A fresh perspective on rail
At the Railway Influencer Festival, the jury recognised outstanding content and brought together the rail industry and influencers at the Marshall-Haus.
Award-winning content creators presented their trophies at the Railway Influencer Festival during InnoTrans 2026. Photo: Messe Berlin
InnoTrans felt like Disneyland to Adam El Rafey on his first visit two years ago. The 16-year-old from Dubai has been interested in trains for as long as he can remember. This year, the young train enthusiast and speaker returned and delivered the opening keynote address at the Railway Influencer Festival in the Marshall-Haus.
What matters to him is that skill knows no age limits. Young people are interested in AI and innovative technologies, but rarely think of the rail sector in this context. Conversely, young people are rarely given a say in technologies that affect their future. That needs to change – and that is what the InnoTrans Railway Influencer Festival stands for.
Following its debut in 2024, the festival was significantly larger this year. Around twice as many content creators and some 30 companies gathered at the Marshall-Haus. A jury comprising representatives from the industry associations DVF (German Transport Forum), UNIFE (Union des Industries Ferroviaires Européennes), VDB (German Railway Industry Association) and ZVEI (German Electrical and Digital Industries Association) selected the winners in four categories.
Best Urban Mobility Video: Urban Mobility Explained
Malaurie Chokoualé and Andres Santin Fernandez from Barcelona run the YouTube channel ‘Urban Mobility Explained’ (UMX) with the support of the European Union. The channel focuses not only on trains, but on all forms of urban transport. They won the ‘Best Urban Mobility Video’ award with a video filmed in Medellín, Colombia.
Through their videos, they aim to inform viewers about the pros and cons of different modes of transport, so that they can form their own opinions.
Best Mobility Channel: Via Trolebus
The jury awarded Via Trolebus the title of Best Mobility Channel. The Brazilian portal and its YouTube channel cover public transport and urban mobility – from trains and the underground to buses – and also give their community a behind-the-scenes look at transport systems.
Best InnoTrans Video: Bahnwelten
Blixa Schirmer from Leipzig was delighted to receive the first award of his career as a content creator. He has been producing content since 2015 and was attending InnoTrans for the fifth time. His YouTube channel, Bahnwelten, won the award in the ‘Best InnoTrans Video’ category.
Best Brand Video: Windhoff
The jury awarded the ‘Best Brand Video’ prize to InnoTrans exhibitor Windhoff. In the video, the supplier of railway and plant engineering technology shows the transport of a plant to Norway.
Dr Florian Eck, Managing Director of the DVF, was delighted with the creators’ fresh perspective on the rail industry. He noted that critical users are often neglected during the development process. The Railway Influencer Festival, he said, is the ideal opportunity to bring industry, associations and consumers together.
The winners of the 2026 Railway Influencer Festival gathered at the Marshall House for the award ceremony. Photo: Messe Berlin