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October 2025
Compiled by Julie Sneider, Senior Editor
Progress Rail is driving the future of rail transportation via a suite of emerging products and technologies designed to meet both immediate operational needs and long-term sustainability goals, company officials said.
Complementing the company’s EMD® locomotive product line is the Talos™ Train Automation System, which uses machine learning to optimize train routing, reduce fuel consumption and improve safety and network capacity.
The PR Uptime™ Suite transforms maintenance strategies by shifting from time-based to condition-based approaches. By integrating intelligent asset monitoring, predictive analytics powered by machine learning algorithms, and cloud-based data management, the suite enables proactive decision-making, minimizes locomotive downtime and enhances overall fleet reliability.
These tools not only enhance day-to-day operations but also lay the groundwork for long-term cost savings and performance improvements, company officials said.
The Nitro Suite, a decision support system, and PowerView™ Suite, which includes remote monitoring and event recording, further empower rail operators with actionable insights and enhanced safety protocols.
Additionally, Progress Rail’s signaling technologies and predictive condition monitoring systems are designed to ensure safer, more efficient rail networks, company officials said.
In the near term, these innovations will help customers reduce emissions, optimize fuel usage and streamline maintenance, they said. Long-term, they support broader goals like sustainability, digital transformation and network scalability.
One of Loram’s newest technologies is Loram Virtual Rail (VR). Loram uses digital twins on railroads to plan grinding strategies that maximize rail life and reliability improvements.
VR software and patented digital twin approach helps quantify why to grind (life extensions and cost benefits), where to grind (frequency and schedule) and how to grind (rail profile and metal removal needed), Loram officials said.
Ultimately, digital twins provide location-specific grinding strategies to maximize track life. The users compare how each alternative grinding strategy will impact their track life extension, return on investment and capital plans before they implement the changes in the field.
The virtual testing of grinding strategies is performed by physics-based models and track data. With this approach, the simulated grinding strategy accounts for local rail condition, traffic and wheels, friction management, material selection, track geometry and more.
Loram’s digital twin models are expanding, including connecting the impact of grinding on multiple track systems like wheel-rail interface, ties, ballast and substructure, and evaluating new failure modes like squat/stud defects. The software is modular to allow the users and their partners to input new digital twins and models and use these models in real-world applications.
Once the grinding strategy is optimized and chosen, Loram’s series of scheduling tools can help determine how to implement the grinding strategy in the most efficient way and monitor the compliance to ensure the grinding strategy is being executed as planned, company officials said.
The Integrated Locomotive Display (ILD) from ZTR is a digital cab platform that replaces aging gauges and multiple control boxes with a single, AAR-compliant interface. It integrates with NexSys III-i or can run as a stand-alone solution, helping crews see what matters and act faster, ZTR officials said.
The ILD presents digital gauges and a speedometer, alerts and alarms, advanced diagnostics, digital over-speed warnings and a train length counter.
Built for daily operations, the ILD enhances reliability with a user-friendly interface and supports connectivity with end-of-train and head-of-train devices. It improves visibility through audiovisual alerts and advanced diagnostic capabilities that help crews respond quickly to faults, ZTR officials said. It also drives efficiency by eliminating mechanical gauges and the maintenance those gauges require, they added.
Operational scope extends further with support for distributed power and electronic air brakes. The system displays air brake information, posts crew messages, records fault history for faster troubleshooting and supports vigilance alerts so operators can take timely action, ZTR officials said.
The ILD also converts analog signals to digital data, which helps railroads extend inspection and maintenance intervals as permitted by agencies, improving availability and lowering lifecycle costs.
As fleets plan multiyear modernization, the ILD serves as a scalable foundation. Its architecture is designed for additional integrations and expanded data capture, creating a clear path to richer analytics and tighter alignment with evolving standards, ZTR officials said.
That means railroads realize immediate benefits in safety, visibility and productivity today, while establishing the digital footing needed for long-term asset performance and compliance.
Railway Equipment Co. (RECO), as part of its continued commitment to innovation and reliability in power systems, has introduced its Integrated Battery Monitoring and Tester. The advanced, multifunctional device is designed to enhance battery system performance and safety, company officials said.
The cutting-edge technology is built into RECO’s SMC Battery Charger and offers a comprehensive suite of monitoring capabilities. The compact unit functions as a cell voltage monitor, current shunt monitor (rated to plus or minus 1,000 amps with sensitivity to float currents below 100 milliamperes), charge percentage tracker, ground fault detector and resistive load bank.
