October 21, 2022
Class I

RailPulse: Next-Gen Railcar Tracking

Written by Union Pacific, Corporate Communications

GPS devices are providing real-time information and visibility of railcars’ location, condition and health. (Photograph and Caption Courtesy of UP)

Union Pacific (UP) employees may notice some new tech riding the rails this fall—50 railcars equipped with a GPS device are being released onto the network, providing real-time information and visibility of the car’s location, condition and health to shippers, railcar owners and railroads.

UP, through its partnership with the RailPulse coalition, is accelerating the use of GPS and other telematics technologies to increase shipment visibility and enhance the customer experience, ultimately attracting more shippers.

During the initial testing phase, RailPulse members like UP will analyze the data to help make improvements to the platform before its larger launch in early 2023. Once launched, GPS and telematics data will be available on a dashboard and through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), making it easy for customers to view the data they care about most.

The effort is part of an industry focus to improve visibility down to the track level while generating efficiencies to improve rail competitiveness versus truck.

“RailPulse will allow us to provide enhanced visibility to our customers, in much the same way a consumer receives today with their online purchases,” said Yolanda Delgado, Manager-Business Planning, Marketing and Sales at UP. “The real benefit to our customers comes in productivity gains, faster decision-making, enhanced shipment protection, cost savings and improved customer service.”

After the initial pilot is complete, UP will look to expand the RailPulse program on its railcar fleet.

RailPulse was formed in 2020 as a coalition of railcar owners to increase safety, efficiency and visibility in the rail industry with new technologies.

This article first appeared on the Inside Track section of UP’s website.