RailPulse ‘Open for Enrollment’

RailPulse

Following two years of development and testing in collaboration with coalition members and telemetry suppliers, RailPulse says it is now “open for enrollment and welcomes stakeholders from across the industry to join the transformation.”

RailPulse on Sept. 3 officially launched its technology infrastructure, which it notes “provides near real-time data and insights across the North American freight railcar fleet. The platform leverages GPS and other telematics technologies to monitor the location, condition and health of railcars, aiming to enhance safety, efficiency and visibility for rail shippers, railroads and railcar owners.” The coalition received support through a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant from the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

“The RailPulse Platform aggregates, enriches and securely stores data from sensors and other sources, delivering it to users through a web portal and application programming interfaces (APIs),” the coalition explained. “The platform accommodates a wide variety of railcar sensors, including those for location, movement, load, handbrake, door/hatch status, impact, and more. Owners get all data on their railcars, while approved data is securely shared with authorized users. Users can also set up alerts, geofences, and reports to manage their railcar fleets and shipments more effectively.”

RailPulse said its key objectives include:

• “Industry-Wide Telematics Infrastructure: RailPulse facilitates collaboration among industry players by creating a secure, trusted, standardized, and vendor neutral railcar telematics infrastructure that spans the entire North American freight rail industry.
• “Data-Driven Transformation: RailPulse harnesses the power of GPS and sensor data, data standardization and cloud storage to deliver actionable data to all rail stakeholders enabling improved service, visibility, safety, sustainability, and productivity.
• “Enhanced Service through Visibility: RailPulse empowers shippers with near real-time insights into railcar and goods movements enabling them to make better, more informed supply chain decisions and optimize their operations.”

“Railcar owners who join RailPulse will benefit from access to their own railcars and shared data on other railcars they use,” the coalition noted. “RailPulse also offers a certification program for telemetry vendors who want to participate in the platform.”

The RailPulse Platform is governed by a board of directors composed of representatives from four categories of equity owners: rail shippers, Class I railroads, short line railroads and railcar lessors. Current board members are Bunge, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, CSX, GATX Corporation, Genesee & Wyoming Inc., Norfolk Southern Corporation, Railroad Development Corporation, The Greenbrier Companies, TrinityRail, Union Pacific Railroad and Watco Companies LLC.

“We are thrilled to launch the RailPulse platform, which represents a significant milestone for the rail industry,” said RailPulse General Manager David Shannon. “By creating a common, open and vendor-neutral railcar telematics ecosystem, we are enabling unprecedented access to real-time data and insights that will transform the rail customer experience, improve the overall performance of the rail network accelerating supply chains, and ultimately drive industry growth that fuels the national economy.”

“RailPulse is a groundbreaking initiative that will revolutionize the way we operate and serve our customers,” said Mike McClellan, Chairman of the RailPulse Board, and Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Norfolk Southern. “By joining forces with other rail industry stakeholders, we are creating a common platform that will enhance visibility, efficiency, and safety across the entire rail network.”