rail technology

Parallel Systems recently gave a public demonstration of how its autonomous rail vehicle technology works.

Rail technology provider Wabtec is joining forces with Dutch company Intermodal Telematics to create telematics technology for rail cars.

Progress Rail is asking a federal court to order Wabtec to divest of its GE Transportation unit, hold up its end of two agreements and correct statements it made about Progress Rail and its locomotive manufacturing program.

Parallel Systems unveiled Tuesday another second-generation, battery-powered autonomous rail vehicle, which is slated for use in pilot projects both in the U.S. and abroad. Through this iteration of the autonomous […]

Norfolk Southern and DrayNow will further develop technology for intermodal that provides real-time information on first- and last-mile movements.

A defect with the data storage system that Norfolk Southern uses may have caused NS’ primary and recovery data systems to become unresponsive, NS said Friday.

Two Genesee & Wyoming subsidiaries are seeking a permit from the Federal Railroad Administration to conduct a pilot project that would involve deploying Parallel Systems’ autonomous rail vehicle technology on limited portions of their networks in Georgia.

The National Transportation Safety Board says more frequent track inspections could have helped prevent a fatal September 2021 Amtrak derailment that was caused by “poor track conditions.”

Research and development initiatives in the freight rail industry should turn their focus on integrating systems that are typically siloed in railroad operations, sources tell FreightWaves.

BNSF is seeking a waiver from the Federal Railroad Administration to expand a brake health technology program, and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen supports the effort.

Iron Senergy will use three autonomous rail cars manufactured by Intramotev on a 17-mile line between its Cumberland mine and a western Pennsylvania facility.

Intramotev will use the $200,000 grant to test and deploy three self-propelled rail cars in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in late 2023.

Parallel Systems is proceeding with the next step in its development of autonomous rail vehicles, which is to test having multiple vehicles strung together and see how these vehicles can integrate into the existing freight rail network.

Norfolk Southern has released a six-point plan that addresses how the railroad expects to improve its use of hot box detectors.

The Federal Railroad Administration and a bipartisan group of five senators aim to show their responsiveness to rail safety concerns via new initiatives and proposed regulations.

FreightWaves chatted with Wabtec’s Philip Moslener, who leads Wabtec’s advanced technologies team, about why companies should conduct research in hydrogen in locomotives.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and Wabtec are in the middle of a four-year project aimed at developing a locomotive engine that can incorporate both diesel and hydrogen.

Massachusetts-based RailState, founded by two rail industry veterans, seeks to provide customers with insights on where trains are located and a line segment’s performance over time.

Miki Shifman, co-founder and chief technology officer for Israeli company Cylus, discusses the cybersecurity landscape for freight and passenger rail operations worldwide.

Pennsylvania has awarded $26 million to 24 freight rail improvement projects, while technology provider RailState completes coverage of the Canadian rail network and Alterra IOS acquires industrial facilities for $86 million.

Union Pacific has been recognized for sustainability practices. Commtrex and Railinc are working together to develop a product aimed at using data to simplify rail movements.

Telegraph says $10 million in funding will help the rail technology company serve its customers better as well as reach its broader goal of making rail more accessible to shippers via data visibility.

Modern freight railroads

Watco and Telegraph are collaborating in an effort to provide rail shippers with more information on where their railcars might be located on Watco’s network.

News briefs involving short line acquisitions, Class I rail headcount in August and rail technology developments.

Union Pacific is seeking to extend its tests on wheel temperature detectors, but the Transportation Trades Department disagrees with the way UP wants to deploy the technology.

FreightWaves chats with Harris Ligon, founder and CEO of Telegraph, a startup that seeks to streamline rail service data in order to make day-to-day operations smoother.

CN will implement Wabtec’s precision dispatch system over the next year.

FreightWaves chatted with new National Railway Equipment CEO Merritt Becker about how NRE expects to help companies deploy technology to their older locomotive and inland waterway fleets.

Trinity Industries’ acquisition aims to benefit rail shippers, while Canadian Pacific’s agreement with Hapag-Lloyd seeks to provide service to key inland Canadian and U.S. Midwest markets.

Nexxiot will provide tracking technology for Knorr-Bremse’s railcar component systems.

U.S. freight railroads and a rail union disagree over what’s the best way to deploy enhanced track geometry inspections.

Near-term deployment of long-term technologies such as automation isn’t as far away as one might think.

The North American rail system can learn a lot from the Europeans as both seek to incorporate battery and autonomous technologies into their freight rail networks.

The company, which seeks to create autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles, will use the funding to support a 29-month advanced testing program of its technology.

