{"id":417271,"date":"2026-04-29T19:58:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=70885"},"modified":"2026-04-29T19:58:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:58:38","slug":"rcg-to-start-using-intramotevs-autonomous-wagons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=417271","title":{"rendered":"RCG to start using Intramotev\u2019s autonomous wagons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austrian state-owned rail freight operator Rail Cargo Group (RCG) will deploy autonomous, battery-powered wagons produced by US-based company Intramotev. RCG \u201cwill operate Intramotev\u2019s TugVolt railcars in Austria, marking the company\u2019s first regulated use case and first international deployment\u201d, Intramotev said.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>This initiative is part of RCG\u2019s SARI project (Self-propelled Autonomous Railcar Integration), aimed at developing wagons that can move independently for first and last-mile deliveries. The expansion into Austria follows a couple other agreements finalised by Intramotev in the United States. \u201cIn February, the company began a deployment with Watco in Illinois. Last month, Intramotev announced an agreement with R.J. Corman to deploy TugVolt technology on the 113-mile (182 kilometres) Memphis Line in Kentucky\u201d the company added.<\/p>\n

Intramotev and Tugvolt<\/h2>\n

Tugvolt wagons are equipped with battery-electric propulsion, which means they do not need a locomotive to be moved and can de-couple from other wagons autonomously. These wagons are able to run for 600 miles (965 kilometres) autonomously. No driver or locomotive is needed thanks to the LiDAR and radar technologies installed on the wagon. So far, they have been mostly deployed for the rail transport of bulk cargo. However, thanks to the automatic coupling and de-coupling features, they could be beneficial for single wagonload services in Europe.<\/p>\n