ALSTOM SCHWEIZ AG

Their core work

Alstom Schweiz AG is the Swiss arm of Alstom, one of Europe's largest rail transport manufacturers. Within H2020, they contribute deep technical expertise on rail freight modernization — including wagon design, running gear engineering, propulsion systems, and condition-based maintenance. They also work on autonomous train operation technologies such as ATO (Automatic Train Operation), remote driving, and environment perception systems. Their participation is concentrated within the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking, Europe's flagship rail innovation program.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Early projects (2017-2019) focused heavily on physical rail freight components: wagon design, running gears, propulsion systems, and condition-based maintenance for bogies. By 2019-2020, the focus shifted toward digitalization, automation, and system-level integration — autonomous train operation (ATO/ADAS), remote driving, automatic diagnostics, and integrated mobility management. This mirrors the broader rail industry's transition from hardware optimization to software-driven autonomous operations.

Alstom Schweiz is moving from traditional mechanical rail engineering toward autonomous train operation and digital rail systems — a partner well-positioned for future automation-focused consortia.

How they like to work

Alstom Schweiz operates predominantly as a third-party contributor (5 of 7 projects), providing specialized industrial expertise to large Shift2Rail consortia without taking on coordination responsibilities. With 78 unique partners across 15 countries, they maintain a broad European network but engage as a technical contributor rather than a consortium driver. This reflects their role as a major industry player lending real-world engineering capability to research-driven programs.

Extensive network of 78 unique partners spanning 15 countries, built entirely through the Shift2Rail ecosystem. This gives them strong connections to Europe's rail research community, including operators, infrastructure managers, and technology suppliers.

What sets them apart

As a subsidiary of one of the world's two largest rail manufacturers, Alstom Schweiz brings industrial-scale engineering capability that most research partners cannot match — they don't just study rail systems, they build them. Their dual expertise in both traditional freight mechanics and emerging autonomous operations makes them a rare bridge between established rail engineering and next-generation digital rail. For consortium builders, partnering with Alstom means access to real deployment pathways, not just research outputs.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TAURO
  Represents Alstom's push into autonomous rail — covers ATO, ADAS, remote driving, and automatic diagnostics, signaling their strategic direction.
• FR8RAIL IV
  Their largest funded project (EUR 316,519) and an upgrade to full participant status, covering automatic coupling and long trains up to 1500m.
• X2Rail-4
  Advanced signalling and automation project bridging Alstom's traditional systems expertise with next-generation traffic management and smart controllers.