In this Q&A interview, FreightWaves chats with two CN executives about what customer benefits might arise from a seven-year partnership with Google Cloud.

Cylus raised $30 million in a recent funding round, bringing the company’s total funding to over $57 million.

The three companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue the demonstration project to test the feasibility of hydrogen-powered locomotives.

An anticipated rebound in volumes as supply chain kinks smooth out will be a theme in 2022, while customer-friendly technological applications will drive rail technology long term, Class I rail CEOs said in recent conferences.

Rail-related provisions in the newly signed infrastructure bill span from federal grants to support infrastructure projects to studying the impacts of positive train control and train lengths.

Rail technology company Intramotev is developing hardware and software to enable battery-powered railcars to make short-haul movements without a locomotive.

The three have signed agreements committing to work together on developing advanced locomotive power technologies.

Two groups announced this month their separate efforts to increase supply chain visibility. One technology tool focuses on locating railcars and another aims to forecast volumes at the Port of Los Angeles.

Hitachi ABB Power Systems Vice President Daniel Simounet talks about where opportunities might already exist to electrify freight rail — provided that the railroads, government and utilities are willing to collaborate together.

CSX will be using Wabtec’s technology aimed at reducing emissions and improving fuel efficiency for locomotives.

The technology upgrades at 12 points of entry along the borders of Canada and Mexico will enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection to inspect rail cargo more quickly and securely, according to CBP.

Executives with wireless network provider Ondas Networks describe how private telecommunications networks benefit the Class I railroads as well as other transportation modes.

Wabtec’s battery-electric locomotive can reduce a train’s fuel consumption by 11%, a three-month study involving the company, BNSF and the San Joaquin Pollution Control District found.

The costs to electrify freight rail in the U.S., albeit expensive, extend beyond strictly capital costs to questions about electric grid reliability and how best to address decarbonization.

A portal to provide agricultural shippers with visibility for their covered hopper cars will help them conform to food safety transportation standards and prevent cross-contact with food allergens.

Wabtec’s chief technology officer chats with FreightWaves about ways technology can help the freight rail industry decarbonize.

Rail technology provider Wabtec plans to acquire Nordco as Wabtec eyes the railcar mover market and the technologies associated with it.

Wabtec, short line operator Genesee & Wyoming and Carnegie Mellon aim to establish public-private institute that would research, demonstrate and commercialize advanced freight rail technology.

Adoption of technology has influenced U.S. Class I railroads’ staffing. Will additional technological innovation cut headcount even more, or will other factors have greater weight?

Prospective North American and international customers are inquiring about Wabtec’s battery electric, heavy-haul locomotive, which is undergoing advanced tests with BNSF. The company reported its fourth-quarter results on Thursday.

Using artificial intelligence to cull insights from freight transportation’s massive amounts of data can not only encourage safe environments, It also has the potential to improve productivity and efficiency, as well as provide supply chain visibility that benefits all stakeholders, says a tech executive.

GameAbove Capital takes equity stake in Pro-Tech Group’s patented technology for better utilization of empty railcars.

Railroads and union disagree over Federal Railroad Administration final rule enabling use of continuous rail inspection technology.

Wabtec’s former chief technology officer departs for CN; Wabtec appoints a new leader to the role.

Technology’s footprint in CSX’s operational, sustainability and safety practices was readily apparent, according to the company’s 2019 environmental, social and governance report.

The Federal Railroad Administration and Volpe are in the middle of conducting a survey on how railroaders gather and share information about occupational safety.

The pandemic is exacerbating existing problems with vendors and software installation, according to a federal report.

A report from Boston Consulting Group suggests that the Class I railroads must look beyond precision scheduled railroading and operating ratios if the industry wants to be a competitive transportation mode.

The partnership will produce remote tools that will enable railcar owners and operators to know where their cars are and what is their mileage and cargo capacity.

The railroad installed its first-ever train inspection portal southeast of its largest hump yard in Georgia last December.

The autonomous track inspection technology is mounted on a locomotive, allowing NS to inspect rail track in real time.

“If a shipper can share some of its production forecast information to railroads, railroads can plan better to meet that capacity. Conversely, if railroads can open up and show where their empty railcars are to the shipper so that the shipper has a bit more confidence that the right number of railcars are going to show up, then the shipper can more confidently choose rail.”

“I think we’re at a critical juncture. Six months from now I think we’ll be able to take a closer pulse to where things are.”

Railroad market expert Jim Blaze writes about the movement of chemicals by rail and how that sub-set of railroad traffic is profitable and may grow significantly in the near future.