​​Przemek Ben Paczek and team

To overcome these physical and financial bottlenecks, the team developed a system designed to work with existing railway infrastructure rather than replace it. At its core is a passive "magnetic surfboard" fitted beneath a wagon bogie, using permanent magnets that operate without onboard power. On the track, a flat "third rail" is placed between conventional rails and acts as a wave generator, with power electronics controlling the electromagnetic field for contactless propulsion, regenerative braking and, in the full MagRail configuration, magnetic levitation.

Nevomo’s Cargo MagRail Booster enables individual wagons or small groups of wagons to move independently at up to 160 km/h, without the need for a locomotive. The system also allows wagons to couple or uncouple automatically to match operational needs. In ports, terminals, industrial zones and marshalling yards, it can automate shunting and short-haul wagon movements using electric linear motor propulsion. On main lines, it can provide additional traction on gradients, help heavy trains reaccelerate after yielding priority to passenger services, and enable movement through sections where catenary wires cannot be installed, such as certain tunnels.

Adapting a vision to real-world rail

The roots of the technology go back to 2016 when students connected with the Warsaw University of Technology formed a team to compete in an international hyperloop competition. Reaching the finals encouraged them to take their work further and establish a university spin-off that would later become Nevomo. Although their early ambition focused on hyperloop-type travel in vacuum tubes, discussions with potential investors in 2017 made clear that new infrastructure on this scale would face substantial regulatory, construction and financial hurdles. This led to a strategic pivot: combining elements of hyperloop technology with the existing rail network, resulting in the MagRail concept.

Support from the Polish government enabled the construction of a 48-metre test track in 2019, where Nevomo demonstrated passive magnetic levitation and linear motor propulsion at a 1:5 scale. In the years that followed, the team refined power electronics, control software and hardware components. A further milestone came with the development of a full-scale test track in Nowa Sarzyna, in south-eastern Poland. There, in 2023, a two-tonne MagRail vehicle achieved levitation, reaching 135 km/h during testing.

In 2025, the company launched a commercial project in India with Deendayal Port Authority and DP World, aiming to develop a fully automated freight-wagon transport system using existing railway infrastructure.

Nevomo uses a targeted "patent cloud" strategy, filing for protection in key geographies to cover the core markets for its technology. Paczek notes: "From an investment perspective, we wouldn't be here today without our patents. They are the foundation of trust for anyone putting money into a deep-tech company."

About the inventors

Przemek Ben Paczek leads Nevomo as the company CEO, a position he has held since 2017. Łukasz Mielczarek, a construction engineering graduate, co-founded the firm and previously headed infrastructure. Paweł Radziszewski, an aerospace engineer and former R&D engineer at Lockheed Martin, co-founded the company and was the leader of the Hyper Poland University team. Katarzyna Foljanty holds a PhD in architecture and urban planning and served as Chief Marketing & Design Officer until 2024. Tomasz Kublin holds a PhD from the Warsaw University of Technology and led development of the MagRail Booster vehicle.