DB Cargo is powering ahead with the digitalisation of its freight wagon fleet: the 34,000th wagon with state-of-the-art telematics and smart sensors rolled out of the refitting facility in Seelze near Hanover today. By 2020, the approximately 68,000 wagons in the company’s German fleet will all have the digital technology on board – the result of investing a high seven-figure sum, tells a press release.
The GPS and sensor technology bring a range of benefits for DB Cargo’s customers. A telematics module, GPS and the use of RFID and NFC tags help the analogue freight wagons join the fully connected digital world. The modernised wagons use mobile telephony to transmit signals during the journey, such as when the wagon starts and stops or sensors detect an impact. This data can help to produce useful information about the load condition, temperature and humidity and about the movement of sensitive cargo inside the wagon.
“With these smart freight wagons, we want to achieve a lasting shift in traffic onto the environmentally friendly rail freight network and to make our contribution to ‘Strong Rail’ in Germany and Europe,” said Marek Staszek, Member of the Management Board for Production at DB Cargo.
