The who’s who of the global rail industry is due to be gathered at the opening event of InnoTrans 2014 in Berlin. Over 1,000 senior figures from Germany and abroad representing industry, politics and science are expected to attend the opening ceremony of the world’s leading trade fair for rail transport technology which takes place on 23 September in the Palais am Funkturm. In addition to EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas and Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Alexander Dobrindt, transport ministers and senior executives representing rail industry companies and network operators from around the world will also be at this event.
Siim Kallas and Alexander Dobrindt will each deliver an opening speech. According to Federal Minister Alexander Dobrindt, "The railways have the potential to be the transport of the digital age. In the years to come the railways must be modernised still further. Everything that is currently technically feasible and is on the market is being shown by the industry at InnoTrans.” Directly after the two politicians’ motivational speeches a panel discussion entitled "Urban & Regional Transport" will take place. Thus the opening event will address a key industry topic, since in order to meet the needs of growing urbanisation on a global scale new and innovative mobility solutions are required.
Taking part in the panel discussion will be Rüdiger Grube, CEO of Deutsche Bahn, Tetsuro Tomita, CEO of the East Japan Railway Co., and Jürgen Fenske, president of the Association of German Transport Operators. Also participating in the high-level panel discussion will be the following senior rail industry figures: Henri Poupart-Lafarge, president of Alstom Transport, Lutz Bertling, president of Bombardier Transportation, and Jochen Eickholt, CEO of Siemens Division Rail Systems.
