North America - Locomotives are valuable mechanical assets.
 
Here's how four railroads, working with an innovative supplier, are getting the most out of these complex machines.
 
Gathering data, interpreting it, and applying it to improve efficiency and safety is an increasingly important function in contemporary railroading.
 
"Intelligent" locomotives that generate data related to fuel consumption, health status, and even engineer compliance with train operation protocols and safety procedures are now commonplace.
 
All of this is possible with integrated remote monitoring technology.
 
Development and application of this multi-purpose technology has grown to the point where many railroads are finding it almost indispensable.
 
One of its leading suppliers is Wi-Tronix LLC, of Bolingbrook, Illinois, USA.
 
Railway Age was recently provided the opportunity to learn how several major railroads are applying this technology.
 
The heart of Wi-Tronix's technology is the Wi-PU (Wireless Processing Unit), described as "a highly capable mobile computer that can be customized to fit specific requirements."
 
Wi-Tronix's first Wi-PU installation occurred on 27 May 2005, on BNSF locomotive number 9932.
 
Several months later, Florida East Coast received its first WPU.
 
CN received its first Wi-PU in 2006.
 
Today, CN, BNSF, and Kansas City Southern/KCS de MExico, have Wi-Tronix technology installed on their entire locomotive fleets.
 
Amtrak's new Siemens-built ACS-64 Northeast Corridor electric locomotives have Wi-PUs as an OEM installation.
 
Seventy VIA Rail Canada locomotives have been retrofitted.
 
One-hundred twenty-five installations are under way on CP, and CIT Rail's entire locomotive lease fleet is being equipped.
 
Among the newest installations are the 18 Sumitomo diesel multiple-units being delivered to Toronto's Metrolinx for the new Union Pearson Express.
 
Fuel costs are the second-largest railroad expense, after labor.
 
Monitoring and alert-providing technology such as what Wi-Tronix supplies can go a long way toward reducing that expense.
 
But as railroads like VIA Rail Canada, BNSF, Indiana Rail Road, and Florida East Coast, related at the company's annual User's Conference, this technology has many other uses.
 
VIA Rail Canada
 
VIA Rail Canada, according to Director of Corporate Architecture and Emerging technology Francois Blouin, is implementing GPS Train Safety System, a train safety and locomotive security system that utilizes the Wi-Tronix Attention Assist product.
 
"The system will fill a gap until PTC comes, however at present there is no regulatory plan," Blouin said.
 
"PTC is highly complex, and will be difficult to implement consistently across the railroads that VIA uses. Our engineer base is getting older. There is a new generation of engineers coming up that are more used to technology, rather than memory-based safety. In Canada, there is limited use of information technology for train safety. Our goal is to reduce human error."
 
GPS train, which Blouin referred to as "passive PTC," displays route characteristics, works on any railroad, signalized or dark, and displays and updates train location in real-time.
 
The program has four phases, VIA Rail is currently on Phase 2.
 
The system provides alerts on approaching speed restrictions with a real-time display and a map of critical infrastructure control elements.
 
It is expected to improve operational safety in low visibility conditions.
 
A proof of concept is expected in 2015.
 
Phase 3 will add an interactive display in 2016.
 
Phase 4 will have the system integrated with rail traffic control in 2017.
 
The first live test of GPS Train was on 8 Sep 2014.
 
Another new technology called V2V ("Vehicle to Vehicle") is in the exploratory stage.
 
This technology is a railway crossing safety system that involves a warning signal being sent to a highway vehicle as it approaches a crossing.
 
Transport Canada is currently developing communication standards for this technology.
 
BNSF
 
BNSF, according to Senior Manager Operating Practices Alex Dalton, is using Wi-Tronix technology for a wide variety of operations and transportation functions.
 
The data gathered by each locomotive Wi-PU is sent directly to BNSF's Metwork Operations Center in Fort Worth Texas.
 
Currently, there are 4,622 Wi-PUs installed across BNSF's locomotive fleet.
 
Use of the technology has evolved "from humble beginnings with a handful of locomotives" to a BNSF-hosted data center server processing a tremendous amount of information.
 
