Our innovation ecosystem

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To build the rail network of the future, we rely on a broad ecosystem of partners: specialist companies, start-ups, research labs, trade federations and top schools. All of them work with us in a win-win relationship to make the rail sector more efficient, more relevant and more attractive.

Tapping into leading-edge expertise

We work with industrial partners of the highest calibre, from both within and outside the rail sector, based in France and abroad. By developing and mastering advanced technologies that go beyond our usual scope, these partners help enrich our long-standing expertise. Their know-how meets a wide range of needs across the rail network, particularly in: 

  • Safety, monitoring and supervision 
  • Energy efficiency and environmental sustainability

A win-win collaboration

For our partners, these joint innovation projects are opportunities to co-develop the rail technologies of tomorrow and benefit from ideal testing conditions thanks to the resources we bring as a major player in the sector. For us, they represent a chance to broaden our innovation scope while addressing the needs of the network. And for everyone involved, it is a chance to combine our respective areas of expertise to develop solutions that help rail succeed. 

Co-design, testing... and industrial rollout!

Each partner learns from these projects. They gain valuable insight into the feasibility and relevance of their innovations in the rail sector. For our part, we arrive at solutions that are tailored to our infrastructure. The ultimate aim of these innovations is to reach an industrialisable solution, one that can be rolled out widely and sustainably across the network.

Our innovations are all the more effective and impactful because they are imagined and developed together.

Author : Author: Matthieu Chabanel, Chairperson and CEO of SNCF Réseau

Innovating together means...

  • Pooling everyone’s skills,

    knowledge and expertise

  • Accelerating projects

    and co-developing the future technologies for the network

  • Expanding the scope of innovation

    while meeting the network’s needs

Who are our innovation partners?

Our centuries-old industry remains a powerful rallying force, bringing together start-ups, partners, ideas, energy and enthusiasm!

  • Major transport companies: RATP Infrastructures, Infrabel, Getlink, Network Rail, DB Netz, Trafikverket, etc. 
  • Start-ups: such as Durwood (researching alternatives to creosote), Kayrros, Absolut System, Moïz, etc. 
  • Railway industry federations that unite start-ups, large corporations and expert SMEs: SERCE, the French rail industry federation (FIF), the French union of railway track works contractors (SETVF), the National federation of public works (FNTP), and more.
  • Research institutes: IRT Railenium (rail industry technological research institute), b<>com, and IRTs specialising in AI and 5G
  • Innovation organisations: Innovation Makers Alliance, an independent network of strategic and operational innovation leaders 
  • Universities and top schools: Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, Mines, CentraleSupélec, École des Ponts ParisTech, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Université Gustave Eiffel, École spéciale des travaux publics, du bâtiment et de l’industrie, and more.
  • Competitiveness clusters: I-Trans (mobility and transport), Team2 (circular economy), Pôle Derbi, etc.

Focus on academic labs

Our partnerships with academic laboratories help advance research and deepen scientific knowledge in support of our projects. Key areas of exploration include artificial intelligence, complex system safety, cognitive science, physical modelling and operations research.

Rail Open Lab, a living innovation hub

Collaborative innovation in all its forms

A non-profit organisation under the French 1901 Law, Rail Open Lab accelerates digital and technological projects in the French rail sector. It is led by SNCF Réseau, RATP Infrastructures, the French rail industry federation (FIF), and SERCE (a network of companies driving the energy and digital transition), and brings together around 30 industrial partners and infrastructure managers. 

Everyone brings their expertise to the table to design and test promising new solutions over just four months, in real operating conditions. These solutions are based on cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. Together, the participants develop products and services focused on the needs of frontline staff, with the ultimate goal of improving the performance of rail infrastructure. 

“Rail Open Lab is a fantastic collaborative platform, bringing together infrastructure managers and technical and technology experts in an ecosystem that puts the end user first. By combining our areas of expertise, we can deliver unique, targeted solutions for the industry, in just four months.”

Author : Author: Benoît Besson, Head of Open Innovation, Digital Technologies Division
Discover the Rail Open Lab

The key role of our industrial subsidiaries

As true innovation laboratories for the rail sector, our subsidiaries give us the agility we need to experiment. Their combined expertise strengthens our ability to deliver the level of quality our customers expect.