In railways, the need for modern digital solutions is visible across the industry. One of the fastest-applicable is telematics – the combination of telecommunications and informatics to transmit, store and receive information from devices to remote objects over a network. With devices installed directly on wagons, wagon owners have a better overview of their fleet and customers can see the wagons they rent or own in real-time.
GATX’s new solution goes beyond basic tracking. Three packages are offered. In the basic, hourly updates on wagon position is available. The advanced package offers standardised interface integration with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, more frequent position updates, telematics device status updates, geofencing, alerts, and historical data availability. And the pro telematics package incorporates standard sensor data, shock detection, and the option for customized sensor solutions.
Apart from GPS devices, the standard equipment of GATX newly-made wagons (and retrofitted on the existing fleet), other sensors are offered, such as temperature or state sensors, useful mainly during the loading and unloading of wagons.
