The 2025 TRAKO International Railway Fair is history. From September 23rd to 26th, Gdańsk in Poland was Europe’s railway heart. The event is considered the largest railway fair in Central and Eastern Europe and the second largest on the continent. New records were set at this year's edition with nearly 700 exhibitors and over 23,000 visitors from 54 countries.
TRAKO is a place to exhibit innovative solutions for railways. This opportunity couldn't be missed to present the latest achievements in the rollout of the Digital Automatic Coupling in Europe. Please, find below a full summary of the course of the event.
The first day of the fair was an opportunity to “Meet the DAC Experts” of different companies involved in the EuropeanDAC Delivery Programme and the Europe’s Rail projects FP5-TRANS4M-R, DACFIT and FP5DACtiVate. They were ready to answer questions from the public at the booths of DB Systemtechnik (incl. DB Cargo and DB Group), Instytut Kolejnictwa, PKP Group, Dellner – Train Connection Systems, and Voith Turbo. The experts were able to cover a wide range of aspects of the DAC project – from technology and operation through authorisation to migration preparation.
Later that day, the Guided DAC Tour organised by the European DAC Delivery Programme with support of Europe’s Rail and again the projects FP5-TRANS4M-R, DACFIT and FP5-DACtiVate took place. Nearly 30 participants were guided through various stations, getting a comprehensive overview of DAC activities across Europe. The tour started with a brief introduction by Nicolas Furio, Head of Innovation Pillar of Europ’s Rail and Enno Wiebe, the Executive Director of UNIFE, representing the European rail supply industry. Instytut Kolejnictwa continued, presenting its role in the DACFIT project and the project itself. FP5-DACtiVate project and PKP activities within it were presented next at the booth of PKP Group. And finally, DAC manufacturers, Dellner – Train Connection Systems and Voith Turbo, presented in turn their products - digital automatic coupler and hybrid coupler.
The lively networking and exchange of views and ideas following the DAC tour continued during the DAC Panel Discussion, which rounded off the DAC activities on that day at TRAKO 2025. The panel organised by DACFIT project partner Instytut Kolejnictwa and Izba Gospodarcza Transportu Lądowego, brought together both DAC proponents and sceptics to discuss the advantages as well as challenges of DAC implementing and its implications for freight transport. The Head of Innovation Pillar, Nicolas Furio, opened the session with the introductory remarks. Further discussion included issues of progress in DAC implementation and PioDAC introduction, European migration strategies and the possible challenges of the transition period. Marek Pawlik from Instytut Kolejnictwa led through the debate with panelists, Libor Lochman from EDDP, Jan Bergstrand from Trafikverket, Zbigniew Jancewicz from PKP Group and Mirosław Szczelina from IGTL. The panelists provided detailed descriptions of current status of DAC and answered all questions from the audience.
