Amsted Digital Solutions has been approved as a certified telematics vendor for RailPulse™, the coalition established in late 2020 to “facilitate and accelerate the adoption of GPS and other telematics technology across the North American railcar network.”
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, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City. CSX is the latest member, joining in July, and agribusiness company Bunge signed on as the first railcar-owning shipper in January. Following two years of development and testing in collaboration with coalition members and telemetry suppliers, RailPulse earlier this month opened for enrollment and welcomed stakeholders from across the industry “to join the transformation.”
“By creating a common, open and vendor-neutral railcar telematics ecosystem, we are enabling unprecedented access to real-time data and insights that will transform the rail customer experience, improve the overall performance of the rail network accelerating supply chains, and ultimately drive industry growth that fuels the national economy,” RailPulse General Manager David Shannon said during the launch announcement.
On Sept. 3, Amsted Digital Solutions reported being recognized as a RailPulse certified vendor. Its telematics system, the IQ Series™ gateway with Bogie IQ® technology, is said to provide “real-time GPS location data, enabling accurate mileage calculations, impact detection, dynamic estimated time of arrival (ETA), geofence alerts, and first-and last-mile validation.” It also features a hybrid power system combining solar and rechargeable batteries. According to the manufacturer, when a single IQ Series gateway is bolster-mounted, “its capabilities are expanded to include changes in load status without the additional cost associated with a wireless sensor, helping customers better manage railcar utilization and fleet planning.”
“Our sensor-free approach is a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to the expense and complexity of typical telematics systems,” Amsted Digital Solutions Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Brad Myers said. He added that the company’s goal is to improve “existing wayside technologies and provide more data more often.”
Separately, Railway Age and Parsons on Oct. 17-18, 2024, will present the annual Next-Gen Train Control (NGTC) Conference at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Md. The global rail industry’s single-most important communications and signaling and advanced-technology event will provide professionals an ideal environment for sharing lessons-learned with industry peers. Presentations from engineers, project managers and more will offer in-depth technical information and comprehensive updates on CBTC and PTC projects.
