Mid-term review of the SmartCargo installation

SmartCargo went into action on 15th March – this is when the first RCG freight wagon was equipped with the SmartCargo device, which is a position sensor, motion sensor and shock sensor all in one. Now almost 5,000 smart wagons are on the rails.

Efficient and needs-based logistics require full transparency as to where freight wagons, and thus our customers’ goods, are at any given time. This is why A1 Digital and the Rail Cargo Group teamed up to start the SmartCargo project. Thanks to SmartCargo, the A1 telematics solution and the hardware manufacturer CargoMon, our freight wagons are being equipped to meet 21st century customer requirements. In addition to new services, increased wagon efficiency and real-time information along the train routes, we can also ensure that fleets are managed much better and and more efficiently when it comes to maintenance work. This gives our customers the following advantages: increased wagon availability, provision and quotas, as well as optimised pre- and post-carriage cost calculations. The energy-autonomous telematics system is assembled in the ÖBB-Technische Services workshops. Today, almost 5,000 freight wagons out of a total of 10,700 of the wagons in use are already equipped with SmartCargo devices. It is already possible to retrieve data about their mileage, temperature, all movements and the distances travelled, as well as their actual location.

The successful project continues

Thanks to our strong project partner A1 Digital, we have already been able to start testing additional sensors for further application developments. In the first quarter of 2020, a pilot project will be launched that deals with weighing technology. The Rail Cargo Group is currently working intensively on this, as the results of the pilot project will be able to provide added value to a number of our customers. Sensors are attached to selected wagons that use an electric radar for measuring distances, which are then used to calculate the loading weight of a wagon. This is another important step towards innovative freight wagons.

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