Schaeffler presents technologies for automating freight wagons at InnoTrans 2026
Schaeffler is showing a wheelset generator, the modular ITRS on-board power system and electromechanical linear actuators that can already equip freight wagons for automated, connected rail logistics.
- Berlin, Hall 21, Stand 430
- 10 kN to 50 kN
- EMA50 to EMA100
What Happened
At InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin, Schaeffler is presenting the wheelset generator, the modular power system ITRS (Innovative Technology for Railway Systems) and electromechanical linear actuators as system components that can already prepare freight wagons for automated and connected rail logistics. The company says the first projects are in practical testing. According to Schaeffler, these innovations form the basis for automated processes in rail freight, including the digital automatic coupling and automated opening and closing systems.
“Our innovations form the basis for automated processes in rail freight, whether for the digital automatic coupling or automated opening and closing systems. Loading and unloading operations can thus be accelerated and loading and idle times significantly reduced. A reliable and operationally safe power supply is a central prerequisite for the further development of such solutions — that is exactly what we enable together with our partners in the rail industry.”
Schaeffler's wheelset generators act as the central element of the ITRS system architecture and provide freight wagons with a self-sufficient power supply, which the company calls the technical basis for digitalization, networking and automation in rail freight. They are designed for the standardized European bogie configurations and axles used in freight transport (Y25 and UIC standard). That means they can be used both for new vehicle builds and retrofitted to existing wagons.
- Automatic actuation for automatically opening and closing tarpaulins, doors and hatches on bulk-material wagons
- A permanent, reliable energy source for other electronic communication components
- Sensors for recording the load state
- GPS trackers
- An automatic brake test
- Pneumatic or hydraulic systems
- Support digital monitoring of positions and speeds; robust and durable even under harsh operating conditions and largely insensitive over a wide temperature range
- Power-on-Demand: energy is consumed only during direct actuation. In an unforeseen power failure they are self-locking, which ensures the mechanical safety of flaps
- EWELLIX linear actuator series CAHB-2xE
- EWELLIX CAHB-2xS, the smart variant with integrated controller
- High-performance EMA series from EMA50 to EMA100, with 10 kN to 50 kN
Schaeffler is cooperating with the Slovenian partner company Realtronik on freight wagon automation based on the modular overall ITRS system. ITRS is a power system consisting of a Schaeffler wheelset generator and a matching battery management system from Realtronik that provides high-performance on-board energy for the relevant use cases. First successful pilot projects in the market using the wagon power system show positive customer response, and Schaeffler says they demonstrate the need to push automation technologies forward so that rail freight can expand its share of the overall market. The company describes its approach as bottom-up, with incremental expandability depending on requirements and the level of automation, enabling fast and cost-efficient automation and digitalization solutions.
Why this matters
The components are aimed at making rail freight loading and unloading faster and cutting loading and idle times, which Schaeffler says is needed to grow rail's share of the overall transport market. Rail freight operators and the wider rail industry are the players affected, and Schaeffler says the first projects are already being tested in practice.
Terms in This Story
- Wheelset generator
- A generator mounted on a rail vehicle's wheel set that produces electricity from the wheels' rotation, giving a wagon its own power supply.
- Digital automatic coupling
- A coupling system that connects freight wagons automatically instead of by hand.
- Linear actuator
- A device that converts electric energy into straight-line movement to open, close or position a mechanical part.
- Power-on-Demand
- An operating principle in which a device draws energy only at the moment it is actually actuated.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.