photo: Archives/2022 will be European: RailWatch starts european roll-out of Wayside Monitoring measuring stations
RailWatch, a Bonn-based IT company for rail freight, has started the European roll-out. In Germany, the company had already set up 14 measuring stations along the Rail Freight corridors to record the technical condition of freight wagons. Now stations have been set up in neighboring countries of Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. And this is just the beginning.
"This is a huge step for us!", Michael Breuer, CEO, and Co-Founder of RailWatch is pleased to say. His company has developed an innovative measuring station that can be set up within a day, on private property next to a rail track. Thanks to high-end cameras and sensor technology, an innovative lighting system, and artificial intelligence methods, information about freight wagons are collected and analyzed as they pass by. Collected information contains wagon identification, markings, brakes, flat spots, and hazardous goods and is made available to customers via a web portal.
"In addition to our station in Switzerland near Allmendingen and the station in the Czech Republic near Leipnik, we have started a pilot project with Sitech Services, a Dutch service provider for the chemical and process industry where we have set up two stations directly. In this way, we record the freight wagons directly from both sides when they enter and leave the several plants on the Chemelot site," reports Breuer.
The three new locations bring the company one step closer to its goal of covering every European Rail Freight corridor. "We will offer our customers the highest possible data quality and always the latest conditions. We will achieve this primarily by taking a large number of measurements at as many locations as possible." The Bonn-based company will expand its own Wayside monitoring network across Europe in 2022. The next step is to set up stations in France and Slovakia. Through the increased number of measurements, the company aims to further improve its trending in order to be able to give customers precise predictions on the condition of various wear parts.
"Of course, we primarily want to help our customers increase their competitiveness," says Breuer. However, Wayside Monitoring also has positive effects on the environment and society. "Improved maintenance reduces resource consumption and increases safety in rail freight transport. Reduced downtime, and fewer disruptions on the track, in turn, makes the entire rail freight sector more competitive, safer, and more efficient."
About RailWatch GmbH
RailWatch is a data provider founded in 2015 and based in Bonn. In order to make rail freight transport more efficient, cost-effective, and safer, the company sets up its own measuring stations at rail tracks that scan trains as they pass. Using highly sensitive sensors and AI processes, the technical conditions of freight wagons are recorded, documented, and presented to customers in a user-friendly way via a web portal.