22 December 2025
Digitalisation meets mobility: IT-TRANS 2026 Congress Programme released
33 sessions offering insights into the mobility of tomorrow
From 3 – 5 March 2026, Messe Karlsruhe will once again host the international IT-TRANS Congress alongside the namesake trade fair. The congress is one of the world’s leading platforms for digital and intelligent solutions in public transport. The upcoming edition presents a significantly expanded programme. More than 33 sessions with nearly 60 international experts will offer practical, technology-driven and real-world insights.
For the first time, the congress will take place directly within the exhibition halls as a silent congress format. With the use of headsets, participants can follow sessions in an exclusive atmosphere despite the lively backdrop of the trade fair. Long distances between exhibition and congress are eliminated, bringing presentations and networking closer together. This new setup combines efficiency with experience and creates direct access to innovation impulses.
Attendees can expect deep-dives into key areas such as artificial intelligence, user-centric mobility, demand-responsive transport, new vehicle concepts and cybersecurity.
Uniting the industry's key topics on one stage
“Our goal with the IT-TRANS Congress is not just to spotlight trends, but to demonstrate the real-world potential of digital solutions for public transport,” says Olivia Bischoff, Product Owner and the project lead at Messe Karlsruhe. “We focus on market-oriented topics derived from real international use cases, closely linked to the exhibition and shaped by interdisciplinary perspectives.” Transport operators, tech providers, start-ups and policymakers will gain fresh inspiration and hands-on strategies to steer a future-ready and sustainable digital transformation in public transit. In parallel, over 140 exhibitors will showcase their latest innovations. Among them are major industry players like INIT, IVU, Trapeze, Via Mobility and the PTV Group, many of which are also active contributors to the congress programme. Longstanding congress co-organiser UITP will again lend its global expertise in 2026, curating three high-quality sessions and hosting an exhibition stand. This confirms its ongoing role as a key content partner despite the end of its official role as co-organiser.
Diverse perspectives from science, business, and practice
Among the notable speakers are leading international experts such as Peter Dörfler (Principal Product Manager, IVU Traffic Technologies AG), Anne Mercier (Director of Innovation – Algorithms/AI, GIRO), Ramon Pruneda Felip (Deputy CTO, AMB Informacio), and Natalie Rodriguez (Head of Innovation, Hamburger Hochbahn AG). Together, they will explore how AI enables data-driven decisions in public transport during the UITP session “From Data to Decisions – Exploring the Value of Artificial Intelligence within Public Transport.”
Cédric Feldmann (Expert in Station Accessibility, SNCF Voyageurs) and Matthieu Leveque (Project Manager, SNCF Voyageurs), joined by Ezymob founders Camille Maldjian and Julien Minerval, will present “AI-Powered Guidance for Visually Impaired Passengers in Railway Stations and Trains,” showcasing a smartphone-based navigation system for inclusive mobility.
In the UITP session “Large-scale Demonstrations of Automated Vehicles – The Needs of Public Transport,” industry leaders such as Clémentine Barbier (Head of Autonomous Mobility, Keolis), César Omar Chacón Fernández (Department Head, EMT Madrid), Svetlana Drümmer (Senior Project Lead Autonomous Driving, DB Regio), Nadège Faul (Automated Mobility Program, RATP), and Johannes Mossov (Board Member, Auve Tech), will discuss the challenges of deploying pilot projects for automated vehicles. The session will be moderated by Guido Di Pasquale (Managing Director, PAVE Europe).
Practical insight is at the core of the session “Delivering Projects! Enhancing Public Transport and Micromobility Project Management with Cloud-Based Modeling and Transparent Engagement,” held by Adam Lynch (Senior Product Manager, PTV Group), which compiles lessons learned from real-world implementation.
From cloud-based project management to energy optimisation in e-depots, the silent congress format fosters focused knowledge exchange and reflects the digital and inclusive nature of the mobility solutions showcased.
Exhibition, congress, networking: Early-bird rates available until end of January
IT-TRANS targets an international audience of transport operators, tech solution providers, authorities, municipalities and mobility platforms. The congress programme is further enriched by networking opportunities and evening events at the grounds of Messe Karlsruhe as well as the city-centre venue Gartenhalle.
Early-bird discounts on congress and exhibition tickets are available until 31 January 2026.
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