche Bahn, after decades of underinvestment.

“Rail must return to performance,” declared the new Minister of Transport Steffen Bilger at the opening of the show, the lack of punctuality of German trains having become an inexhaustible subject of mockery and annoyance.

The renovation of sections, such as that between Hanover (center of the country) and the capital Berlin, which will begin in October for at least 14 months, takes up time, money and disrupts routes.

“Conservative” industry

At InnoTrans, the heavyweights of the railway industry, such as the German group Siemens, the Chinese CRRC or the French Alstom compete with demonstrations to convince that digital data makes it possible to improve traffic or train maintenance.

But in Germany, progress in digitalization, the necessary basis for the concrete deployment of artificial intelligence (AI), is hardly tangible: less than 2% of the national network was equipped with the European train control system (ETCS) in 2025, compared to 9% for the European average, regrets the sector NGO Allianz Pro Schiene.

Meanwhile, autonomous transport on a high-speed line has been a reality in China since 2019, at 350 km/h. In France, several large cities have had automated metro lines for years (only one in Germany, in Nuremberg).

According to a study by consulting firm BCG, AI could generate between $36 billion and $79 billion in cost reductions for the global rail sector, which is currently struggling to achieve “measurable results” with this technology.

“The railway industry is quite conservative and we really have to convince it,” said Lidia Garcia, technical manager of the Spanish robotics start-up Ostirion.

Targeting the German market, this company wants to relieve drivers by removing repetitive and arduous tasks with its AI solutions. She also believes she can help Deutsche Bahn better inform travelers, "often frustrated" by inaccurate timetables and chaotic communication.

“Lack of staff”

OTIV, a Belgian start-up, is working with Deutsche Bahn on assistance systems ranging from collision prevention to full automation.

On its stand at InnoTrans, curious people can remotely pilot a freight train in the Netherlands on a life-size dashboard.

Soon a reality for passenger transport? German rules complicate everything, judges OTIV boss Sam de Smet, referring to the bureaucratic burden that Friedrich Merz's government promises to lighten

“There is still a lot of work to be done for authorizations, to evolve regulations, so that we can really start using these innovative technologies,” he says.

If new developments were previously implemented over decades, “with AI and other robotic applications, everything moves much faster,” says Lidia Garcia.

Deutsche Bahn is also considering replacing its regional bus lines with autonomous shuttles. A scenario envisaged for the horizon... 2045. An eternity after the arrival, planned for the end of 2027, of robotaxis from the American group Waymo in Munich.

In Germany, digital transformation also comes up against the mistrust of the train drivers' union GDL, which "will watch very closely if the promise of simplification suddenly turns into an argument for further job cuts", warns its president Mario Reiss, in a press release to AFP.

“We are really trying to fill the staff shortage, not replace drivers,” promises Milo Beliën, software engineer at Futurail, a Franco-German start-up that automates trains.

© 2026 AFP

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