Anacostia Rail Holdings (ARH) on Feb. 24 reported entering into an agreement with RailPulse, the coalition established in late 2020 “to develop, broaden, and accelerate the use of GPS and other telematics technologies on railcars.”
ARH’s 127-mile Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (CSS) will be the first of its six railroad affiliates to install telematics units supported by the RailPulse open-architecture railcar platform. Those units will be added to CSS’s 100 new 48-foot, 115-ton capacity, transverse-style railcars, which each hold up to five steel coils (see below).
According to RailPulse™, its technology platform provides “real-time railcar data via GPS and other telemetry sensors installed on railcars across the North American fleet”; the delivered railcar location, condition and health information helps shippers, lessors, and railroads “optimize fleet performance, visibility, and safety to keep supply chains moving.” The RailPulse coalition comprises founding members Norfolk Southern, GATX Corporation, Genesee & Wyoming Inc., TrinityRail, and Watco, which cumulatively own nearly 20% of the North American railcar fleet; plus The Greenbrier Companies, Union Pacific, Railroad Development Corporation, Bunge, CSX, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.
ARH will use technology from Amsted Digital Solutions, a RailPulse-certified vendor. “Built to perform in the harshest operating environments of freight rail, the powerful capabilities of the IQ Series gateway—supplied by Amsted Digital Solutions—is paired with advanced machine learning technology that virtually eliminates the need for specialized external sensors,” ARH reported. “As a RailPulse subscriber, Anacostia’s railroads will have access to telematics for all tagged cars that are routed to or from online customers, regardless of car ownership.”
According to ARH, shippers will benefit from the RailPulse platform’s capabilities, including:
- “Dynamic ETA calculations and geofence entry and exit alerts for first- and last-mile validation.
- “Accurate load status for precise loaded and empty mileage calculations.
- “Impact detection.
- “Stationary loading/unloading detection.
- “Real-time monitoring of brake slide events.
- “Railcar dwell reporting.”
“ARH is thrilled to be making the first step for our railroads to use and explore the advanced technology of RailPulse,” ARH CEO and President Peter Gilbertson said. “We look forward to adding similar technology to more of our equipment in the future.”
Added ARH Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Eric Jakubowski: “We have supported RailPulse since its 2020 inception and are enthusiastic about the coalition’s initiative to create an industry-wide opportunity to increase both shipment visibility and rail car safety.”
“This vote of confidence from Anacostia Rail Holdings is further proof that rail industry leaders are invested in giving shippers the visibility they need,” noted RailPulse General Manager David Shannon. “Early users are supporting our vision for a smarter rail ecosystem.”
Further Reading:
- RailPulse™ Offers ‘Grandfathering Incentive’
- RailPulse™ Certifies ZTR’s Pivot
- VISIBILITY
- Nexxiot, 3C Telemetry Partner to Enhance Rail Safety, Efficiency
- RailPulse, Nexxiot Team on Telemetry
- ZTR, GATX PIVOT™ to Telematics
- Advanced Telematics Make RailPulse Possible
- Finding the North American Railcar Fleet’s Pulse
