INNOTRANS: ‘It is essential for the future talent pipeline to involve youth now’, 16-year-old InnoTrans ambassador Adam El Rafey said at the 2026 Railway Influencer Festival.
The UAE’s youngest university student emphasised that digital content creators’ knowledge of young audiences could help the railway industry understand what excites the next generation.
Speaking about his personal journey in rail, El Rafey said he had been ‘passionate about all things trains and rail for as long as I can remember’, and had ‘discovered InnoTrans while reading Railway Gazette in class’.
El Rafey became a public speaker at the age of eight and was one of the youngest TEDx speakers. He began studying Computer Science at the University of Wollongong in Dubai at age 12. He has recently completed a six-month internship at Hitachi Rail, which he was offered after participating in the first Railway Influencer Festival at InnoTrans 2024.
‘Ability, not age’ is one of his main messages. ‘Don’t judge people by how old they are; give them the opportunities to show you what they can do. This breaks down the barriers that can stand between people and what they’re capable of’.
Bridge between youth and the industry
El Rafey said rail ‘has an ‘incredible ability to attract young talent into the industry’. He recalled walking through the trade fair ‘in awe of how AI is being used for predictive maintenance’. However, he was ‘not sure enough young people know that’.
‘Far too many young people hear tech, AI or innovation, and their mind immediately jumps to Silicon Valley. They definitely don’t think of rail first, and that’s a pretty big issue for the future talent pipeline.’
El Rafey suggested that the content creators at the Railway Influencer festival could play an important role as ‘the bridge between industry innovation and millions of the next generation in rail’, as they were ‘able to take all this breakthrough technology and spark curiosity in so many young minds.
‘I know that’s part of how my obsession got so big’, he added. ‘So, a shout-out to Simply Railway if you’re in the room.’
Thibault Constant of the Simply Railway channel was indeed in the room. Winner of the Best Mobility Channel award at the inaugural InnoTrans Railway Influencer Festival in 2024, he has since gone on to co-found night train company Nox. He has been working with Janek Smalla, who he met at InnoTrans, demonstrating the cross-pollination between the digital creator space and start-ups.
‘Go a bit further’
El Rafey suggested that the relationship between the industry and the influencers could ‘go a bit further’, as content creators’ knowledge of audiences could help companies understand what excited the next generation.
Emphasising that ‘the future of rail starts with these barriers broken’, through direct collaboration, he urged companies in the railway industry to start taking action to attract younger people.
‘Open a door, break down a barrier, start a youth board, make an opportunity available that works directly alongside the next generation’, he proposed. He challenged the rail sector representatives attending InnoTrans to ‘make the collaboration between youth influencers and industry the norm when designing the cities and transport of tomorrow.’
Source: rg
