TTX Company, the Railcar Pooling Experts, has officially announced itself as the latest member of the RailPulse Coalition, joining a comprehensive effort to transform railcar visibility, safety and efficiency through telematics and data standardization.
According to certain reports, TTX’s inclusion will bring the scale, operational expertise, as well as industry-leading fleet management capabilities of North America’s leading shared railcar provider.
For better understanding, RailPulse was conceived as a dedicated concept for advancing GPS and sensor technology’s use across railcars, delivering near real-time data through a common platform, and fostering a more responsive, transparent and data-driven freight rail network.
TTX will be joining, in that respect, an already diverse coalition of industry leaders, including Class I and short line railroads, shippers and railcar owners, all working collaboratively to standardize telematics technology and unlock its full potential. To give you hint of things RailPulse has achieved thus far, since its formation, the number of telematics-equipped railcars in North America has doubled.
“The integration of TTX’s shared fleet model with RailPulse’s telematics platform is a game changer,” said David Shannon, General Manager of RailPulse. “Together, we can align operational scale with data intelligence, accelerating our vision of a modernized, customer-centric rail network that is safer, more efficient and competitive.”
Taking a deeper of what TTX’s participation in RailPulse could unlock moving forward, we begin from the development’s focus on enhancing customer experience. This translates to how, leveraging greater visibility into car location, condition and performance, railroads and shippers can very well gain access to more reliable ETAs, enhanced service transparency, and actionable supply chain insights.
Next up, there is the prospect of accessing standardized and open data. You see, RailPulse’s neutral platform really goes the distance to ensure consistent, high-quality data which, on its part, can be accessed and deployed across the industry. The stated benefit also complements TTX’s mission to support all railroads through shared infrastructure and collaborative efficiency.
Another detail worth a mention is rooted in the potential for smarter asset deployment. With near real-time GPS and sensor data from RailPulse, the whole mechanism makes it possible for TTX to improve the precision of car distribution and fleet allocation, eventually reducing empty miles, dwell time, and repositioning costs.
Rounding up highlights would be the focus on providing predictive maintenance at scale. In essence, RailPulse and TTX will look to transition towards condition-based maintenance to improve car availability, extend asset life, and reduce service interruptions.
Founded in 1955, TTX’s rise up the ranks stems from delivering providing well‐maintained railcars in an efficient, pooled environment, having invested a whopping $6 billion in railcars over the past 10 years alone. The scale of its operations can also be contextualized once you consider it operates, at the moment, more than 177,000 railcars.
“I’m grateful to those that offered support in TTX joining RailPulse,” said Marty Thomas, Executive Vice President of TTX Company. “Joining RailPulse underscores our dedication to driving innovation and ensuring the long-term strength of the freight rail industry. We envision a future where real-time data enhances everything from maintenance operations to the customer experience and we’re proud to help lead that evolution in collaboration with RailPulse.”
