About Vicky Alman

Vicky, CEO of NIART Systems, a distinguished engineer who holds two advanced degrees, bringing a background from the highly regulated aerospace sector to the rail industry. At NIART, she leads the application of advanced AI and sensor technology to create predictive rail infrastructure. As a recognized industry leader, she specializes in the digital transformation of rail, focusing on how these innovations mitigate supply chain risk and eliminate the massive, hidden financial costs associated with incidents and infrastructure failures. She offers a crucial, data-driven perspective for global rail professionals.

About NIART Systems

The company offers a unique radar-powered railway obstacle detection solution. Uncovering hidden obstacles and providing real-time insights in any condition, NIART aims to transform the rail industry by offering a solution that prevents accidents, reduces delays, and accelerates the shift towards safer, smarter and more reliable railways.

https://niart-systems.com/

About Lido Costa

Lido was the Lead Technical Engineer for the AutoHaul® Driverless Trains system for Rio Tinto, Australia, responsible for system integration, hardware and software architecture approval, and safety assurance strategy.Over the past five years, he has served as an Expert Consultant to DB Cargo (German Railways) on the ATO/RTO Betuwe Project — Europe’s first freight ATO and Remote Train Operation initiative — and is also an Expert Consultant with NIART Perception Systems.With over 35 years’ experience in railway signalling, communications, and control systems, Lido has held senior roles on major projects across Europe (including the Madrid–Seville High Speed Line), Asia, Africa, and Australia.He is a Chartered Professional Engineer (Australia), a Fellow of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (FIRSE, UK), and winner of the 2021 Australasian Rail Industry Awards – Signalling and Systems Engineering Award.

My Key Takeaways

• Perception is the “eyes and ears” of autonomous trains — without it, autonomy is blind.
• Rail automation is reaching its limits with rule-based systems; higher capacity and safety demands push the next step.
• Sensor fusion (radar + cameras) is essential — no single sensor is reliable enough on its own.
• NIART (train spelled backwards) brings aerospace-grade, mission-critical engineering into rail.
• AutoHaul is called the “largest robot in the world.”
• The trains are massive: 2.5 km long, up to ~40,000 tons, fully automated in mainline operation.
• Biggest business driver: avoiding driver-change stops — restarting a 40,000-ton train costs serious time and fuel.
• Unexpected benefit: highly consistent driving reduces wear variability and improves maintenance planning.
• Fun fact: Western Australia reportedly has more camels than Saudi Arabia — and trains regularly encounter them.
• Next evolution: adding onboard perception systems to further reduce residual risks and increase flexibility and safety.

Sebastian Sperker

sebastian@railup.club

https://www.railup.club/

About Milan

Milan Karunaratne is a Vice President at Wabtec with nearly two decades of experience pioneering digital solutions in rail transportation across GE and Wabtec. He leads the global Digital Advanced Technology organization within the Office of the CTO, bringing a startup-style approach to innovation within a large enterprise. A Railway Age "25 Under 40" award recipient with an MS in Mechanical Engineering (Stony Brook) and MBA (UCLA), Milan and his team specialize in translating emerging technologies like automation, robotics, and AI into production-ready solutions that deliver measurable impact to safety, reliability, and operational performance.

About Wabtec

Wabtec Corporation is revolutionizing the way the world moves for future generations. The Company is a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and value-added services for the freight and transit rail industries, as well as the mining, marine and industrial markets.

https://www.wabteccorp.com/

My Key Takeaways

• Big players can innovate too – As Wabtec’s history shows, even long-established rail companies can reshape the industry when innovation is taken seriously.
• Autonomy is a must for the future – It’s not hype, but essential to improve safety, efficiency, and rail’s competitiveness against road transport.
• Rail is already a high-tech system – Rail networks are among the most complex and data-rich platforms in the world.
• Maverick is the North Star – The Maverick project represents the long-term vision for autonomous rail, especially in shunting and local operations.
• Pathfinder delivers value today – A pragmatic upgrade that brings modern digital, safety, and automation capabilities to existing locomotives.
• Big innovation happens in steps – Breakthroughs come from many smaller innovations, not one giant leap.
• Autonomy needs the whole system – Locomotives, yards, IT, data, and processes must evolve together.
• Humans stay in the loop – Automation supports people; it doesn’t replace them.
• Safety and regulation come first – Rail autonomy must respect the unique physical and operational constraints of rail.
• Get your hands dirty – Real innovation means experimenting, iterating, failing fast, and learning by doing.

Sebastian Sperker

https://www.railup.club/

sebastian@railup.club

About Bernhard Frei

Bernhard is a strategy and innovation expert with 25+ years of leadership experience in mobility, industry, and technology. As Director of Corporate Development at PROSE AG, he shapes the strategic transformation of a leading European mobility engineering company. Previously, he held senior roles at Zoppas Industries, ALPHA ET, and Kraft Foods. He is a SWISSRAIL board member, university lecturer, and holds a PhD in Business Administration, an Executive MBA, and engineering degrees.

About Felix Saur

Felix is a Senior Consultant at PROSE AG in Bern. For more than 15 years, he has led numerous projects in the field of running gear and measurement technology for rail vehicles. At PROSE, Felix is particularly responsible for troubleshooting projects. In addition, he works on wheelset torsion issues involving wheelset axles, as well as challenges such as the demand-oriented railhead conditioning presented in this podcast, which require interdisciplinary solution approaches.

About Prose

PROSE is a leading European engineering and consulting company for the mobility sector, with a strong focus on rail transportation. The company supports rail manufacturers, operators, maintenance providers, and authorities in the areas of rolling stock engineering, maintenance, certification, safety, digitalization, and systems engineering.

With around 150 employees at several locations across Europe, PROSE combines deep technical expertise with strong strategic consulting capabilities. The company focuses on innovative, sustainable, and economically robust solutions that cover the full lifecycle of rail vehicles and mobility systems.

PROSE is regarded as an independent, manufacturer-neutral partner and is the market leader in engineering and consulting for the rail sector within the EU. It guides customers through complex transformation processes, develops future-oriented business models, and strengthens the competitiveness of the European mobility industry.

https://prose.one/

Key Takeaways

• A serendipitous beginning: COVID forced PROSE to rethink their approach — leading to an unexpected discovery that kick-started the Bern project.
• A decades-old problem: Bern’s trams produced loud curve squealing — a nuisance no one had truly solved.
• AI meets acoustics: Trams equipped with microphones,GPS, and weather data predict noise before it happens.
• Swarm intelligence: Only part of the fleet needssensors — they collectively guide lubrication like a hive.
• 98% noise reduction: Bern transforms into a “silent city,” with complaints disappearing almost instantly.
• Lucky discovery, bigger impact: Felix realized acoustic fingerprints reveal much more — enabling new use casesfor freight, passenger trains, and maintenance.
• Mindset matters: Openness, willingness to fail, andblending digital skills with veteran expertise are key.
• Swiss rail magic: Strong societal support and integrated planning make Switzerland the ideal birthplace for such serendipitous breakthroughs.
• Less concrete: Every euro poured into new tracks triggers seven euros in maintenance later — a cost spiral that demands smarter, not bigger, rail systems.

Sebastian Sperker

sebastian@railup.club

https://www.railup.club/