The BIM for Rail Bootcamp 2026 opened today in Riga, bringing together more than 100 railway infrastructure professionals, digitalisation experts, academics and industry representatives from across Europe. The two-day event is organised by Haskoning in partnership with ProRail (the Netherlands) and Banedanmark (Denmark), and is hosted by Riga Technical University (RTU) and Rail Baltica.
The annual Bootcamp promotes collaboration between academia and industry, bringing together infrastructure owners and operators, engineering companies, contractors and technology specialists to share knowledge and advance the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and digital solutions in the rail sector.
This year’s event is being held in Riga in recognition of the strategic importance of Rail Baltica – one of Europe’s largest high-speed railway projects currently under design and construction. The project relies extensively on digital delivery methodologies to support efficient coordination across countries, organisations and project partners.
“Riga Technical University’s Institute of Civil Engineering sees BIM for Rail Bootcamp 2026 as an important platform for strengthening collaboration between academia, infrastructure developers and digital technology experts. We are proud that Riga and the Rail Baltica project are hosting international industry leaders to exchange knowledge, share best practices and advance innovation in railway infrastructure delivery and asset management,” said Pēteris Druķis, Head of the Institute of Civil Engineering at RTU.
“The future of railway infrastructure depends not only on physical connectivity, but also on digital connectivity. Projects such as Rail Baltica demonstrate how digital engineering, data-driven decision-making and collaboration across organisations can support the delivery of more efficient, resilient and sustainable transport networks,” said Emilien Dang, Chief Technical Officer and Member of the Management Board at RB Rail AS.
The programme includes plenary presentations and 32 interactive workshops focused on BIM implementation, digital project delivery and infrastructure asset management. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit the Rail Baltica Riga Central Station and RIX Riga Airport construction sites, where digital tools are being applied in practice on one of Europe’s most significant railway infrastructure projects.
“Today, we are no longer speaking only about tracks, stations or infrastructure. We are speaking about a digital, interconnected European mobility ecosystem, where BIM and advanced technologies become the common language connecting engineers, academia and industry,” said Prof. Līga Gaile, Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at RTU.
The Bootcamp continues on 18 June with workshops, discussions and technical visits focused on the future of digital railway development across Europe.
For more information about the event, visit: BIM for Rail Bootcamp 2026.