Wabtec is entering the railcar telematics market via an agreement with Dutch company Intermodal Telematics under which Wabtec will create a railcar telematics platform using IMT technology.
Wabtec’s new railcar telematics platform will deliver real-time information to railcar and tank container owners and operators, allowing them to turn rail cargo into smart, connected assets, the company reported.
Wabtec plans to begin offering this railcar telematics solution in the first quarter of 2024. The solution will be offered exclusively by Wabtec in North America and other heavy-haul freight markets globally as set forth in the agreement.
“The rail industry is on the verge of a new era where the use of real-time data about the status and condition of cargo will be transformative to the customer experience and supply chain efficiency,” Nalin Jain, Wabtec group president of digital intelligence, said in a news release. “Telematics builds on Wabtec’s rich history serving the freight car markets with next-generation solutions. Our innovative solutions will improve shipment visibility, increase on-time performance, and expand asset utilization to make shipping freight by rail more competitive.”
Wabtec railcar telematics will include sensors, gateways, wireless communications, and analytics, the company added. The technology will be offered for retrofit on existing fleets and also will make Wabtec’s current railcar components smarter by integrating solutions during production. The new offering will include a suite of solutions that track real-time location and monitor key attributes such as handbrakes, hatches, doors, and loaded/unloaded status for a railcar, as well as cargo temperature and pressure for a tank container.