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12/23/2024
Compiled by Michael Popke
Rail suppliers and service providers are always in what’s-next mode. They’re constantly aiming to meet railroads’ near-term technology demands while seeking ways to satisfy customers’ longer-term needs.
Increasingly, both near- and longer-term solutions require incorporating new and/or still-evolving technology.
What’s new — or next — on the emerging technology front? A sampling of suppliers offer their entries, which were received via email.
Amsted Digital Solutions offers the IQ Series™ gateway with Bogie IQ® technology. The device captures comprehensive rail-car health and operational data without additional wireless sensors, providing a cost-effective alternative to traditional telematics systems, Amsted officials said.
Mounted anywhere on a rail car, the IQ Series gateway provides real-time GPS location data, enabling accurate mileage calculations, dynamic estimated time of arrival, geofence alerts, and first- and last-mile validation. Using machine-learning insights, it also identifies changes in load status and detects impacts. When mounted directly on a rail-car truck and configured with Bogie IQ technology, the same device also monitors for wheel tread defects and brake slide events. This proactive, data-driven monitoring allows fleets to identify and address potential problems before they escalate, company officials said.
Duos Technologies Inc.’s Railcar Inspection Portal (rip®) is a state-of-the-art, AI-powered visualization and inspection platform designed to empower railroads to monitor rail-car health in real time.
By capturing high-resolution 360-degree images at track speeds, the rip enables rapid identification of potential defects and anomalies, Duos officials said. Advanced AI/machine-learning algorithms analyze the images, flagging critical issues for immediate attention.
Meanwhile, rip®-as-a-Service enables the company to offer the platform to a wider range of industry stakeholders by leveraging existing rip infrastructure deployed on customer railroads.
With rip-as-a-Service, users can enhance safety by proactively identifying and addressing potential hazards, optimizing maintenance with data-decisions regarding maintenance schedules and downtime, improve efficiency by streamlining inspection processes and operational efficiency and extend equipment lifespan by implementing preventive maintenance strategies, company officials said.
Hitachi Vegetation Manager (HVM) is a vegetation management solution for the rail industry that offers end-to-end work management for vegetation control, prioritizing operational efficiency and safety, company officials said.
Leveraging advanced remote sensing technologies such as optical, thermal and multispectral satellite imagery, along with LiDAR and drone data, HVM offers comprehensive vegetation management through three key modules:
Last year, Holland began field testing its first mobile flash-butt welding vehicle with a battery-powered welder head. The unit uses current AC welding equipment with a DC-to-AC converter, adding a power factor control to the system.
The Hybrid Welder can perform about 20 to 25 welds with a prototype battery system before charging. The system provides cleaner, more consistent power and rail consumption while maintaining or improving weld quality compared with traditional flash-butt welds powered by diesel generators, Holland officials said.
As of last month, two units with battery-powered systems — one retrofit and one new build — had made about 900 welds in track, they said. Meanwhile, Holland is developing the second version of the Hybrid Welder, which will allow for faster charging and the ability to perform 40 to 45 welds per shift.
As battery technology rapidly evolves, hydrogen fuel cells, catenary, utility and other power options will be explored, Holland officials said, adding that a complete battery unit with a battery-powered vehicle and welder head also is part of the company’s vision as charging infrastructure becomes more robust in North America.
Asset management teams must answer three key questions for monitored rail assets, Loram officials believe: What is the current condition? When will it fail? And what can be done about it?
Approaches to answer these questions generally fall into either data-driven ones that utilize data trending (sometimes called machine learning, AI or algorithms) or simulation-based approaches that rely on building physics models of assets.
“The emerging path is to use a hybrid approach, creating a digital twin that leverages a combination of data-driven and model-based approaches to better understand the asset and maximize its potential,” Loram officials said.
Enter Loram Virtual Rail, a suite of digital products designed to provide evidence for track engineering teams to determine their best maintenance strategies to extend track life, find and prevent defects and reduce costs.
Data-driven forecasting models are challenged by generalizability, data scarcity and explainability, Loram officials said.
“The true features that impact the difference in asset condition and end of life must be identified from analysis, and the data must be available and of good enough quality to trust,” they added.
Physics models can help by using well-known fundamental physical principles and equations to estimate how the asset should degrade. This allows the user to test the potential life of the asset in different operating and maintenance conditions, company officials said.
And when the data-based and model-based approaches are combined, the simulation data “form guardrails or guides to understand when the asset’s end of life will be and identify assets that are performing sub-optimally,” they said.
ZoneGuard is an electronic roadway worker protection system that’s used to protect railway workers in active work zones and rail yards. The system can satisfy requirements for a redundant form of protection for rail transit workers in accordance with the new Federal Transit Administration’s Final Rule 49 CFR Part 671 for Rail Transit Roadway Worker Protection, Miller Ingenuity officials said.
