Berlin has unveiled a metro train that is being billed as a glimpse of the future - green, intelligent, and powered by what its Chinese manufacturer calls ‘embodied intelligence.’
CRRC, the manufacturer, says the train is the world’s first metro application of the technology, bringing AI-driven capabilities to urban rail.
CRRC Corporation Limited is a Chinese state-owned and publicly traded rolling stock manufacturer. It is the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer by revenue, surpassing major competitors Alstom and Siemens.
The train was rolled out by CRRC at the opening of InnoTrans 2026, the 15th Berlin International Trade Fair for Transport Technology. Built on CRRC's ‘VELLINK’ urban rail vehicle platform, the train features multi-source sensors that form an autonomous perception system, enabling real-time track monitoring, anomaly detection, and fault warnings.
The train acts as an autonomous agent that directly interacts with its physical environment. It uses an integrated network of multi-source sensors to monitor tracks, detect anomalies, and issue real-time fault warnings to lower maintenance costs.
Compared with conventional metro vehicles, the train is about 18 percent lighter and consumes over 10 percent less energy, thanks to lightweight materials and multi-system integration, according to CRRC. Its debut marks a fresh technological breakthrough for China's urban rail transit equipment, the company said.
The train won the international iF Design Award and features passenger-first details like floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, rotatable seats, and a simulated starlit ceiling.