RailPulse — the consortium of railroads, railcar manufactures, railcar owners, and other industry firms developing GPS and other telematics use — and rail telemetry vendor Nexxiot have announced an agreement to make it easier for car owners to access Nexxiot products and services and join the RailPulse platform.
The agreement, announced today (March 7) but which became effective Jan. 5, allows RailPulse to act as a non-exclusive reseller of Nexxiot hardware, software, and services to RailPulse customers. The goal is to simplify gaining telemetry for car owners who want to be part of RailPulse, not to generate profit for RailPulse. Nexxiot becomes the first telemetry vendor involved in this type of program with RailPulse, which aims to create a vendor-neutral and open-architecture telematics infrastructure. The reseller program is optional for both telemetry vendors and railcar owners who wish to join RailPulse.
“We are excited to partner with RailPulse and to support their vision of creating a data-driven rail ecosystem that enhances service levels, visibility, safety, and efficiency,” Kenneth Mannka, executive vice president of operations North America at Nexxiot, said in a press release. “Our telematics solutions are designed to provide railcar owners with real-time insights into their assets’ location, condition, and behavior, and to enable them to optimize their operations and performance. By joining the RailPulse in this strategic program, we are making it easier for our customers to access our products and services and to leverage the RailPulse platform”
Along with helping to locate cars, the technology offers information like load status (full or empty), door or hatch openings, hand brake positions, and maintenance details.
“We are delighted to welcome Nexxiot as the first telemetry vendor to join our reseller program,” said David Shannon, general manager of RailPulse. “Nexxiot is a leader in railcar telematics and has a proven track record of delivering high-quality products and services to the rail industry. By offering Nexxiot’s solutions through our reseller program, we are simplifying the purchasing process for railcar owners and providing them with more options and flexibility to join the RailPulse platform. This agreement is a win-win for both parties and for the North American rail industry as a whole.”
RailPulse, formed in 2020, welcomed its first shipper, agricultural firm Bunge, in January [see “RailPulse gains first rail shipper …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 30, 2024] and added CPKC as its third Class I railroad member in February [see “CPKC joins RailPulse …,” News Wire, Feb. 1, 2024].
Visit the RailPulse website and the Nexxiot website for more information.
“…provide railcar owners with real-time insights into their assets’ location, condition, and behavior,…” So fleet owners follow their cars with real time data, but introducing or mandating such technology to avoid catastrophes like East Palestine seems unattainable. Such is the rot endemic in the industry and regulatory structure.
I’m sorry, Gregg, but just how would the ability to track a car have “avoided catastrophes like East Palestine”?
The owner would know where the car was, but what then?
Let’s assume it monitored the bearings of a car – and sent a signal that there might be a problem. Is there someone monitoring every car on every system across the entire country? Actively monitoring, watching every indicator? Probably not. Maybe an alarm goes off. How long would take a human at “Pacific Fruit” to recognize the problem, call a human at “Union Freight lines” and communicate that there is a problem with their car on the left side of the 3rd axle, and have that communicated with… sorry, too late. The car is on the ground.
And just how is this indicative of the ‘rot endemic in the industry and regulatory structure”?
Seriously, I don’t follow. Maybe it is – but I’m not seeing it.
Allen, please see Trains Newswire, March 6 2023:
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/wheel-bearing-expert-to-prevent-derailments-railroads-should-equip-freight-cars-with-sensors/
“The research team at University Transportation Center for Railway Safety has developed a battery-powered sensor module that can measure the operating load, temperature, and vibration levels within a bearing. It wirelessly sends the data to a central computing unit for analysis. The system can warn railcar owners of defects thousands of miles in advance of a potential failure and provide an estimate of how long the bearing can safely remain in service.”
EOT devices should “talk” to PTC which could have prevented the most recent Norfolk Southern derailment of 3 trains.
If Mayo Pete and Amtrak Joe or The Donald didn’t defer to the Wall Street vultures/campaign contributors that set transportation policy, The FRA would mandate such technology. Clearly, if implemented, it could avoid catastrophic events. There is a reason why Europe, Russia, China and Japan don’t have rail catastrophes. They take safety seriously. The North American class 1s and their regulators do not.