Track to the Future

The iaf brings together the players of the market in Muenster every four years. Here, experts, companies, and trade visitors meet to showcase large machinery for track and superstructure, often including the necessary software as modular systems, and exchange technical knowledge. They initiate business deals, attract new customers, and strengthen their networks.

With its successful combination of trade fair, lectures, and company presentations, the iaf has established itself as the largest exhibition in the international field of track technology and railway construction. Nowhere else latest machines, equipment, and technologies in the field of track technology and railway construction are presented so comprehensively and concentrated. From May 20-22, 2025, we, the VDEI, are looking forward to welcoming more than 15,000 trade visitors and 200 exhibitors from around the world in Muenster.

The iaf was designed with a focus on track technology and railway construction. It aims to bring together companies and individuals and showcase the breadth of this industry. It encompasses maintenance and construction, career development and planning security, as well as transportation politcs and cross-border transport. The iaf makes the world of track construction tangible and accessible. Stephan Schulte from the VDEI Technical Committee on Track Construction puts it perfectly: "The iaf impressively demonstrates how masses of steel and high-performance machinery are moved. For example, a concrete sleeper weighs about 280 to 300 kilograms, and a meter of rail about 60 kilograms - this is literally 'Heavy Metal'. The iaf is a showcase of performance that fascinates far beyond the specialist world."

In 2022, the motto of the iaf – International Exhibition of Track Technology – was "Track to the Future". We have kept this motto for 2025 because it is more relevant than ever. The pandemic from 2019-2022 brought the world to a standstill before it resumed with full speed ahead.

But what does "Track to the Future" mean? Digitalization? Exchange and knowledge transfer? Globalization? Safety?

In track technology, it means machine technology combined with state-of-the-art technologies that achieve the best results in track construction to extend the lifespan of both machines and tracks. This saves raw materials and increases efficiency for the customer.

Currently, it also means, especially in Germany, patience from the customer. The expansion to a high-performance network by 2030 requires Germany and its neighboring countries to provide personnel, materials, and a well-thought-out strategy to get the high-performance network on track. It also means change in project work and the use of digital tools. These digital tools must be mastered by both people and machines, which requires adaptation and a willingness for knowledge growth and transfer.

The VDEI approaches all of this with intelligence, motivation, and enthusiasm. The railway, or a functioning rail infrastructure, is the heart of a society. It was only through rail transport that substantial reductions in transport costs allowed people access to knowledge and goods, and it will remain the number one mode of transport in the world in the future. Therefore, the VDEI is committed to strengthening and expanding rail transport in politics, administration, business, research, and education. The people in the VDEI are employees and entrepreneurs in the railway sector who promote exchange among themselves and within society. At the iaf, exhibitors, professional visitors, and the VDEI demonstrate how this is done.