The UIC International Railway Research Board (IRRB) has received the 2026 ERCI Achievement Award for its contribution to building a more connected and inclusive model for railway research and innovation worldwide.
The Award was presented by Dirk-Ulrich Krüger, President of the European Railway Clusters Initiative (ERCI), during the ERCI Awards Ceremony at InnoTrans 2026.
The 2026 Achievement Award was dedicated to “Outstanding Contribution to the Strategic Autonomy of the European Rail Industry”.
For ERCI, strategic autonomy does not mean innovation in isolation. It also depends on the ability of the European railway ecosystem to identify and mobilise its own innovation capabilities, connect actors throughout the value chain and engage effectively with knowledge and innovation emerging in other parts of the world.
It is precisely this capacity to connect regional strengths with global railway challenges that ERCI is recognising through this year’s Award.
A new architecture for railway innovation
Established within UIC as its global research and innovation framework, the IRRB is currently implementing a model centred on six Regional Competence Hubs (RCHs) covering Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
Rather than concentrating research and innovation activity centrally, each Hub is rooted in the priorities, capabilities and challenges of its own geographical area, while remaining connected through the overall IRRB structure. UIC describes the model as combining regional autonomy with global coordination, enabling research and innovation to remain locally relevant while benefiting from international knowledge exchange and cooperation.
As UIC summarises the principle:
“Rail Innovation is global, but it starts at the regional level.”
for ERCI, this approach has particular significance.
European railway innovation is itself highly distributed. A substantial part of technological capability lies within regional industrial ecosystems and throughout the supply chain – including specialised technology providers, start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises.
UIC’s evolving innovation framework increasingly recognises this broader community. Its Academic Board for Innovation, operating under the IRRB, connects universities, research institutes and training centres with UIC members and industry innovators, including SMEs and start-ups, creating opportunities for partnerships, knowledge exchange and collaborative innovation.
This opening of the global railway research and innovation dialogue to the wider value chain is one of the central reasons for ERCI’s recognition of the IRRB.
Connecting those who need innovation with those who can provide it
Dirk-Ulrich Krüger, President of ERCI, said:
“The ERCI Achievement Award is not simply about recognising innovation. It is about recognising those who create the conditions in which innovation can emerge, connect and ultimately contribute to the development of the railway sector.”
“UIC has a unique position in understanding railway needs and emerging challenges across the world. Through the renewed IRRB and its Regional Competence Hubs, it is creating an architecture that combines global coordination with regional intelligence.”
“For ERCI, there is another particularly important dimension. Innovation does not come only from railway operators, major industrial groups or research institutions. A significant part of it originates throughout the supply chain, very often within specialised SMEs. These companies may be small in size, but not in innovation capacity.”
“By increasingly opening its innovation ecosystem to these actors, UIC is helping to build a bridge between the needs of the railway system and solutions emerging from across its value chain. This is exactly the kind of connection that ERCI, as the European railway meta-cluster, exists to facilitate.”
Regional intelligence, global collaboration
The UIC Regional Competence Hubs are designed not merely as geographic branches, but as regional platforms for continuous research and innovation activity.
Each Hub develops its work around the needs and priorities of its region, bringing together relevant railway stakeholders and creating opportunities to exchange knowledge, identify common challenges and develop collaborative initiatives. The six Hubs then allow these regional perspectives to contribute to a wider global framework.
The model is already moving into implementation. In 2026, UIC launched dedicated activities for the European, North American and African Regional Competence Hubs; the first African workshop in September brought together UIC members and universities to define priorities and an action plan for 2026–2028.
Through its participation in the IRRB, ERCI brings into this dialogue the perspective of Europe’s railway clusters and their industrial ecosystems, contributing in particular to ensuring that the innovation capabilities of SMEs and specialised suppliers can connect with the wider needs of the railway system.
Artur Fojud, Deputy Director Research & Innovation at UIC Digital Systems & Innovation Department, said:
“The transformation of the IRRB is based on a simple principle: railway innovation must respond to regional needs while benefiting from global knowledge and collaboration. The Regional Competence Hubs give different parts of the world the ability to identify their own priorities and capabilities, while remaining connected through a common international framework.”
“We particularly welcome the recognition from ERCI because successful innovation requires the participation of the entire ecosystem – railway organisations, research and academia, industry and the companies developing new technologies throughout the value chain.”
The ERCI Achievement Award
First introduced in 2022, the ERCI Achievement Award recognises every two years at InnoTrans an individual or organisation whose activities have made a significant contribution to railways and multimodality in an area of particular relevance to ERCI’s members and mission.
Each ERCI cluster may nominate one candidate. The nominated candidates are then voted on by all ERCI clusters. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes is awarded the ERCI Achievement Award. UIC IRRB was nominated by DITECFER, Italy.Unlike the ERCI Innovation Awards, which recognise specific market-oriented innovations developed by companies, the Achievement Award acknowledges a broader contribution to the development of the railway ecosystem.
About UIC-IRRB
The International Railway Research Board (IRRB) is UIC’s global framework for railway research and innovation.
Its renewed structure includes six Regional Competence Hubs – Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America, Latin America, Middle East and Africa – designed to drive locally relevant research and innovation while connecting regional knowledge and priorities within a global framework.
The IRRB structure also includes the Academic Board for Innovation, which connects academic and research organisations with UIC members and industrial innovators and supports cooperation, knowledge exchange, emerging talent and the identification of future railway technologies and trends.
Website: https://uic.org/research-and-innovation/international-railway-research-board-irrb/
