Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) has announced its strategic move into railcar telematics through an exclusive agreement with Intermodal Telematics B.V. ("IMT"), a leading Dutch company. Through this collaboration, Wabtec will use IMT's technology to develop a railcar telematics platform that will provide owners and operators of railcars and tank containers with real-time insights to transform their cargo into intelligent, connected assets.
According to the agreement, scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2024, Wabtec's railcar telematics solution will be available exclusively in North America and other heavy haul markets around the world.
Nalin Jain, Group President of Digital Intelligence at Wabtec, highlighted the impending industry transformation driven by real-time freight data: “Telematics builds on Wabtec’s rich history serving the freight car markets with next-generation solutions. Our innovative solutions will improve shipment visibility, increase on-time performance, and expand asset utilization to make shipping freight by rail more competitive.”
Wabtec's railcar telematics system will include several elements, including sensors, gateways, wireless communications, and advanced analytics. This technology will be available for retrofitting to existing fleets and will complement Wabtec's current railcar components by seamlessly integrating solutions from the factory. The comprehensive suite of offerings will facilitate real-time location tracking and monitoring of critical attributes such as handbrakes, hatches, doors, and cargo status for railcars. The solution will extend to cargo temperature and pressure monitoring for tank containers.
