Former Bombardier Transportation CEO Laurent Troger joins Futurail as Board Member and Strategic Advisor
Senior rail executive brings more than three decades of global industry experience to Futurail as the company advances the deployment of autonomous train technology
STRASBOURG / MUNICH, September 3, 2026
Futurail, the European deep-tech company developing autonomous driving technology for trains, today announced the appointment of Laurent Troger, former CEO of Bombardier Transportation, as Board Member and Strategic Advisor.
Troger brings more than three decades of experience across rail technology, rolling stock, signalling, services and turnkey transportation systems. He has had the good fortune to work on almost every step the railway has taken toward automation in that time — network and computer-based train control, radio-based digitalisation of fleet and infrastructure operations and maintenance — helping each of them move from a first, uncertain application into everyday service. In his new role, he will work closely with Futurail's founders and leadership team on company and product strategy, industrial partnerships, market positioning and the development of strategic customer relationships with train manufacturers, system suppliers, operators, infrastructure managers, transport authorities and safety approval bodies.
His appointment comes as Futurail moves into its next phase of growth, progressing its autonomous driving platform from development and pilot projects toward deployment across existing and new train fleets. The platform is designed to work alongside existing signalling systems and to stand on its own where a conventional signalling upgrade cannot be economically justified — extending the benefits of automation to lines and fleets that would otherwise be left out.
"Laurent has spent his career at the intersection of technology, industrialisation and customers in rail. There are very few people who understand this industry from so many different perspectives. For us, this is much more than adding an experienced name to our Board. Laurent will work directly with our team on the decisions that determine how autonomous train technology becomes an industrial product: where it creates the most value, how it integrates into existing railway architectures, and how we build the partnerships required to deploy it at scale."
Alex Haag, Co-Founder and CEO of Futurail
Troger began his rail career at Alstom in 1989, where he worked across signalling, transportation systems and turnkey projects. His work included the MP89 metro programme for Paris, among the first fleets to run driverless — unproven technology at the time, unremarkable on every train today. He went on to help introduce radio-based train control and the first generation of ETCS from specification through safety approval into daily passenger service, and then the first fully driverless CBTC metros, including Singapore. None of that was the achievement of any one person. Each step depended on operators, regulators and industry being willing, together, to take a considered risk on something none of them had run before, and it is their confidence, combined with mastery of the expertise, that allowed the technology to enter service.
In 2004, he joined Bombardier Transportation. Over the following 15 years, he held leadership responsibilities spanning services, rolling stock, technology and operations, with customers in many countries, cities and networks around the world. He started in operations and maintenance, learning what really matters to operators and infrastructure managers. As Chief Technology Officer, he was responsible for a large engineering organisation and a substantial investment portfolio. As Chief Operating Officer, for a wide industrial footprint and for turning engineering decisions into products that can actually be built, approved and delivered. As CEO from 2015 to 2019, he built a strong team of leaders and a brand people were proud to work for. He is the first to say that the programmes which proved the hardest taught him the most: deciding what to fund is far easier than industrialising it, which in turn is far easier than operating and maintaining it for the rest of its life.
Since 2019 he has worked mainly in support of others: backing small innovative companies as they grow, mentoring senior executives through complexity, and advising authorities and operators on major capital programmes and digitally-enhanced operations. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board of RATP Dev, the international public transport operations subsidiary of RATP Group.
"I have been lucky enough to take part in most of the steps railways have taken toward higher automation, and if that has taught me anything it is modesty about technology. It arrives long before the industry understands what it will really cost to put it into service, and it succeeds only when operators, regulators and industry decide together to trust it. What makes Futurail compelling to me is the economics. What the service operators want the most — more frequent, more punctual, more resilient trains — is now within reach. The Futurail onboard solution can complement existing signalling, covering degraded modes of operation and the stretches of infrastructure that signalling does not reach. Or it can stand on its own, where a fleet owner could never otherwise afford automation at all. To me that is as great a prize as adding capacity to lines that are already automated. I am grateful to the co-founders Alex, Max, and Patrick for asking me to join them. I am very pleased to join the Board and work with the team as the company enters this next stage, and to learn from people who understand this technology far better than I do."
Laurent Troger, Board Member and Strategic Advisor of Futurail
Futurail develops an onboard autonomy platform combining perception, precise localisation and vehicle control to enable progressively higher levels of train automation. Its technology is designed both for the retrofit of existing fleets and integration into new vehicles, allowing automation to be introduced incrementally, from driver assistance and depot operations toward fully autonomous train operation, and at a cost that does not depend on renewing the signalling system first.
The company was founded in 2023 by Alex Haag, Dr. Patrick Dendorfer and Maximilian Schöffer , bringing experience from autonomous-driving organisations including Tesla, Argo AI and Edge Case into the rail sector. Futurail operates from Strasbourg and Munich and has raised €7.5 million in funding, backed by Asterion Ventures, Leap4, EIT Urban Mobility, Zero Infinity Partners and Heroic Ventures.
"Rail is entering a period in which software, AI and autonomy will increasingly influence how vehicles are designed and operated. But rail is also an industry where technology only matters if it can make the jump into real fleets and real operations. Laurent has spent decades making that jump happen. Having him alongside us when we sit with an OEM, an operator or an infrastructure partner fundamentally strengthens the conversations we can have and the decisions we make."
Maximilian Schöffer, Co-Founder and CCO of Futurail
Futurail will exhibit at InnoTrans 2026, taking place in Berlin from 22–25 September, where the company will present its latest autonomous train technology, including a live demo.
Picture of Futurail: Dr. Patrick Dendorfer, Laurent Troger, Alex Haag, Maximilian Schöffer
About Futurail
Futurail is a European deep-tech company developing autonomous driving technology for trains. Its FUTURAILDriver platform combines perception, precise localisation and train control to enable autonomous operation on existing and new railway vehicles.
Founded in 2023 by a team with backgrounds in autonomous driving and mobility, Futurail is headquartered in Strasbourg and Munich. Its mission is to make rail transportation more frequent, reliable and cost-effective by enabling the transition toward autonomous train operation.
Futurail has raised €7.5 million in funding from European and U.S. investors including Asterion Ventures, Leap4, EIT Urban Mobility, Zero Infinity Partners and Heroic Ventures.
Media Contact
Maximilian Schöffer
Co-Founder and CCO of Futurail
info@futurail.com
www.futurail.com
