ARTC selects GE’s Movement Planner

ARTC (Australian Rail Track Corp., Australia’s largest rail freight network operator), has selected GE Transportation's Movement Planner technology enabler for its Hunter Valley traffic control center in Newcastle, New South Wales.

ARTC’s Newcastle facility supports movement of more than 24,000 tons of freight per hour, and tens of thousands of coal, freight, grain and passenger trains annually. ARTC plans to improve its ANCO traffic control system by integrating and then building on Movement Planner, which GE says “provides real-time rail traffic planning and optimization to enable freight to move more efficiently.”

ANCO “aims to use real-time network and train data to enable faster, more informed decisions to better manage train flow and all other activities on track while reducing complexity and coordination across the network,” ARTC noted.

Movement Planner’s Network Viewer and Network Optimizer modules are to be implemented progressively on the Hunter Valley network throughout 2018 and 2019 to improve network velocity, capacity, and on-time performance. Movement Planner solution considers multiple factors including train schedules, traffic control systems and train movements relative to each other and then develops an optimized traffic plan for trains operating throughout the network. “Existing GE customers have benefited from increased visibility of network operations, higher velocity, lower dwell times and improved on-time performance across their networks,” GE said.

“The Hunter Valley rail network is one of the busiest and most complex in the country, supporting the largest coal export port in the world,” ARTC Managing Director and CEO John Fullerton said. “As bulk freight demands grow, rail operators like ARTC and supply chains like the Hunter Valley coal network need to be creative in the way they respond so the Australian economy doesn’t miss out. That’s why we conducted a world-wide search to find globally proven solutions that will improve our network productivity and efficiency.”

“Working closely with our customers, we have a strong focus on driving and improving network performance that benefits the entire supply chain,” said ARTC Group Executive, Hunter Valley Network onathan Vandervoort. “Through the ARTC Network Control Optimization program, Movement Planner will allow us to improve transport capacity and efficiency, and provide better service performance.”

“Rail operators face efficiency and productivity challenges today. Here, Digital is a game changer,” said Claire Pierce, Commercial Leader for GE Transportation in Australia and New Zealand. “Together, GE Transportation and ARTC have the opportunity to bring forward the next frontier of streamlined and expanded throughput from the Hunter Valley coal chain.”

GE describes Movement Planner as “a network planning system for railroad traffic control. Leveraging multiple data sources such as train schedules, train movements and network topology, Movement Planner can produce an optimized traffic plan for the entire rail network. Utilizing real-time data and a physics-based Train Performance Calculator, Movement Planner detects network disruptions and evaluates the impact of corrective actions by comparing projected Estimated Time of Arrivals for affected trains.”