FOLLOWING a three-month pilot programme CSX Transportation has decided to equip its 2800 main line locos with a GPS tracking system, the first in North America to do so. CSX awarded a contract last month to GE Harris Railway Electronics for its Pinpoint equipment, which had been tested on 25 randomly chosen CW40-8 diesels. These achieved a 6% higher utilisation than non-equipped units and a 10% increase in the distance travelled.
According to GE Harris, GPS tracking improves utilisation in three ways:
