Siemens Mobility Norway hosted debate on rail digitalization at Arendalsuka 2025
Siemens Mobility Norway participated in Norway’s largest political gathering, Arendalsuka 2025, hosting a panel discussion with industry experts, focusing on rail digitalization and its potential to deliver more efficient railway services at lower cost to taxpayers.
Watch the full event recording here (external link).
Debate on railways digitalization
The debate, which was co-hosted with IKT Norge, took place at the Castelle Bar & Restaurant in Arendal and was attended by close to 300 people. It was held under the title: Digital railways: Can modern technology deliver more rail for less taxpayer money?
At Arendal 2025, we addressed a critical issue which sparked a lively and successful debate. We need to change the way we work so that we can realize the full potential and value of the technologies we are investing in, such as ERTMS. There's now a clear consensus that data is a strategic resource that remains largely untapped.
The panel featured top-level representatives from across the railway sector:
- Cecilie Knibe Kroglund, State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport
- Børge Nilsen, Head of Digitalization and Innovation at Bane NOR
- Åsmund Mæhle, Department Director for Digitalization, Innovation and Technology at Norwegian Railway Directorate
- Birger Steffensen, CEO of Siemens Mobility Norway
- Kristian Kolind, Group Director of Business Development and Technology at Vy
- Fredrik Syversen, Director of Strategy and Business Development at IKT Norge (Moderator)
Addressing Key Challenges in Rail Digitalization
The debate explored how Norway’s railway sector could make better use of the data generated by major digitalization initiatives such as ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System), which is described as Norway’s largest digitalization project. According to the National Transport Plan 2025 – 2036, digitalization and improved data usage are central priorities, with the authorities seeking to strengthen collaboration and reduce barriers to data sharing.
Key topics of the debate included:
- How digital technologies could increase rail capacity without building new infrastructure.
- The need for a coherent data-sharing strategy and framework to fully utilize operational data from ERTMS and other systems.
- Breaking down silos and establishing structured cross-sector collaboration between suppliers, infrastructure managers, operators, and authorities.
- Creating a culture of continuous innovation and openness to new ways of working, as part of a broader digital transformation of the railway sector.
- Ensuring that the benefits of digitalization translate directly into better punctuality, increased capacity, and improved passenger experience.
Transformation is a journey – we need to move from discussion to action and enable the broader use of data to ensure more reliable train operations for passengers. Additionally, we must embrace new collaborative models and innovative approaches by breaking down silos and fostering a genuine ecosystem, which is exactly what we're facilitating through Siemens Xcelerator.
The discussion highlighted that achieving these benefits will require political leadership, clear strategic direction, and a willingness across the sector to embrace change, work together, and make full use of the technology already available.
The event also generated significant interest in Siemens Mobility’s upcoming customer conference, which is taking place on 27 August at the National Museum in Oslo. Industry stakeholders will have the opportunity to explore Siemens Mobility’s latest innovative solutions in more depth and continue the important discussions started at Arendalsuka.
About Arendalsuka 2025
Arendalsuka is Norway’s largest annual political gathering. It took place from 11 - 15 August 2025, in Arendal. Over 2,300 events and 200 exhibition stands were featured during the week, all of which were open to the public. The 2025 edition focused on several thematic areas, including the main theme of health, digitalization, sustainability, and economic development. The event brought together political decision-makers, business representatives, civil society organizations, the media, and the general public, providing a comprehensive democratic forum for discussing current societal challenges.
Watch the full event recording here (external link).
Contact for journalists in Norway
Christian Jahr
Head Communication & Marketing at Siemens Mobility AS
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-jahr-1721a43/
Phone: +47 952 26 088
Email: christian.jahr@siemens.com