Built with the Industry: How AutoTF Plans to Take the Rail Market by Storm

AutoTF isn’t a startup trying to disrupt the rail world from the outside. It’s a project, actively developed in collaboration with railway operators across Germany. Our aim is clear: to provide affordable, transparent, and adaptable automation systems that deliver real value today — not ten years from now.

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Shaped by Real-World Needs

AutoTF grows directly out of the needs of the people using it. We’re not building tech in a vacuum or guessing at what the industry wants. Our features, priorities, and timelines come straight from operators and their everyday challenges. It’s a feedback loop we take seriously — from early pilots to long-term integrations, everything is tested and improved based on real-world performance and input.

Not a Company, But Already Moving Faster Than Ever

AutoTF isn’t formally a company at this point — and that’s intentional. Staying project-based allows us to stay nimble, open, and focused on building rather than managing a business entity. Even so, the progress speaks for itself. We’ve already partnered with rail operators and companies in the rail sector, received widespread support even across other sectors, and are actively integrating our systems into live test environments. We don’t need a corporate logo to make an impact — just results.

No Infrastructure Rebuild Required

AutoTF doesn’t need shiny new trains or overhauled infrastructure to work. Our system is designed for fast retrofitting — plug-and-play on existing rolling stock, without triggering massive infrastructure investments. We believe automation should be practical, not futuristic. That’s why we build to adapt, not replace. This approach lowers costs, simplifies deployment, and accelerates adoption.

Open Source and Fully Transparent

We don’t believe in black boxes. AutoTF’s software is fully open source and publicly auditable. We don’t sell software — we share it. Operators can review, modify, and even run it independently if they want. Our business is built around supporting that software: providing cloud services, maintaining infrastructure, and offering long-term reliability for those who don’t want to do it all in-house. That’s where the value lies — in service, not secrecy.

A Project With an Expiry Date

Our vision isn’t to dominate the market — it’s to fill a critical gap. AutoTF exists because the rail industry needs solutions now, not eventually. But we fully expect — and hope — that in 20 to 30 years, systems like ours will be absorbed into broader public infrastructure or replaced by more standardized automation platforms. If AutoTF is still the go-to solution decades from now, something went wrong. This project is here to accelerate progress — not monopolize it.