Until the end of March, RailAppSolutions is offering a free trial of its TrainChecker app which inspectors can use to photograph wagon numbers with their smartphones, with data such as length and tare weight determined automatically. It can also be used to document and report damage, with data transferred to partner systems via standard interfaces. The company says 90% of damage reports in Europe are still recorded and forwarded by e-mail or fax.
Duos Technologies has reached a three-year agreement to provide a Class I railway with subscription-based AI-based defect detection models for use with wagon inspection portals. ‘We have invested heavily in the development of our AI models by means of real-world situations’, said CEO Chuck Ferry on January 17. ’By using our in-house railroad mechanical inspection team combined with the most experienced commercial AI engineering and software development talent, we develop models tailored for the industry. We believe this is a better approach than outsourcing to generic AI developers or universities using standard platforms.’
BNSF has announced a $3·92bn capital investment plan for 2024. This includes $2·88bn for maintaining the network, $440m for equipment acquisition and $600m for expansion and efficiency projects.
Engineering train operator BM Bahndienste is to lease one Stadler EuroDual electro-diesel locomotive from European Loc Pool from December 2024. It will have Alstom Atlas ETCS L2 Baseline 3.4.0 onboard equipment and remote control, and is the 100th six-axle hybrid locomotive that ELP is to provide under a long-term full-service contract since launching five years ago.
The US Federal Railroad Administration has announced a final rule requiring railways to provide emergency escape breathing apparatus for train crew and other employees who could be exposed to an inhalation hazard in the event of a hazardous material release. Railroads must also ensure that the equipment is maintained and in proper working condition and train their employees in its use. The rule was advanced after the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine.
TX Logistik now offers a twice weekly service from the CTL terminal in Lübeck to the Quadrante Europa terminal in Verona and back. The main customer is forwarding company Bode, and most of the goods is carried on semi-trailers, NiKRASA vehicles, containers and tank containers. The trains take around 24 h to cover the approximately 1 240 km route. TX Logistik has also increased the number of round trips between Lübeck and Segrate in the Milano area from four to six. TX Logistik uses its own drivers and multi-system locomotives.
Russian Railways has put its first Ural Locomotives 3ES8 Malakhit 3 kV DC 12 MW electric loco into service on the St Petersburg – Babaevo – Ust-Luga route. The design is expecting to form the basis for a new generation of electric locomotives incorporating domestic technology, including the asynchronous traction drive developed by Sinara’s Tyagovye Komponenty and Transneft’s Russkie Elektricheskie Dvigateli subsidiaries.