Germany’s almost 40,000 kilometers of railway track moved about 374 million metric tons in 2013, mostly heavy freight such as steel, gravel, and coal. And these figures are going up all the time. Freight trains are also the means of choice for transporting cars to major seaports. However, today’s freight cars don’t have their own energy supply or their own sensors. This is because any technology used on trains has to be particularly robust and simple, due to the high demands placed on it in terms of vibration, temperature, dirt, and moisture. To make the freight cars part of a connected logistics chain, Bosch will equip them with an intelligent condition monitoring system. “We are making freight cars part of the internet. This is how we can help increase the transparency of the logistics chains linking rails, roads, and waterways and make the increased volume of freight transportation easier to manage,” explains Bihr.
Digital functions open up new possibilities
The new system gathers a considerable amount of information while the train is in motion and transmits it to a server. With this system, Bosch is creating digital functions that add value. Thanks to the transmitted GPS position of each railcar, customers always know where their goods are. They can use the data to determine their location more precisely, for example, or to show how noise-differentiated track access charges were calculated. Temperature sensors provide valuable information about conditions during transport, such as maintaining the cold chain. Networked freight cars recognize vibrations, like those incurred by shunting, which can damage the railcar, the freight, or both. Once the digital information is integrated into IT systems to control logistics processes, dispatchers can better schedule freight cars and use their capacity more efficiently. What’s more, train information is produced automatically and business processes are automated. The system also records how many kilometers the railcar has traveled in order to better predict and carry out maintenance, depending on distance traveled and the railcar’s condition.
One-stop provider of hardware and software
Weighing just 700 grams, the system consists of compact hardware from Bosch’s large-scale automotive series production. It features numerous integrated and attached sensors for temperature, vibrations, and more. An integrated data transmission connects the system to the internet. Data is transmitted to servers to be evaluated, presented in a data portal, and integrated into the customer’s business processes. Because it was developed as a retrofit solution for existing freight railcar fleets, the system has its own autonomous energy supply in the form of an integrated battery with a lifetime of up to six years. However, it can also be installed as original equipment while the freight car is still in production.
Development partner for the rail industry
Bosch Engineering offers comprehensive systems and components tailored to customers’ needs in the areas of speed sensing, environment sensing, train-driver assistance systems, engine management, and exhaust treatment for rail vehicles. The Bosch subsidiary’s specialists make full use of Bosch’s development expertise and proven large-scale series production technology. For each of the functions, the engineers develop the design to match specific applications and specific customers, adapt the sensor software accordingly, and offer support during the entire system’s testing and approval phase. Employing radar technology in rail vehicles makes it possible to implement functions such as determination of ground speed and detection of overhead lines. Bosch Engineering also offers rail powertrain development services for engine management and exhaust treatment. These systems and components increase safety and make it possible to reduce operating costs while achieving better performance with low emissions.