The system supports internal monitoring of one to 12 battery cells, with scalability up to 60 cells through external modules. By continuously checking the status of each cell, it can immediately detect and report any failures, improving system responsiveness and reducing downtime, RECO officials said.
Automatic or manual monthly testing ensures long-term battery health, while the integrated 5-ohm load bank enables real-time testing and automated shutdowns if a fault is detected. Additionally, the ground fault monitor can be configured for routine or on-demand checks, further ensuring safety and compliance, company officials said.
The RECO system also calculates the battery’s state of charge and provides an estimated runtime based on a week’s average loads — empowering users with predictive insights for operational planning, they said.
In the near term, the product simplifies maintenance and enhances reliability. And over the long term, it supports smarter energy management, lowers operational risks and extends battery life —meeting evolving customer needs for efficient, dependable and intelligent power solutions, RECO officials said.
As rail yards face increasing pressure to handle more traffic with fewer resources, centralized control has become essential. Apex Rail Automation is addressing this with the latest evolution of its RailMaster™ platform, which features enhanced interoperability, automatic equipment identification (AEI) integration, touchscreen monitors and the newly integrated Shove Light Detection System, company officials said in an email.
The Shove Light Detection System provides continuous, fail-safe indications during shove moves, with configurable aspects — green for clear, yellow for partial occupancy and dark red for full occupancy —helping to ensure crews always have unambiguous track visibility. RailMaster™ scales to yards of all sizes, combining proven reliability with innovations that make operations safer, smarter and more connected, Apex officials said.
“Our mission is to transform transportation by delivering smarter, safer and more connected rail systems,” said Apex Rail Automation President David Ruskauff. “Enhancements like the Shove Light Detection System reflect our commitment to innovation, safety and empowering operators for the future of rail automation.”
Run-through switches remain one of the costliest and most dangerous errors on industrial track and in intermodal yards. Consequences range from broken spindles to multimillion-dollar derailments to even the risk of human life.
Despite decades of training strategies, incidents persist because every current switch position indicator requires one critical mental step: Operators must interpret a target shape, color or arrow and decide whether they positioned on the correct track. Fatigue, distraction or complacency makes that step vulnerable to error.
SwitchPath Lights, developed by Industrial Track Solutions and now patent pending, eliminate the need for such interpretation, company officials said. The system is built around a simple idea: Illuminate the safe track and travel only over illuminated track.
If an engineer approaches a switch and the path ahead is lit, it is safe to proceed. If one track is dark while another is illuminated, the message is unmistakable — stop and realign the switch.
The technology is practical as well as innovative, Industrial Track officials believe. A rugged point-sensing unit, designed in-house, communicates via heavy-duty cabling to LED housings mounted on ties between the rails.
Lights can be customized to match railroad-specific color conventions for specific railroads, such as red/white for Norfolk Southern Railway. Power comes from either a solar-recharged battery or a three-month rechargeable pack.
Installation requires no specialized tools and takes about two hours, making it accessible for industry track owners and contractors alike, company officials said.
By removing the mental step of interpretation, SwitchPath Lights represent a new approach to a longstanding safety challenge: follow the lighted path, avoid the derailment.
Laser Precision Solutions (LPS) is enhancing its LaserTrain rail-cleaning technology with two key product developments designed to expand capability and flexibility for clients, company officials said.
First, LPS’s cleaning capability is increasing to 99% of the rail network, up from 80%. That increase is attributed to a new shield design with improved optics and protective elements that allow LaserTrain to safely operate through stations and over switches and grade crossings.
By expanding the range of infrastructure that can be cleaned and improving geofence performance, the enhanced technology will deliver more effective and reliable cleaning across all LaserTrain models, including those already in use with current clients, company officials said.
Second, in 2026, the LaserTrain Container Model will become even easier to integrate and maintain with broader cleaning coverage, increased availability and faster implementation, they said. Key upgraded features will include field maintainability, removing workshop-based servicing; hot-swappable components for uninterrupted service with minimal downtime; bi-directional capability on most flat wagons, eliminating reliance on locomotives; and compatibility with standard 20-foot mounting units to ensure rapid deployment across diverse fleets.
LaserTrain has been successfully helping clients mitigate environmental challenges like slip-slide and rust since 2018, LPS officials said. By keeping railheads clear of contamination, LaserTrain minimizes low adhesion zones while boosting safety, efficiency and cost savings across various rail departments, including operations, signaling and track, and fleet maintenance, they said.
Those innovations mark the next phase in LaserTrain’s development to ensure that it can seamlessly adapt to any rail operation while continuing to deliver top performance with greater service capability, smoother setup and faster rollout. n
Email comments or questions to julie.sneider@tradepress.com.
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