RailPulse℠, the new joint venture that aims to transform rail shipping, has awarded its initial project, the design of its pioneering technology platform, to Princeton Consultants, the firm announced. RailPulse℠ was created by Norfolk Southern, GATX Corporation, Genesee & Wyoming, TrinityRail, and Watco to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of telematics across the North American railcar fleet.
“We are honored that RailPulse selected our firm to develop this trailblazing system,” said Princeton Consultants Founder and CEO Steve Sashihara. “We are fully committed to ensuring that RailPulse leverages the best current and emerging technologies to benefit all rail shipping stakeholders.”
The RailPulse℠ partners collectively own nearly 20% of the North American railcar fleet. The new venture’s first objective is safety. Early phases of the platform will foster hand brake and impact data, both of which could provide important safety data for the railroads, car owners, and shippers alike. Future telematics capabilities – such as onboard bearing temperature and wheel impact detection sensors – are envisioned as the technology evolves.
RailPulse℠’s second objective is to increase rail’s competitive position relative to other modes by improving visibility into the status, location, and condition of individual railcars, which will meaningfully contribute to rail industry growth. Telematics capabilities supported by the platform could include real-time track-level visibility, whether doors or hatches are open, whether the car is loaded or partially loaded, and other key performance metrics.
The initial design phase will start in February 2021 with a survey of IoT and other vendor solutions, assisting in the development of use cases, platform design, and standards setting. A full rollout of the RailPulse℠ platform is expected by the end of 2022. RailPulse℠ is intended to benefit the entire rail ecosystem: shippers, Class I railroads, short lines, regional railroads, switching carriers and railcar operating lessors. RailPulse℠ will provide a neutral, open-architecture, industry-wide railcar telematics platform to make it easier to ship by rail and to track rail shipments across the North American rail network, all while ensuring the safety and security of proprietary car-owner data.
About Princeton Consultants
Princeton Consultants, www.princeton.com, is an Information Technology and Management Consulting firm that helps businesses transform their performance by integrating the emerging generation of IoT and AI technologies into their core business processes. Founded in 1981, the firm serves clients from its offices in Princeton, NJ and New York City.
Telematics suppliers in the rail industry who are interested in additional information should contact railpulse@princeton.com.