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After testing a locomotive computer system for two years, Norfolk Southern Corp. is ready to deploy the system on its entire road locomotive fleet next year. Yesterday, NS announced it reached an agreement with New York Air Brake Corp. to implement Locomotive Engineer Assist Display and Event Recorder (LEADER®), which is designed to improve locomotives’ fuel efficiency and handling during long-haul operations.

Developed by New York Air Brake, the system provides locomotive engineers real-time information on operating conditions. An on-board computer calculates and displays optimum speed based on topography, track curvature, train length and weight, and other operating conditions.

In 2003, NS began testing LEADER under a pilot project involving 15 locomotives moving coal trains between Winston-Salem, N.C., and Roanoke, Va. The two-year pilot was a joint effort between NS, New York Air Brake, General Electric Co. and the Federal Railroad Administration.

“The project proved that LEADER could reduce fuel consumption and minimize in-train dynamic forces,” said John Samuels, NS senior vice president of operations planning and support, in a prepared statement.

NS officials plan to make LEADER an integral part of Optimized Train Control (OTC), a positive train-control system designed to combine data communications, positioning systems and onboard computers tied to a train’s braking systems to automatically enforce speed and operating limits. The Class I currently is testing OTC, which NS, Lockheed Martin and GE developed earlier this year.