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Wabtec Fuel App Takes the Guesswork Out of Fuel Management

Written by Wabtec Corporation
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Do you know where, why, and how your engines are consuming fuel? For many railway operators, the answer is no.

Onboard fuel tank measurements are often inaccurate. Data from fill-ups can be inconsistent and not readily available. And railway operators lack a central database to store and analyze information—causing them to waste countless hours trying to connect the dots. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. With the new Wabtec Fuel App, operators gain full visibility into fuel consumption—and gain the power to optimize operations in real time through an intuitive interface that operates on any mobile device or web browser.

The Wabtec Fuel App collects and connects data from multiple systems and sensors to provide an up-to-date view of fuel consumption. It can connect to energy management systems, event recorders, train sensors, fuel gauges,  locomotive control systems, and external systems such as fuel depot records for valuable data and insights.

Wabtec Fuel App provides railway stakeholders an easy way to visualize and manage operations, identify areas for improvement, and get notified to potential fuel-related problems through an intuitive mobile and web browser-based user interface. 

The application can recognize fuel usage based on throttle, price, spend by locomotive class, crew,  trip, and geo zones. This allows managers to get real-time visibility and alerts into outliers in their fleet, which could highlight other issues. The app can also provide insight into operational efficiency by the crew and offer recommendations about optimal fueling locations and range. In addition, it detects potential faulty equipment or theft to prevent fuel loss and warn operators of suspicious activity.   

Leveraging machine learning technology, the Wabtec Fuel App can also detect potential fuel leaks or unnecessary and excessive idling. This is especially important as railways are under pressure to reduce their gas emissions and keep up with other green initiatives such as electric vehicles and solar batteries. Fuel leaks and long periods of idling can result in a large amount of wasted fuel and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Rail operators can achieve a 3 to 5% annual cost savings with Wabtec Fuel App—a significant reduction considering fuel is the second-largest cost behind labor, with Class I railroads spending at least $1 billion a year on fuel. 

Beyond fuel usage monitoring, the application can support the benchmarking of crews and locomotive performance to set customized rules in specific areas or for specific engines. The application will also support weather integration, allowing railroads to get insights into how weather affects their operations and provide support into Auto Engine Start/Stop (AESS) technologies in weather scenarios. 

Wabtec Fuel App’s advanced cloud-based analytics can examine massive data sets and reveal trends and patterns based on historical and real-time data so managers can adjust operations, fill-ups, and procedures accordingly. 

The more data the Wabtec Fuel App collects over time, the smarter it will become at spotting problems, making intelligent predictions and recommendations, and leading the industry into a cost effective and greener future. 

Learn more about how the Wabtec Fuel App gives railways more visibility and control while boosting fuel efficiency.  

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