railroad technology

Parallel Systems gets $4M grant from DOE

Parallel Systems, a Culver City, California-based company that aims to produce autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles, has received a $4.44 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy initiative (ARPA-E). 

Parallel, founded by former SpaceX engineers in 2020, will use the grant to fund a 29-month advanced testing program that will start in the second quarter of this year. The company says autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles could make...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/parallel-systems-gets-4m-grant-from-doe

FreightWaves Classics/Leaders: John Thomson made the Pennsylvania Railroad an industry leader

The Horseshoe Curve. (Image: contemporarycondition.blogspot.com)

John Edgar Thomson was born on this date 214 years ago in Springfield Township, which is near Philadelphia. His father (John Thomson) was a leading civil engineer; he helped build the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, as well as the first experimental railroad in the United States. 

A photograph of John Edgar Thomson. (Photo: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts)

Although John Edgar Thomson had little formal education, he worked closely with his father from an early age. Therefore, he received...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classicsleaders-john-thomson-made-the-pennsylvania-railroad-an-industry-leader

Class I rail executives opine on near- and long-term market drivers

A photograph of a rail yard.

Executives with Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific and CSX offered their thoughts recently on where they think technology is headed long term, as well as where they think market demand will be short term. Here are some highlights of what they said during conference appearances last week.

Customer is the key

Responding to customer needs will be one of the major drivers shaping how the freight rail industry develops technology, Kansas City Southern executives said at the Navis Connect 2021...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/class-i-rail-executives-opine-on-near-and-long-term-market-drivers

Wabtec, G&W and Carnegie Mellon partner to advance battery-electric locomotives

Wabtec has signed memorandums of understanding with Carnegie Mellon University and privately held short line operator Genesee & Wyoming to advance the technology of battery-electric locomotives. 

The partnerships will serve as the groundwork for all three parties to create a Freight Rail Innovation Institute, which will aim to develop zero-emission locomotives as well as technology to increase freight rail utilization and improve safety. The parties hope the endeavor will result in the creation...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/wabtec-gw-and-carnegie-mellon-partner-to-advance-battery-electric-locomotives

CSX to utilize Wabtec’s emissions-reduction technology for locomotives

A photograph of a CSX intermodal train rolling through a desert field.

CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) and Wabtec (NYSE: WAB) are working together to develop technologies aimed at making freight locomotives reduce fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

First the two say they are partnering to demonstrate a new technology aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions during the start and stop of a locomotive.

CSX will put into demonstration Wabtec’s Trip Optimizer Zero-to-Zero system, which is an advanced technology that seeks to start a train from zero mph and then stop the train...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/csx-to-utilize-wabtecs-emissions-reduction-technology-for-locomotives

CBP invests $46M to upgrade rail cargo inspection technology

A photograph of a train by a CBP outpost.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to spend $46 million to upgrade technology to improve rail cargo inspections at 12 points of entry by the Canadian and Mexican borders.

CBP says it will replace aging rail scanner systems with new high-energy rail scanners that can generate high-quality images more quickly and securely. The scanners use linear accelerators to generate X-rays from electricity rather than radioactive isotopes, the agency said.

Installation and testing of the new...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cbp-invests-46m-to-upgrade-rail-cargo-inspection-technology

Q&A: Why freight railroads need private networks to run technology applications

A photograph of a Union Pacific train weaving through a valley.

Menlo Park, California-based Ondas Networks (NASDAQ: ONDS) is a wireless network company that designs telecommunications platforms for industries with critical infrastructure needs: utilities, oil and gas, transportation and government. 

But what does Ondas’ work mean exactly for the railroads, especially in light of recent cyber attacks? FreightWaves chatted with Ondas’ leadership to find out. Featured are CEO Eric Brock and President and co-founder Stewart Kantor.

This question-and-answer...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/qa-why-freight-railroads-need-private-networks-to-run-technology-applications

Wabtec: Battery-electric locomotive reduces fuel use by 11%

A photograph of a train locomotive crossing over a bridge.

Wabtec’s (NYSE: WAB) battery-electric locomotive reduces a train’s fuel consumption by an average 11%, the Pittsburgh-headquartered rail equipment manufacturer and technology provider said Monday. 

The FLXdrive, which Wabtec bills as the world’s first 100% battery-powered, heavy-haul freight locomotive, also reduced the train’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the company. Wabtec was unveiling the results of a three-month study on the locomotive.

“The FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive is...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/wabtec-battery-electric-locomotive-reduces-fuel-use-by-11

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