Progress Rail Showcases Digital Transformation

September 17, 2018

BERLIN, Germany – Progress Rail, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., will highlight its extensive line of rolling stock, infrastructure and engine solutions available for freight and transit customers through a new lens this year – with attendees witnessing augmented and immersive virtual reality experiences at InnoTrans 2018. These holographic representations will allow visitors to visualize real-world applications and determine which solutions fit the needs of their operations.

Additional innovations available on display include the company’s PR Uptime Suite, an advanced predictive analytics platform to transform data into actionable results; signaling solutions for the international market from ECM S.p.A., our recent acquisition; Fatigue and Distraction Monitoring to achieve increased railway safety; and Guardian End-of-Train technology to transmit real-time data from the locomotive cab to the last rail car.

Progress Rail has steadily increased its focus on delivering advanced technologies across the entire rail ecosystem, allowing railways to experience enhanced safety, reliability and fleet performance. “Our latest suite of technology-enabled solutions improves the performance of your fleet by alerting customers to potential issues before they become real problems – which translates not only to safer railways, but also adds significant savings through preventable downtime,” said Progress Rail Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advanced Technology, Paul Denton. “Our innovations can work individually, or be combined to create a seamless, powerful network for your rail operations.”

InnoTrans is the premier international trade fair for transport technology with an estimated 150,000 show attendees. Visitors to this year’s show will have the opportunity to experience Progress Rail’s exhibit, totaling more than 550 square meters of floor space in Hall 6.2, Stand 514. In a separate hall, ECM will feature its signal offerings, along with Progress Rail’s signal technologies, in Hall 4.2, Stand 106.

Progress Rail Exhibit Highlights:

PR Uptime serves to optimize train building and improve mission success, while delivering fuel savings and minimized shop cycle times. This predictive analytics platform has now been piloted at multiple railways – in North America, and in Australia, having identified more than $200,000 savings per locomotive per year, by reduction of unnecessary shop time, preventable idle time and network delays. Additionally, PR Uptime has provided increased locomotive availability, a 34 percent increase in mean time between failures and significant fuel savings. New features include a Virtual Load Test for improved fuel usage; Locomotive Dwell dashboard for general tracking and bottleneck elimination; Operating Guidance to promote quick action on train building and on time departures; and combining Lab Fluid Analysis with advanced failure prediction algorithms.

Visitors can also witness a locomotive simulator complete with the PowerView locomotive event recorder and other technologies, as well as access information on the company’s comprehensive offerings around the world. To learn more about Progress Rail’s InnoTrans presence, visit www.progressrail.com.

About Progress Rail:

Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, is one of the largest integrated and diversified providers of rolling stock and infrastructure solutions and technologies for global rail customers. Progress Rail delivers advanced EMD locomotives and engines, railcars, trackwork, fasteners, signaling, rail welding and Kershaw Maintenance-of-Way equipment, along with dedicated locomotive and freight car repair services, aftermarket parts support and recycling operations. The company also offers advanced rail technologies, including data acquisition and asset protection equipment. Progress Rail’s deep industry expertise, together with the support of Caterpillar, ensures a commitment to quality through innovative solutions for the rail industry. Progress Rail has a network of nearly 200 locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Australia, China, India, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit progressrail.com and follow @Progress_Rail on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Progress Rail Media Contact:
Barbara Jansen
Marketing Director
Direct: +1-256-505-5054
E-mail: bjansen@progressrail.com