Lifting and maintenance systems for all types of rolling stock. The lifting columns, thanks to a structure that allows a high load capacity with limited weight, can be easily moved on flat industrial floors, to be brought to the lifting station and positioned under the load. Each column of a group is individually controlled for correct and safe gripping of the load. Controlled by one or more control units, the columns can be connected to form lifting groups of 4, 8, 12 or more columns. Synchronization allows automatic rebalancing of columns that lift the same rolling stock and between groups of columns that lift an entire train. The modular design of the control units allows the operator to define the number of groups of the same lifting system and the number of columns of each group, as well as the number of operators necessary to supervise the lifting.