Rail Cargo Group is adding 70 Laaers double-deck wagons designed specifically for electric vehicles to its automotive fleet. The Austrian operator, one of only two rail logistics providers in Europe to run its own car-carrier wagons with its own locomotives, says the wagons will lift capacity during production peaks, seasonal fluctuations and short-term demand.

The new wagons measure 31 metres in length. Beyond the initial 70 units, RCG plans to launch procurement of 130 more in 2027, signalling a sustained commitment to a segment the company considers strategic.

RCG moves roughly one million finished vehicles every year, along with 600,000 tonnes of components — engines, rims, doors, car bodies and batteries — serving more than 20 locations across Europe. The component figure underlines that the automotive business extends well beyond finished-vehicle delivery, and battery logistics in particular carry their own handling requirements.

The company frames the fleet expansion against a broader modal-shift backdrop. "Today, around 60% of all new vehicles in Europe are transported by rail. A single car train can carry up to 256 vehicles, replacing more than 30 truck journeys by road," RCG said.

Those claims align with the sector's general profile: finished-vehicle logistics is one of rail freight's most defensible markets, because high volumes over long factory-to-dealer distances favour trainload operation. RCG's own traffic base — around one million vehicles annually — sits within that structure, and the additional capacity is sized to absorb demand spikes rather than to open new corridors.

Electric vehicles are changing the operating calculus. Heavier battery packs and new safety standards for automotive logistics have prompted operators to review wagon design, and the Laaers type ordered here is configured for those requirements from the outset. RCG did not specify the delivery date for the 70 wagons or the manufacturer supplying them.

The expansion also supports RCG's multimodal offer. With the new wagons, the company says it can strengthen door-to-door solutions for both finished vehicles and components. "This creates stable and sustainable logistics solutions for the mobility of the future," the company said.

For RCG, the immediate operational outcome is a larger owned fleet available for short-term deployment, reducing reliance on ad hoc capacity. For shippers, the 2027 procurement plan, if confirmed, would extend that flexibility across a fleet of 200 additional units. The company has not disclosed the investment value of either order.

The first of the 70 wagons will enter service as production schedules demand, with the follow-on 130-unit procurement expected to begin in 2027, giving RCG a path to scale its electric-vehicle capacity in step with European fleet turnover.