Author

Trimova Team

Published on:

Feb 02, 2026

Category

Efficiency & Testing

Ballasting Test Vehicles: How to Efficiently Relieve Your Test Engineers

The homologation of new rail and commercial vehicles is a highly complex process. Driving, braking, and structural tests require the simulation of maximum payloads. This is where ballasting comes into play – the precise loading of vehicles with test weights. But this seemingly simple procedure is often a massive resource drain in practice.

When tons of sandbags, steel blocks, or water tanks need to be moved, many companies tie up their own mechanics, technicians, or in the worst case, the test engineers themselves. The result: Highly qualified specialists spend valuable hours performing heavy physical labor instead of focusing on analyzing the measurement data.

"Every hour an engineer spends hauling weights is a lost engineering hour. Outsourcing physical heavy lifting is the easiest way to accelerate homologation processes."

Philipp Müller, CEO Trimova

This is exactly where the concept of specialized industrial helpers comes in. External on-site teams, like those from Trimova, take over the complete manual loading and unloading of test vehicles. It's not just about muscle power, but also about care. Loading fully assembled train cars or highly sensitive prototypes requires the utmost attention to avoid scratching floors and paneling.

The Trimova Approach: Muscle Power with a System

Our teams work hand-in-hand with your test directors. After a brief induction into the loading and axle load plan, we take over the physical execution.

Your Advantages with External Test Support Teams

The decision to utilize external manpower for ballasting pays off from the very first test cycle.