Railserve has invested millions of dollars in the development of technological tools to address safety and operational issues in the loading facilities and railyards we operate for our customers.
Most of our innovations are patented technology that is unique to Railserve. Our technology tools are provided to our customers as part of our service offering. We believe Railserve's connected rail yard is a safer rail yard.
Here are some examples of technology and safety procedures we employ at Railserve-operated facilities:
- REAct© is Railserve's patented incident avoidance technology. Our battery-powered REAct devices are worn on crew members' safety vests and are directly connected to the locomotive. In the case of immediate danger, any crew member can push the button and the locomotive will immediately apply the emergency brake — all without having to contact the operator.
Recently, the REAct button was awarded a 2021 Safety Technology award by Progressive Railroading.
- Yard Tracker is Railserve's web-based software that keeps track of railcar locations and their contents. Yard Tracker is a straightforward, easy-to-use tool that relieves customers from the drudgery of manually tracking their railcars.
- GPS technology provides real-time monitoring of locomotive speed, impacts and more. Railserve installs GPS devices on all locomotives we provide to our customers. The GPS device can issue text messages when key site-specific parameters are exceeded.
- The Railserve LEAF ultra-low emissions switching locomotive saves fuel and reduces emissions by 92 percent or greater. Railserve has built and operated LEAF locomotives since 2008. The LEAF is designed to be easy to maintain, and has served Railserve reliably in all weather conditions. Learn more about the Railserve LEAF locomotive at www.railserveleaf.biz.
- Locomotive cameras record continuous audio and video of the front, rear and inside the cab. Our camera footage is reviewed by safety experts using AI support to spot possible improvement opportunities for safe operations.
- Collision Avoidance radar system prevents accidental impacts. This patented technology interacts with the REAct device to stop the locomotive in the event the Collision Avoidance radar determines an object down the track (pedestrians, truck crossings, fouling railcars, derail, loading rack lowered, etc.) is potentially in harm's way.
- LOPC Device prevents leaks from the bottom outlet valves on tank cars during active loading. This device has successfully prevented even one drop of oil being spilled from the bottom valve of a loaded crude railcar. Since 2015, this device has eliminated bottom outlet valve leaks from causing loss of primary containment (LOPC).
- Smart Hat is a GPS tracker/headlight device worn by switching personnel. This puts walking assets and fixed assets on the same map and provides the locomotive operator confirmation of the ground crew locations.
- SpikeEase and other innovative railroad maintenance tools help us safely and efficiently maintain the track at our customer locations.
- Derail Light is a device that helps prevent accidental derails caused by human error. Derail Light includes a cloud-based interface to allow for automatic reporting to any smart device.
For more information, visit www.railserve.biz or call (800) 345-7245.
