Wabtec Corporation has announced a major milestone for its Trip Optimizer™ system, which has been used on trains for more than 1 billion miles. This smart cruise control system for trains, leverages terrain, train composition, speed restrictions, and operating conditions to calculate optimal speed profiles. The advanced approach has enabled the system to save approximately 752 million gallons of diesel fuel, which is equivalent to nearly 10 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, or enough to power nearly 900,000 homes for a year. It has also led to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 7.7 million tonnes, the equivalent of taking around 1.7 million cars off the road for a year.
“Trip Optimizer has become an integral locomotive operating system and an industry standard for railroads to efficiently manage the performance of their trains. It is building upon the rail industry’s leadership as the most efficient mode of transporting goods by enabling railroads to significantly cut down on unnecessary fuel consumption, minimize emissions, and optimize their travel routes,” said Nalin Jain, president of Wabtec Digital Intelligence.
Trip Optimizer™ is certified by the EPA to reduce emissions by 10 percent through reduced fuel consumption, enabling railroads to minimise their carbon footprint and operating costs. Wabtec continually improves Trip Optimizer™ based on feedback, operational insights and technological advances. Since its launch in 2009, the system has been installed in 12,000 locomotives on five continents, including all Class 1 railroads in North America and key markets such as Brazil and Australia.
