At GATX Rail Europe, we are proud to announce a significant achievement: Our fleet has now reached 30,000 railcars. As a trusted, neutral leasing partner, we are committed to providing a safe, modern, and high-quality fleet that meets the evolving needs of our customers. This milestone underscores our ongoing dedication to delivering fast, reliable, and tailored leasing solutions that keep our clients’ operations on track.

“We are extremely proud to reach 30,000 railcars,” says Johann Feindert, CEO at GATX Rail Europe. “It’s a testament to the strategic and thoughtful growth of our business and the trust our customers place in us.”

A Fleet Built to Grow with Our Customers’ Needs
The growth of our fleet is driven by one key objective: to grow alongside our customers. Our fleet management team, led by Johannes Friess, prioritizes fleet expansion that aligns with the evolving demands of our clients. He says, “Reaching 30,000 railcars is a milestone that’s worth celebrating. We expand our fleet with great care and are proud to highlight its diversity.”

Our fleet is composed of over 220 railcar types and includes up to 2,000 newly built railcars each year. This diversity ensures that we can support the business needs of 250+ customers across Europe, from the transportation of chemicals and oil to the growing demand for freight railcar solutions. Whether it’s transporting hazardous goods, bulk materials, or automobiles, we provide reliable solutions tailored to our customers’ logistics challenges.

GATX Fleet Composition: Evolving to Meet Diverse Needs
Over recent years, the composition of our fleet has evolved significantly. Once predominantly focused on tank railcars, our fleet now offers a much more diversified range of railcar types. As Johannes Friess explains, this diversification has allowed us to better serve the varying needs of our customers, including those in industries such as petrochemicals, freight, construction, and agriculture.

Recent Additions to the GATX Fleet
2024 has been an exciting year for our fleet, with several new additions that highlight our commitment to making railcar leasing, and rail transport in general, easier for our clients. One of our latest fleet additions is the Laaers automobile carrier. We have already delivered the first batch of these specialized railcars to our customer Hödlmayr, enabling them to transport vehicles safely and sustainably by rail.

Additionally, we’ve expanded our fleet with brand-new, lime-green tank cars, a distinctive addition to our fleet and very much sought after by our customers in this segment. Last year, we also invested in the Tagnpps car type, designed to transport grains by rail—an essential service for the agricultural sector.

Our team is always working proactively to investigate future demands and to collaborate with manufacturers, ensuring that production capabilities align with customer needs. On top of that, our quality assurance team plays a critical role in keeping the high standards our customers expect. From overseeing railcar assembly to conducting detailed audits, we are committed to ensuring that every railcar in our fleet is built to meet the highest safety and performance standards. The experts and people at GATX are what makes our high-quality fleet of 30,000 railcars strong, modern, and reliable.

Celebrating Our 30,000th Railcar
Handing over a new railcar to one of our customers is always a special occasion, but reaching the milestone of 30,000 railcars brings an added sense of pride and excitement, and as share this excitement with you, we remain focused on expanding our fleet and continuing to provide the innovative, reliable, and sustainable leasing solutions that our customers rely on. Here is to the next 30,000 railcars—and the next chapter of our journey.