BNSF's use of Wi-Tronix technology is applied across three basic platforms:  Fuel Monitoring, which provides fuel tank level, excessive idle, and fuel burn calculations, Locomotive Health, with data obtained through cameras, event recorders, fuel sensors, and Remote Auditing.
 
The latter is tied in with BNSF's Autoscan system, which is used for monitoring training crew locations, and for compiling the railroad's Engineer Scorecard, which is largely based on train handling, energy management, for compliance, and fuel usage.
 
Autoscan is similar to the Wi-Tronix exception-handling function, for at-risk and non-at-risk exceptions.
 
Dalton says that BNSF processes more than 3,500 event recorder downloads per day on 1,000 train starts.
 
It detects exceptions and their GPS-based locations (control points, switches, crossovers) for trains and locomotives.
 
The system can take an audit window from 48 hours to real-time.
 
The data can be off-loaded and preserved and can generate automated still images.
 
Eventually, it will be tied in with BNSF's PTC roll out.
 
Indiana Rail Road
 
On the Indiana Rail Road, Wi-PUs are installed on all of the railroad's 22 locomotives.
 
The data is used by the Mechanical, Operations, and Engineering departments, according to the railroad's Cleveland Elliott.
 
The Mechanical department obtains GPS-based location data, whether a locomotive is operating on its home territory or on a foreign road.
 
This ease of location determination is helpful for Mechanical people doing line-of-road repairs.
 
The fuel monitoring function detects low fuel levels, unexpected rapid fuel level drops (for example, if someone is attempting to steal diesel fuel by siphoning it out of a fuel tank), and fuel overconsumption.
 
Daily fuel summaries are generated to estimate when the next refueling should occur, this assists the railroad with managing its monthly fuel inventory.
 
Low water temperature alerts help prevent freezing damage to a diesel engine block.
 
Other fault detection functions help provide the Mechanical department with the correct repair parts to take to a line-of-road repair location.
 
INRD's Engineering department uses Wi-PU data to check for "harmonic rock," an indicator of a potential track issue.
 
Elliott says INRD has been able to avoid 20 to 30 derailments in the past year with this technology.
 
Emergency brake applications are monitored to inspect the rail for damage that can occur when a train goes into emergency.
 
INRD's Operations department uses this technology to monitor its engineers for such issues as hard couplings, over speed conditions, power braking episodes, stretch braking, excessive throttle modulation, and emergency braking (most INRD trains are operated with one person in the cab).
 
"Our engineers are much more mindful of how they are operating the train," says Elliott.
 
The technology is also useful for training new engineers.
 
It assists them with learning the proper procedures for throttle modulation, stretch braking, excessive train run-in (slack control), excessive slack take-up, hard couplings, and speed control.
 
It is also used to ensure horsepower per ton (HPT) compliance as well as compliance with rules regarding cell phone use.
 
Florida East Coast
 
On the FEC, according to Manager of Energy and Process Improvement Tom Dutrieux, data generated by Wi-PUs tracks total engine hours, idle time, and fleet utilization.
 
Combined with gallons per hour data, the system generates a daily fuel report, low fuel alerts, and system health alerts.
 
It also produces a train trip summary, asset details, fueling history for a particular locomotive, and train handling exceptions (such as excessive idle time).
 
Dutrieux says that in the past year the railroad has lowered its fuel costs by approximately $2 million.
 
Total engine hours have been reduced by 7.1 percent, and total idle hours have been reduced by 4.6 percent, for example.
 
This technology, according to Wi-Tronix, has many other uses.
 
For example, it can track and generate reports for daily utilization of AESS (auto engine start-stop) systems and APUs (auxiliary power units).
 
It can help stop main line fuel run-outs through low fuel level detection, and interface with OEM and non-OEM interfaces that support control system fault detection (for example, traction motor flash overs).
 
Safer operations are possible by leveraging train handling alerts that monitor rule compliance (over speed, hard couplings, severe weather).
 
In terms of sustainability, the technology can be used to verify that a locomotive is in compliance with local noise pollution ordinances, as well as monitor engine emissions.
 
