Hitachi Rail’s Polarion Rollout: What It Really Takes to Standardize ALM Across 50+ Countries?

How do you unify engineering processes across a company that spans more than 50 countries, thousands of engineers, and highly regulated signalling systems? At Taipuva Polarion Days 2026, Hitachi Rail offered a rare behind‑the‑scenes look at one of the largest Polarion ALM deployments happening in the rail industry today.

Their team — Natalia Pawlak, Luca Pancani, and Slavisha Erkic — shared how they’ve been shifting from a fragmented landscape of tools and templates to a single, scalable ALM environment for requirements, testing, RAMS and safety artefacts, change management, and project governance.

But the real story wasn’t just about technology. It was about preparation, people, and the surprising complexities that only show up when you try to harmonize engineering processes at global scale.

A rollout built on people, not just tools

Before any migration started, Natalia Pawlak and her team created a community of practice where anyone could join, ask questions, see demos, and follow the roadmap. This early openness helped build trust and readiness long before the “go‑live” date.

“Technical deployment is only half the battle. The real work lies with people and data,” Natalia explained.

Why you should watch the full presentation

The team shared several lessons that anyone planning a Polarion deployment should hear — including challenges you might not expect:

• why large datasets need batching and iterative validation
• what happens when branching, merging, and publication features hit real‑world complexity
• why “some automation” is never enough
• which gaps they’re actively working on with Siemens
• how cross‑company collaboration (with SBB, DB, and others) accelerates maturity

These insights only scratch the surface of what Hitachi Rail revealed.