Swissrail Export Fall 2023

The Swissrail autumn was under the export star - Swissrail carried out or accompanied activities in Poland, the USA, India, Italy, France and Japan. In close cooperation with Switzerland Global Enterprise and the Swiss Business Hubs, we succeeded in exploring new markets, making important contacts and taking on interesting projects. Before we continue to promote Swiss mobility solutions abroad, we would like to reflect on the fall export season and share our highlights with you.

We kicked off the fall export season in September with a successful SWISS Pavilion appearance at TRAKO in Gdansk. TRAKO is one of the most important trade fairs for the rail industry in Europe and offers the perfect networking platform for the Eastern European market in particular. With a new, open stand concept and a strong representation of Swissrail members, we appealed to a broad specialist audience and convinced them of Swiss innovative strength and quality. As Managing Director of Swissrail, Andreas Haas represented the Swiss perspective in the debate on the future of freight transport. We are convinced that Switzerland must not only be part of the European solution, but can also play a pioneering role. We also want to continue to cultivate the new contacts we have made with the promising Eastern European market. To this end, we are planning a delegation trip to Poland and possibly the Czech Republic in 2024.

The successful trade fair was followed by two delegation trips to India and the USA.

India is a huge and open market for the Swiss rail and mobility industry. Our fact-finding mission to New Delhi with around 20 Swissrail members was an important contribution to promoting the Swiss industry in the Indian market. It was a special honor and a great door opener that the trip was accompanied by Peter Füglistaler, the Director of the Federal Office of Transport (FOT). Highlights of the trip were the match-making event with over 30 Indian companies, the visit to the IREE and the exchange with local representatives such as the Indian Railway Board. The varied programme enabled the delegation to gain an insight into the extensive project roadmap in India and learn about the approval of foreign products and the implementation of localization approaches against the backdrop of "Make in India".

At the same time, we focused on the US market, which holds immense potential for the Swiss rail and mobility industry. There is great motivation throughout the country to invest in rail and sustainable regional mobility. Swissrail's fact-finding mission offered our member companies the opportunity to network with local partners and authorities, learn more about the "Build America, Buy America Act" and understand how Swiss innovation can support the transportation transition. For the delegation, the networking event with Stadler, the visit to the APTA, the exchange with local decision-makers and the German-Austrian-Swiss event "Track is Back" on the implementation of large infrastructure projects, on time, on budget, were very beneficial.

France

Next on the agenda was Paris. Swissrail accompanied the "Grand Paris Express" delegation trip, discussed future collaborations and gained insights into how French public procurement works. Of particular importance was the networking event with the purchasers of the Societé du Grand Paris, their partners and the French companies already involved in projects in order to establish future business relationships. In addition to the upcoming "Grand Paris Express" projects, the SERM (Services Express Régionaux Métropolitains) project plans in the regions are of particular interest to our members. For this reason, we will deepen our understanding of the French roadmap for planned regional transport next year and offer a fact-finding mission to France for our larger companies.

EXPO Ferroviaria Milano

We also supported our members in accessing the Italian market this fall. On the one hand, we were represented with a SWISS Pavilion at EXPO Ferroviaria, the leading trade fair for the rail industry, which offers a comprehensive platform for the exchange of information, innovations and business opportunities. Thanks to our excellent networking, we were subsequently able to organize an event for Swiss suppliers at the system integrator Mermec / Angela Star and enabled our members to make important business contacts and exchange technical information. Important insights were gained in the areas of ETCS on-board technologies, level crossings, diagnostic vehicles, sensors, data management and artificial intelligence.

Mass-Trans Innovation Japan

The last stop on our travels was at Mass-Trans Innovation Japan 2023 in Tokyo. The Japanese market is promising and offers interesting opportunities for Swiss innovation. This was also reflected in the record-high representation of Swissrail members at the SWISS Pavilion, who were able to present their pioneering technologies and products in the rail and mobility sector to a broad specialist audience. The Swiss industry was particularly honored by the participation of Ambassador Dr. Andreas Baum at the opening ceremony. Together, Japan and Switzerland want to continue to lead the way as role models for high-quality railroads and innovative urban mobility.

Finally, we would like to thank all our partners and especially Switzerland Global Enterprise and the Swiss Business Hubs for their support. It is only thanks to their excellent cooperation that we are able to offer our members such a varied, well-organized and broad programme in export promotion. We look forward to all our joint activities in the new year!

Note on the translation: this text was translated using AI and checked by us. If you find any mistakes or something that is not clear, please let us know.