While locomotives may be bigger and stronger than they were a century ago, the basic methods workers use to assemble trains in freight yards haven't generally improved since the 1850s, something a U.S. technology integrator hopes to change after developing a revolutionary wireless communication system with the help of some Canadian ingenuity.
While its executives admit they weren't too up-to-date on Canadian business icons, RailVision Inc. was impressed by March Networks Corp.'s cutting-edge video technology after approaching Terrence Matthews' latest venture last fall.
"Frankly, we didn't know who Mr. Matthews was until they told us," said RailVision chief executive officer William Noah of the Ottawa-based technology visionary who founded Newbridge Networks Corp. after building his first fortune with Mitel Networks Corp. "I did my analysis strictly on the basis of functionality and technology, and then we made a trip to Ottawa to get to know them.
"I did a quite a bit of research looking at different ways of solving our problem, and the mobile video product that March Networks had was almost perfect for us right off the shelf -- they gave us what we needed in the right package."
Headquartered in Racine, Wis., RailVision brings together a number of different technologies -- remote-control locomotives, wearable computers, heads-up video display, wireless networking and e-mail, digital recording, and locomotive- and tower-mounted cameras -- to help bring a higher level of efficiency, safety and security to freight yard operations.
March Networks' piece of the puzzle is its 5308 mobile digital recorder, which excels in capturing and storing video from cameras mounted in police cruisers and ambulances, mass transit vehicles and other industrial settings where other video systems and traditional closed-circuit television would fail.
In a typical rail yard installation there will be a minimum of two recorders, with one installed inside the locomotive to capture video from the camera on the front of the engine while the other would be mounted on a video tower to collect the images from the cameras overlooking the yard.
The recorder stationed outdoors will need to survive temperature extremes, harsh weather and damage from sand and other contaminants, while the locomotive-mounted unit requires protection against shock and vibration as well as electro-magnetic interference.
Remote-control locomotive operation, introduced about 15 years ago, remains one of the only improvements to train building in the past 150 years. But, the extended length of today's trains combined with the operator's limited vision often makes the process a dangerous proposition for other workers in the yard.
According to 2002 U.S. Federal Railroad Administration statistics, six railroad workers died and 2,207 were injured in accidents in yards across the United States. Most U.S. freight yards are not closed during train building, although some municipal jurisdictions have followed the Canadian model and prohibit non-essential employees from entering the area during the operation.
"When you are trying to build a train by remote control, you are typically at the end of the train to tie on the air valve and verify the couplings as you add the cars," Mr. Noah said. "The problem is that you can't see the front of the train because you may be as far away as 1.5 kilometres. So, when you start moving it under remote control, you are really operating blind."
Rail yards tried to compensate by having a worker with binoculars survey the train assembly from a tower, but the lookout's distance and limited angle often makes them only partly effective. With the RailVision system, the operator works in an "enhanced reality," thanks to real-time video from the front of the train and a multi-camera overhead view of the entire yard.
Michael Foster, March Networks' mobile digital video product manager, said the dangers of work in freight yards were hammered home by a news report he saw only days before RailVision arrived at the door.
"Just before we were doing the integration, there was a story about a worker who had his leg severed. When accidents happen in a rail yard, they can often be serious," he recalled. "So, when RailVision came across our product and brought the concept to us, we knew there was a lot at stake and worked closely with them to bring it to fruition."
Following the success of a pilot project in a Peoria, Ill., freight yard, RailVision is negotiating its first sale to a Texas company and expects the system to be operational by mid-September.
"There are some interesting challenges stemming from the spread-out nature of the Texas yard, the numerous collateral industrial complexes, and the pre-existence of other wireless systems," Mr. Noah said. "We are comfortable that these challenges will be met, and the customer is extremely enthusiastic."
While there are a number of factors that influence price, such as terrain and the number of cameras, a system for an average 16-square-kilometre train yard with a reasonable volume of traffic should cost about $800,000 (U.S.).
While safer train building is a concrete example of the system's value, the lightweight video display that resembles a helmet-mounted bicycle mirror may also be used by security personnel to call up real-time video images of the yard during searches for intruders on railroad property.
Ottawa Central Railway general manager James Allen, whose trains pass March Networks' west-end Ottawa offices several times a week on their way to Pembroke, Ont., says he supports any attempt to make rail operations safer and to improve security.
"A railway yard is no place for the public. In fact, we had an open house this summer to bring people to see our operation and to educate them about the dangers of the yard," he said. "It's big enough that there are a lot of places where you can hide, so we have to be vigilant, especially after Sept. 11."
Jeff Pappone