Key Takeaways

  • Skilled railroad employees use digital train inspection portals to improve freight rail safety.
  • DTIPs scan trains as they pass through at normal speed.
  • They create a digital health record per railcar, enabling targeted maintenance.

Across the freight rail network, experienced rail employees use advanced technology to make an already safe system even safer. One of the latest, cutting-edge safety tools freight railroads have helped develop and deploy is the Digital Train Inspection Portal—or DTIP.

DTIPs are one of the many different technology-driven safety strategies railroads use. They serve as an automated checkpoint that scan trains as they pass. These checkpoints evaluate the condition and performance of many critical components, flagging potential safety issues without requiring the train reduce speed.

Here’s how DTIPs work:

  1. A freight train rolls through the portal at normal speed. This process allows railroads to get a more accurate sense of how components are performing while they are being used as intended. It works much better than when a train is standing still.
  2. Precisely aimed cameras capture detailed images as the train passes, focusing on wheels, bearings, brakes, couplers, and undercarriage components. Lasers and other sensors may also be used to monitor mechanical conditions.
  3. Software instantly turns that data into a digital health record for every railcar.
  4. AI systems equipped with complex algorithms scan the images captured of the passing railcars. As a result, they can identify possible issues that require attention or monitoring.
  5. For the issues detected that require attention, the system pinpoints the exact railcar and component and alerts railroad employees.
  6. Railroads use that information to determine how to handle the car. They can develop more predictable plans to inspect and repair it. In the end, they fix small issues before they become bigger problems.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Digital Train Inspection Portals help railroad workers spot and address railcar problems sooner—without slowing trains—so small issues don’t become bigger ones.