Intramotev, a technology start-up that produces self-propelled battery-electric retrofits, on Sept. 5 reported a switching agreement with Eagle Drayage & Warehouse Co., a 3PL (third-party logistics company) based in St. Louis, Mo.
Eagle Drayage is using Intramotev’s TugVolt. As reported by Railway Age earlier this year, the TugVolt is a locomotive replacement supplied as a “proprietary kit that can retrofit/upfit existing railcars to become battery-electric”; it “can uncouple from the consist to independently provide first- and last-mile service” and “enables freight to move with the flexibility of a truck, without breaking the existing model of rail operations,” according to Intramotev.
“The TugVolt is revolutionizing our hauling operations by replacing antiquated car spotting processes, optimizing manpower allocation, and reducing overall downtime in our transloading process,” according to Eagle Drayage CFO Duke Koeller, who said the “technology not only helps keep our team focused on what they do best [shipping, receiving, warehousing tasks] but also lowers our internal safety risks.”
Since the TugVolt is remotely operated, Eagle Drayage “operators can manage railcar movements from a safe distance in a climate-controlled environment [see image, top],” Intramotev spokesperson Don Soffer told Railway Age. “Additionally, traditional car spotting can be time-consuming and often leads to downtime between loading/unloading and positioning cars. With the TugVolt’s assistance, Eagle’s team no longer has to interrupt their primary tasks to assist with switching operations.“
According to Soffer, Eagle Drayage is “leasing the services from one TugVolt, not [the] physical TugVolt asset. The agreement is entirely based around the services performed.“
Intramotev’s agreement with Eagle Drayage follows two other captive-service deployments: three TugVolts at global mining company Carmeuse Americas’ mining site in Cedarville, Mich.; and three ReVolt battery-electric retrofitted hopper cars for Iron Senergy’s 17-mile private rail line between its Cumberland Coal Mine and its Alicia Harbor facility on the Monogahela River in Waynesburg, Pa.
“Whether your company has been around for 100 years or 100 days, our freight rail solutions can save you time, reduce fuel costs, and cut emissions,” Intramotev CEO Tim Luchini said during the Sept. 5 announcement.
