CHICAGO – TTX is beginning to equip its boxcar and auto rack fleets with GPS-based telematics so that railroads and shippers can monitor car location and status in real time.
The car pooling company, which is owned by the Class I railroads, aims to equip 1,700 new and existing boxcars by the end of the year, along with “hundreds” of auto racks.
The car tracing information will supplement AEI-based tracking, which uses wayside readers to report car location, TTX says in a YouTube video posted last week.
The battery-powered GPS equipment reports its location every five minutes via the cellular telephone network. The system also reports when cars start or stop moving.
One thousand cars also will be equipped with sensors that monitor for impact, door position, empty/load status, and hand brake position.
TTX is working with the Association of American Railroads to develop protocols for alert messages, as well as on additional telematic functions.
RailPulse, a joint venture of freight car owners, is conducting similar tests on 1,000 cars as part of an effort to allow shippers to monitor freight cars wherever they are in North America. RailPulse members in Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, Genesee & Wyoming, Railroad Development Corp., Watco, GATX, Greenbrier, and Trinity Rail.
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