Harsco Rail CNNews
PROTRAN TECHNOLOGY SECURES KEY CLASS 1 RAILWAY ORDER FOR COMPASS™
Columbia, SC (May 26, 2016) . . . Harsco Rail announced today that its Protran Technology unit has secured its first key order from a major U.S. Class 1 railroad for their COMPASS™ railway asset location and awareness system.
CSX, one of the leading providers of rail-based freight transportation in North America, has ordered the COMPASS system for installation on 40 of its railway track maintenance machines, with expectations for follow-on orders as the railroad expands its deployment of the COMPASS system to additional units throughout its fleet. Spanning 23 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces, the CSX network connects every major metropolitan area in the eastern United States and Canada.
COMPASS is Protran’s proprietary telematics system that enables railroad and other major fleet operators to achieve real-time asset awareness, productivity analysis and maintenance tracking across an entire range of vehicles, regardless of their operating location. Using a combination of cellular or satellite communications, the system’s automated software platform uploads data to a single location, providing graphical analysis of each machine’s activity together with automatic daily alerts for required maintenance, onboard system faults, and real-time equipment diagnostics. “With decreased maintenance and increased productivity from each asset, COMPASS is able to drive information direct to our customers’ bottom lines,” said Jim Resio, Harsco Rail’s Director of Protran Technology.
Acquired by Harsco Rail just one year ago as an advanced technology complement to its track maintenance equipment and services business, Protran’s intelligent solutions for asset management and railway worker safety enable railways to protect railway personnel from potential collisions and other hazardous situations while also improving the utilization and maintenance planning of operating equipment. Protran’s intelligent solutions are also found on transit buses, providing turn alerts to pedestrians, while the company’s voltage awareness units provide audible and visual safety warnings during the testing of third rail and overhead catenary systems.
Protran Technology is a Harsco Rail company, a division of Harsco Corporation and a leader in track maintenance equipment, technology, and service support. For more information visit www.protrantechnology.com or www.harscorail.com.
