ERCI Innovation Awards 2026

Every year, ERCI honours pioneering innovation projects of European rail industry companies with the yearly ERCI Innovation Awards. Winners are selected by a European jury of independent experts representing industry, research and public authorities.

This year, the ERCI – European Railway Clusters Initiative is once again presenting the ERCI Innovation Awards for innovations in rail systems technology. The contest is open to SMEs and Large Enterprises.

Award Categories

There are three categories:

Best SME Enterprise submission
Best Large Enterprise
Coup de Coeur Award

UK Regional Round

The UK Regional Round, coordinated by the Rail Forum and in partnership with BRIC and Rail Cluster Scotland, will open on 23 March 2026 and close on 8 May 2026.

Entries will be accepted from any eligible* members of the three organisations. Only one submission per organisationwill be accepted.

Each cluster will conduct their own evaluation of entries and will nominate three applications for the international finals.

Evaluation Criteria

Selection of winners is based on the following criteria:

Innovation features of the solution
Economic and social benefits for the railway sector
Integration of new digital technologies
Impact on “human capital”
Creation of the innovation by networking (cooperation with other private or public entities)

All finalists are evaluated based on a set matrix established by ERCI and assessed by a nominated judge from each cluster.

International Finals

Three winning applications from the UK Regional Round will be put forward to the international finals.

The winners for the categories are identified using the ERCI scoring matrix. Winners will be notified in the summer of 2026, with the official announcements taking place at InnoTrans 2026.

Winners are expected to attend the event.