Michail Stahlhut to lead Rail Innovators Group from June
Rail Innovators Group (RIG), the Rotterdam-based integrated rail freight operator, has appointed Michail Stahlhut as CEO with effect from 1 June, bringing one of European freight rail’s most prominent executives to a company that generated more than EUR 150 million in revenue last year.
Founder Julian Remie, who has led RIG since establishing it in 2011, moves to Executive Chairman, retaining responsibility for strategy and long-term development. The management restructuring is designed to accelerate the group’s European expansion across its four units: logistics operator Raillogix, traction provider Rail Force One, wagon leasing arm Railrelease and maintenance business Combo Wagon Service.
Michail Stahlhut joins after serving as CEO of Hupac, which he left in late 2025, and previously held the same role at SBB Cargo International.
From Hupac to an integrated platform
Where Hupac operates as a network integrator across other companies’ assets, RIG combines logistics, traction, wagon leasing and maintenance within a single ownership structure. The four units are designed to work as a closed system: cargo moves through Raillogix, traction is provided by Rail Force One, wagons come from Railrelease, and Combo Wagon Service handles maintenance.
Michail Stahlhut’s experience at Hupac and SBB Cargo International is precisely in running complex, cross-border freight operations at scale. What RIG is recruiting is the ability to do the same with a vertically integrated platform rather than a network one.
Tripled revenue, next phase unspecified
RIG has tripled revenue over the past five years, according to Julian Remie. The group now employs around 250 staff and operates across 23 European countries, with subsidiaries in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Ownership sits with Julian Remie at 51 percent. Reichmuth Infrastructure, which acquired a 49 percent stake in Railrelease in 2021 before extending its partnership to the holding company, holds the remaining 49 percent.
What the next phase of European expansion involves in practice — new markets, larger contracts, additional business units — has not been specified. The appointment itself is the signal: RIG is building the management structure before it announces what comes next.