From Basement to Boardroom
 
Wi-Tronix, which started in the basement of President Larry Jordan's home 10 years ago, now occupies a 21,000-square-foot facility in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
 
Its customers include BNSF, CN, KCS/KCSM, Canadian Pacific, Florida East Coast, Watco Companies, Genesee & Wyoming, Amtrak, VIA Rail Canada, Sun Rail (Florida), Rail Runner (New Mexico), Caltrans, and many others.
 
As of last month, Wi-Tronix had an installed base of 7,718 monitored assets.
 
The company's goal is to reach 20,000 by 2020.
 
A recent addition is an expanded Integration Lab that allows Wi-Tronix engineers to improve quality, and speed development and deployment of new products.
 
The HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Testing) process (currently outsourced) creates environments from -50 degrees C to +80 degrees C, to quickly expose equipment to temperature and vibration stresses that simulate the entire service life of a device.
 
Among the company's newer technologies are Wi-Nostics, a predictive diagnostics product that requires no additional onboard equipment or sensors.
 
The Mobile Phone Detection System, installed within the Wi-PU and coordinated with DVR and inward facing locomotive cameras, detects cell phone use in a locomotive cab.
 
Yet another new technology is Attention Assist, which features onboard audio alerts as well as a visual display, and provides the locomotive engineer with interactive networked data communications on current location, speed, speed limit, approaching speed limits and locations, distance to approaching signals, automated audio alerts, and other timely information.
 
The system is designed to minimize the risks associated with operator error and ensure that he or she is aware of approaching signals, a change in speed limit because of track conditions, and/or other environmental changes that affect safe train operation.
 
Attention Assist features include a graphical speedometer with current and approaching speed limits, a graphical track diagram of the route ahead displaying speed limit, mile/kilometer posts and signals, and the distance to go, in-cab audio alerts, and locomotive engineer interaction.
 
Physical characteristics included in the track diagram show signals, switches, sightings, whistle posts, wayside detectors, mile/kilometer posts, stations, yards, and quiet zones.
 
"This visual aid helps the locomotive engineer manage the amount of information he or she is processing to maximize safe train operations," the company says.
 
While Attention Assist does not provide enforcement, as PTC does, it can be integrated with PTC.
 
Wi-Tronix's newest technology is its Mobile Phone Detection System, which is integrated into the Wi-PU to detect devices in the locomotive cab that transmit or receive over mobile phone frequency bands.
 
This technology employs algorithms to differentiate a signal originating from within the cab of a locomotive from the background radio frequency signals coming from other sources.
 
Upon detection, customizable rules are applied to determine if a safety violation has occurred.
 
If a violation has occurred, the Wi-PU generates a log and sends a notification to specified individuals or distribution lists.
 
The benefits of this technology are, according to the company, "decreased incidents by a locomotive engineer caused by distracted operation, customizable real-time alerting on possible violations of mobile phone policies, risk reduction to the public and to railroad personnel, and historical tracking for compliance."
 
The Mobile Phone Detection System offers North American detection frequencies for PCS (1850 to 1910 MHz), CDMA (824 to 849 MHz), GSM (896 to 901 MHz), and LTE (700, 750, 800, 850, 1900 MHz).
 
Future hardware releases will support 2100 MHz (AWS) and 2600 MHz.
 
The system's dynamic range is 60 dB, its sensitivity is -80 dBm.
 
Mobile phone usage monitoring includes duration, a visual map, and a geo-fence zone.
 
An optional feature is automatic LDVR (Locomotive Digital Video Recorder), which triggers inward-facing crew cameras that produce still images and video.
 
The system can detect mobile phones that are powered and transmitting, receiving an inbound call, placing an outbound call, and being used as a mobile phone-based Wi-Fi hotspot or for data transmission (e-mails, browsing the Internet, etc.).
 
Inbound/outbound phone usage can be recorded while the locomotive is moving.
 
A business-to-business integration function can identify crew members who may be violating cell phone policies.
 
Wi-Tronix technology is currently capable of generating 216 unique alerts, new alerts are constantly under development.
 
There are currently 98 alerts for transportation functions, 68 for mechanical, 28 for fuel efficiency, 17 for claims and risk management, three for dispatching, and two for engineering.

William C. Vantuono.