The Illinois-based company has deployed its “Mobile Phone Detection System” on at least one Class I railroad and one California short line railroad. The company could not disclose which railroads were using the technology, but they did say about 40 systems are currently in use.
The system is integrated into the company’s wireless processing unit, a multi-purpose monitoring technology. Wi-Tronix says it has worked with BNSF Railway, Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, Kansas City Southern, and Amtrak in the past on installing the wireless processor technology.
Chad Jasmin, Wi-Tronix’s sales director, says he expects more than 100 systems to be deployed by next year, including a trial on an East Coast passenger railroad.
The new mobile phone detection system detects inbound and outbound calls, as well as data transmissions that transmit over cellular frequencies. This includes personal hotspot and other My-Fi-type devices that enable wireless internet browsing. The system uses proprietary software and hardware to ensure the cellular signal is originating from inside a locomotive’s cab and not surrounding locations.
The technology retrieves this data through antennas that are used to first measure and establish a baseline of connections within a locomotive’s cab. If a signal outside of that baseline is registered, such as a mobile device, custom algorithms within the wireless processor platform measure environmental and machine profiles to rank the detection levels. Using other platforms, such as geographic data and inward facing in-cab camera technology, officials can determine if a device was used out of compliance.
If a cellular signal is detected in the cab, rules based on the railroad’s specific mobile phone policies are applied in order to determine if a violation has occurred. If so, the wireless processor generates a log and sends a notification to a pre-determined list of approved individuals.
More information is available from the company’s website.
UPDATE: Dec. 18, 2015, 8:29 a.m. Central time. Wi-Tronix’s wireless processor can detect inbound and outbound calls as well as data transmissions. An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the processor’s capabilities.
What about if they're stuck in a siding waiting for a meet and a crewman gets off the train and makes a quick call?
Big Brothers vision has just been magnified.
Union Pacific has had this thing in place for a few years now; it shouldn't matter because we can't use our cell phones/electronic devices while we are on duty anyway.
Wonder how the Union is going to react to that piece of news, that management can detect when someone in the cab of the engine is using their cell phone, against regulations?