railroad 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Freight Railroads Keep American Moving

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.

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

Railroads are a responsible way to mitigate the transportation-related causes of climate change

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.

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.

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.

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.

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.  That search for modal share growth is still […]

The cost to build a railroad is staggering. Jim Blaze gives an overview of the costs involved in such an endeavor.

Jim Blaze writes about the advantages to the railroads of rebuilding locomotives instead of buying new ones.

The pandemic’s economic toll has hit all sectors of transportation, including rail. Read how railroads can manage costs during this global crisis.

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.

In the past 30 years railroad freight cars have been able to carry heavier loads, thanks to decisions made in the late 1980s. Read Jim Blaze’s article about what happened and how it has been very important to the railroads.

Jim Blaze explores whether the Class 1 railroads are downsizing their railcar fleets.

Darren Prokop explains why Positive Train Control – a positive safety measure for “Lower 48” railroads – doesn’t make sense for the Alaska Railroad.

Jim Blaze writes about the key messages he extrapolated about railroading in 2019.

Jim Blaze writes about the competitiveness of railroads vs. trucks and the railroads’ lack of interoperability.

“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.”

Jim Blaze writes about the movement of grain by rail. This is a huge business for U.S. and Canadian railroads, and is also critical to the export market of the two countries.

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.