Supply Side: RailVision, Wabtec

According to Rail Vision, its ShuntingYard system “automatically detects and classifies objects within a range of 200 meters [218 yards]—in any weather or light conditions.” (Image Courtesy of Rail Vision)

A U.S. Class I railroad has taken delivery of Rail Vision Ltd.’s monitoring and obstacle detection system for yards. Also, Wabtec Corporation’s Green Friction braking system will be deployed on RER A line trains operating in the Paris, France, metropolitan area.

Rail Vision

Ra’anana, Israel-based Rail Vision on June 10 reported that its “AI (Artificial Intelligence)-driven” ShuntingYard system has been installed on a U.S. Class I locomotive to provide real-time monitoring and obstacle detection. The railroad, which was not named, purchased the system earlier this year.

ShuntingYard is “designed to improve railway safety and operational efficiency by leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms,” according to Rail Vision. It “automatically detects and classifies objects within a range of 200 meters [218 yards]—in any weather or light conditions,” the supplier explained.

“We are proud to have fulfilled this important order, delivering and installing our advanced safety system to one of North America’s Class I rail companies,” Rail Vision CEO Shahar Hania said. “This project proves the critical role that our technology aims to play in the market, where safety is paramount.”

In related developments, Rail Vision recently received a U.S. patent notice of allowance for its railway obstacle detection system, as well as an order from Loram for its ShuntingYard system for a pilot project “aimed at leveraging Rail Vision’s advanced technology to enhance Loram’s rail track maintenance operations.”

Wabtec

Starting this year, Wabtec’s Green Friction brake linings will be deployed on all M1 09 trains running on Paris’s RER (Réseau Express Régional, Regional Express Network) A line, in association with Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM, the authority that manages and coordinates public transportation companies operating in Paris and the Île-de-France region) and the RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens, Autonomous Parisian Transportation Administration), Wabtec reported June 11. The aim, it said, is to “improve air quality in the transit authority’s tunnels and underground network by reducing particle emissions from braking.”

This commercial launch follows “extensive testing” in association with RATP and IDFM, according to Wabtec, which said its “Green Friction” materials were piloted on 10 RER A trains for more than a year to confirm effectiveness. “The solution covered over a million kilometers [621,371 miles] of testing and demonstrated the capability to reduce emissions from the train braking by an average of 70%, up to 90%,” Wabtec reported. “The reductions are achieved without compromising safety or performance, while minimizing the impact on operating costs.” (An initial experimental phase was conducted on a test-bench-equivalent of an MI 09-type brake disc in 2020.)

“Particulate matter emissions from train braking are a worldwide challenge,” Wabtec Vice President-Friction Philippe Nogues-Cubelles said. “Green Friction tackles the source of the fine particle problem.”

The Green Friction product portfolio was developed in 2019 “to meet current and future regulatory standards regarding air pollution and friction performance,” according to Wabtec, which noted that several metro networks in other French cities, as well as in Europe and Asia, have expressed interest in the Green Friction technology for their fleets.

Separately, global mining company Vale recently signed a 10-year master service agreement valued at approximately $340 million (R$1.8 billion) with Wabtec “to increase the efficiency and operations” of the Evolution Series locomotive fleet on the Vale-operated Estrada de Ferro Carajás railway in Brazil.