ZoneGuard works with existing RWP procedures and is designed to provide a secondary form of protection for work crews by delivering advanced warning of approaching track vehicles. The system helps eliminate such human factors as distractions, complacency, inexperience and miscommunication — all of which are frequent contributors to close calls and accidents.
The system also includes a patented combination of diverse sensor technologies that work together to ensure track vehicles are detected consistently and accurately, company officials said. Configurable to a railroad’s unique operating environment, it easily integrates with a railroad’s existing safety rules and procedures and does not have a required onboard component for operation, they added.
The ZoneGuard product line consists of three products: the portable kit, fixed system and yard protection system. Durable and light enough to more easily transport the equipment to any job site, the kit can be set up in minutes. The fixed system is permanently installed and provides 24/7 train tracking capabilities with no configuration or set-up required, and the yard protection system — winner of the 2023 REMSA Innovation Award — warns rail yard workers of any incoming track vehicles or cars being shoved into the facility.
ONYX Rail Safety Solutions offers XING™, a 24/7/365 critical location monitoring system that identifies operational and hazardous conditions including violations, trespassers, near-misses, obstructions and collisions. XING is applicable to grade crossings, control points, yards, platforms and other key locations, company officials said.
Sensors include but are not limited to cameras for object identification, radar for train speed and SCADA inputs. The system identifies crossing warning system failures or malfunctions to ensure compliance with Federal Railroad Administration regulations, according to Onyx; sparks, fire and smoke are detected on trains, in stations or other monitored locations.
Upon identifying a hazardous condition, XING automatically notifies all configured stakeholders, providing the FRA crossing number, name, date, time of day and nature of the problem. It sends near-real-time notifications via text, email and automated phone calls.
XING servers continuously compile information from all monitored sites, and data analytics provide statistical analyses and reports to identify trends and patterns for operational events, failures, hazards and safety concerns. The information enables users to plan and allocate resources more effectively, company officials said. XING also can share information with monitoring centers, dispatch systems and other railroad enterprise systems.
Plasser American has worked to develop a new “phased array” technology focused on addressing the hidden risks of rolling contact fatigue — a technology that will “effectively gain a complete understanding of the rail condition,” company officials said.
The advanced, patented Linear Phased Array Technology is designed to locate and size, by area and depth, the defective horizontal conditions propagated by surface crack conditions. This allows railroads to tailor grinding, milling or rail replacement programs to target the most affected areas, company officials said.
The approach also further ensures longevity of the track infrastructure and helps minimize service failures caused by transverse defects masked by horizontal cracks. In addition, it provides users with information to help increase network safety “while also allowing for a more efficient and effective management of assets,” Plasser officials added.
While many current tools are made from aluminum, steel and cast iron, The Brake Stick is made from “carbon fiber, aramid fabrics, exotic plastics, powerful neodymium magnets and unique alloys that are a fraction of the weight of current tools,” Precision Cut officials said. Lightweight tools support less fatigue, and less fatigue can lead to fewer injuries, they added.
The Brake Stick uses aramid fibers, more commonly known as Kevlar® — a lightweight woven fiber that provides strength and rigidity while offering a gripping surface. Strength is provided by an interior carbon fiber tube; carbon fiber is a light material with “excellent” strength and rigidity, company officials said. The work head, collar and boot are made of lightweight, durable plastics engineered to flex in different areas to lessen the sudden impact from regular use of releasing and setting the brake wheel.
Precision Cut also continues to study existing tools that can be reimagined and redesigned to provide more lightweight and safer tools, company officials said.
RailWorks created RailWorks Insight and integrated AIVR (Automated Intelligent Video Review) to quickly assess track health and make informed decisions.
RailWorks Insight is a comprehensive digital track inspection reporting software. Traditionally, track managers and maintenance planners would spend time recording track inspection reports with pen and paper. RailWorks digitalized the inspection process into an app designed to simplify inspections, maintenance planning and compliance. It also provides automated repair budget estimates to aid in track maintenance planning.
The AIVR system provides camera and sensor-based track inspections. In areas where track access is limited and potentially unsafe, it enables users from many rail disciplines to monitor tracks remotely and safely, company officials said.
Using AI and machine learning, AIVR can automatically gather information about track health. Platform users then can see the location, take measurements and make notes for maintenance planning and reporting.
The photos, video, notes and reports also can easily be shared with other team members. With ongoing data gathering and recording, AIVR provides current status and a history of track health over time.
Michael Popke is a Madison, Wisconsin-based freelance writer. Email comments or questions to prograil@tradepress.com.