VOESTALPINE RAILWAY SYSTEMS GMBH

Their core work

voestalpine Railway Systems is the railway infrastructure division of voestalpine AG, one of Europe's leading steel and technology groups. They design and manufacture turnout systems (switches and crossings), rails, and related track components used across European and global rail networks. In H2020, they contributed industrial expertise to the Shift2Rail programme, focusing on next-generation track and switch-and-crossing systems as well as bridge and tunnel infrastructure improvements.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their focus has remained highly consistent across the 2016–2023 period, centred on tracks, switches, crossings, bridges, and tunnels through three successive IN2TRACK projects. The main shift is a broadening in scope: IN2TRACK2 (2018) introduced the "radical innovations" keyword, suggesting a move from incremental improvements toward more ambitious redesigns of rail infrastructure components. By IN2TRACK3, they also received significantly more funding (EUR 124K vs EUR 34K in the first project), indicating a growing role within the consortium.

They are deepening their involvement in EU rail research with increasing funding shares, moving from basic track enhancement toward more ambitious infrastructure innovation within the Shift2Rail ecosystem.

How they like to work

voestalpine Railway Systems operates exclusively as a participant, never leading consortia — consistent with a large industrial company contributing manufacturing expertise and real-world testing capacity rather than driving research agendas. They work in large consortia (52 unique partners across 13 countries in just 3 projects), which is typical for Shift2Rail flagship initiatives. Their loyalty to the IN2TRACK project series across three iterations suggests they are a trusted, long-term consortium member rather than a one-off contributor.

With 52 unique consortium partners across 13 countries from just 3 projects, they are embedded in the core European rail research network, primarily through the Shift2Rail programme's large-scale collaborative projects.

What sets them apart

As a division of voestalpine AG, they bring real manufacturing capability and market access that most research partners cannot offer — they actually produce and sell the track components being researched. Their participation in all three IN2TRACK iterations makes them one of the consistent industrial anchors of this research line. For consortium builders in rail infrastructure, they offer the bridge between laboratory research and large-scale industrial deployment.

Highlights from their portfolio

• IN2TRACK2
  Largest funding share (EUR 175,982) and introduced 'radical innovations' as a research direction, marking a shift beyond incremental track improvements.
• IN2TRACK3
  Most recent project (2021–2023), continuing the series with EUR 124,220 and demonstrating sustained long-term commitment to the Shift2Rail research agenda.