Amsted Rail, GE form strategic partnership
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefAmsted Rail and GE Transportation have formed a joint venture “to combine GE’s experience in train management and locomotive monitoring with Amsted Rail’s expertise in onboard monitoring of railcar component condition,” the companies said in an announcement. It’s “the first ever integrated onboard train monitoring platform for the freight rail industry.”
“To build the next generation of intelligent freight trains where locomotives and railcars are continuously monitored, this solution integrates Amsted Rail’s IONX Edge™ monitoring system for railcars, which features a standards-based intra-train communication network, with GE’s GoLINC™ industry-tested network, communication, and application management platform for the railroad environment,” Amsted and GE said. “By providing a communication pathway up the train consist to the locomotive, near-real-time alerts can be delivered to train operators about the condition of key railcar components continuously or during critical operating events.”
“The addition of an intra-train network to our existing cellular communication means we can deliver railcar operating information to our customers wherever they can derive the most value from it,” said William LeFebvre, General Manager and Chief Technology Officer for IONX, Amsted Rail’s Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) business. “It means our solution works in a scalable way, supporting an individual railcar or complete train consists. This new solution provides actionable data to an operating railroad’s back office, allowing it to make better, more-informed decisions about train movements.”
“More-precise monitoring means better control,” said Amsted Rail Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Brad Myers. “You move from intermittent data collected from wayside detectors, spaced sometimes 200 to 400 miles apart, to near-real-time monitoring of railcar component health, as well as railcar dynamics. This platform delivers a much more complete and more accurate understanding of what’s happening during train operations.”
