Wascosa powers the future of rail freight
Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Lucerne, Wascosa is a trailblazer in the rail freight wagon industry. The company specialises in leasing and managing freight wagon fleets, providing reliable and efficient solutions for rail transport across Europe committed to meeting the highest customer demands and continuously setting new standards in the specialised freight wagon branch.
www.wascosa.com[1] With over 60 years of expertise, Wascosa has grown into a leading force in European rail freight. The company owns and manages a fleet of 22,000 freight wagons, supporting efficient and sustainable transport solutions across 23 countries.
This extensive reach and long-standing experience make Wascosa a trusted partner in the rail logistics industry. Wascosa provides freight wagon rental services across Europe, offering solutions for a wide range of transport needs. The company serves a diverse customer base, including private and state-owned railway operators, as well as industrial clients in the chemical, petrochemical, logistics, and manufacturing sectors.
Many of these relationships are built on long-standing partnerships and tailored support. Beyond rental services, the company offers comprehensive fleet management through custom service packages. These may include wagon registration with national authorities, coordination of maintenance and inspections, and full operational oversight of day-to-day fleet activity.
In partnership with leading IT providers, Wascosa also delivers advanced digital solutions incorporating telematics and sensor technologies.
Whether integrating data into internal systems or third-party platforms, the company ensures smooth and secure data handling. Bespoke consultancy is also available for clients seeking tailored sensor configurations or custom dashboards to meet specific operational requirements. Wascosa's innovations are driven by a clear commitment to delivering added value for customers, while actively supporting Europe's goals to cut CO? emissions and significantly increase rail's market share.
By combining technological advancement with practical, customer- focused solutions, the company contributes to building a more efficient, sustainable, and future-ready freight transport system. 
Reducing reliance on road freight requires empowering rail freight to perform competitively - not only on long- distance and cross-border corridors, where it already holds an advantage, but also on shorter domestic routes that demand attention to national and regional specificities.
With 86% of goods transported by road in Europe travelling less than 300 km, unlocking the full potential of rail will depend on flexible, decentralised strategies that respect local contexts and promote seamless multimodal integration. In line with the European objective to increase rail freight's market share to 30% by 2030 and to double it by 2050, Wascosa continues to play a proactive role in shaping the future of sustainable transport. Through innovative solutions such as the Wascosa flex freight system(R), designed for maximum versatility and efficiency, and the development of automated tarpaulin systems for streamlined steel logistics, the company directly supports the shift from road to rail.
Investments in forward-looking technologies like the NiKRASA 3.0 platform, aimed at simplifying intermodal transport, further demonstrate Wascosa's commitment to enabling cleaner, smarter, and more accessible rail freight across Europe. With a focus on modularity, digitalisation, and customer-oriented fleet management, Wascosa's approach is aligned with long- term climate goals and the transformation of logistics infrastructure across the continent
NiKRASA 3.0 - The link between road and rail...
...as with this solution, every trailer is craneable today.
In support of the modal shift towards rail, Wascosa is also investing in cutting-edge technologies such as the NiKRASA platform version 3.0, developed by TX Logistik. This latest advancement is designed to simplify intermodal loading processes and further strengthen rail's role in sustainable freight transport.
The new NiKRASA 3.0 system offers a fast and efficient solution for loading non-craneable semi-trailers onto rail - and does so without the need for terminal adapters. In a move to accelerate the adoption of this innovative technology, Wascosa has placed an initial order for 125 NiKRASA loading plates, representing an investment of around EUR 3 million. 
With NiKRASA 3.0, the future is ready for use today - simple, flexible and adjustable:
- Flexible application options
- Short preparation time
- No conversions or changes to the existing vehicle fleet necessary
- Utilisation of existing resources (Terminal, wagons, equipment)
- Able to respond at short notice to changing requirements
Even small innovations can lead to significant gains.
Take, for example, a 640-metre freight train completing 220 rotations annually. By equipping the train with just four NiKRASA 3.0 adapters, the average utilisation rate increases from 80% to at least 89%. This seemingly modest improvement translates into approximately 880 additional paid trailer slots per year--a direct boost to profitability.
Beyond capacity gains, NiKRASA 3.0 also contributes to greater energy efficiency. Its lower tare weight helps reduce overall energy consumption, equating to the annual transport savings of around 6.7 trailers. The result is a smarter, leaner, and more sustainable approach to freight logistics.
The NiKRASA platform enables the loading of non- craneable semi-trailers, which currently account for about 80 percent of European lorry fleets. They can be loaded from road to rail in just three minutes. No changes to existing standards in the terminals, the wagons or the railway are necessary.
In addition to conventional tarpaulin trailers, silo structures, mega trailers and trailer chassis can also be transported onto the rail network. If the NiKRASA adapter remains empty in the wagon, interchangeable containers and containers can be loaded as usual without interfering with each other's systems.
BASF Class Tank Containers (B-TC): A Smarter Approach to Chemical Transport
An innovative step forward in intermodal logistics is the BASF Class Tank Container (B-TC), approved for both rail and road transport across Europe since 2015. At the heart of this concept is a fully automated storage and handling facility with a capacity of 2,000 TEU, where B-TCs are securely stored, transshipped, and stacked up to six containers high--all in a space-efficient, cost-effective, and safe manner.
Transfer between rail and BASF's in-house road fleet is managed by self-driving AGVs (Automatic Guided Vehicles) developed by VDL, removing the need for traditional track-bound infrastructure and dramatically reducing delivery times--from an average of 22 hours with standard tank wagons to just 1 hour with B-TC technology.
Developed in collaboration with Van Hool, the rail- optimised B-TC units are available in 45- and 52-foot versions, offering volumes comparable to conventional chemical tank wagons. With a capacity of up to 73,500 litres and a payload of 66 tonnes, the B-TC mirrors the performance of insulated and heated tank wagons, while offering the flexibility of modular handling.
Paired with Wascosa's lightweight, optimised container flat wagons, this system behaves much like a detachable tank wagon, effectively decoupling the superstructure from the underframe. This alignment with the Wascosa flex freight system(R) (ffs) not only improves operational flexibility but also enhances overall productivity and competitiveness in rail freight. Today, the concept has gained wider industry recognition, with several major tank container manufacturers now including large-format B-TCs in their portfolios.
The dedicated storage facility is equipped with two high- capacity cranes (each rated at 75 tonnes), allowing for the temporary storage of containers while wagons are freed up for other uses - optimising both rolling stock utilisation and turnaround time.
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References
- ^ www.wascosa.com (www.wascosa.com)