Logisticstoday posted this article on its website. It is an excellent example of American ingenuity at work. This is the way to improving America’s competitive advantage.
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New Technology Makes Faster Railroads Possible
Norfolk Southern Railway and GE Transportation, a developer of locomotives and technology for the rail industry, have developed technology for the rail industry that could lead to an increase in the average network speed of trains by 10-20%, or two-to-four miles-per-hour. One mile per hour in velocity improvement has the potential to save approximately $200 million in capital and expense annually.
GE’s RailEdge Movement Planner software integrates railroad logistics with traffic control systems to project expected track usage, based on train schedules. The solution then produces an optimized plan to get trains moving faster and more efficiently. By helping to maximize existing railroad resources, RailEdge can also help improve railroad crew management availability.
Having implemented the solution on a 200-mile section of its railroad in Georgia, Norfolk Southern is expanding the technology’s use to its entire 22-state rail network through 2012. In the Georgia application, the solution will help Norfolk Southern increase the average network speed train velocity of its trains by 10-20%, representing a significant opportunity for cost savings and train delay reductions.
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