(Norfolk Southern issued the following news release on December 5.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corporation and New York Air Brake Corporation today announced an agreement to begin deploying a locomotive computer system to improve the fuel efficiency and safe handling of trains in long-haul operations.
The system, developed by New York Air Brake (NYAB) and known as LEADER(R) (Locomotive Engineer Assist Display and Event Recorder), provides locomotive engineers with real-time information about a train’s operating conditions. It consists of an on-board computer that calculates and displays the optimum speed at which to operate the train, depending on the topography and curvature of the track to be encountered, the train’s length and weight and other operating conditions.
NS tested LEADER in a 2003 pilot project involving 15 locomotives running coal trains between Winston-Salem, N.C., and Roanoke, Va. The two-year pilot was a cooperative effort involving General Electric, New York Air Brake, Norfolk Southern and the Federal Railroad Administration.
“The project proved that LEADER could reduce fuel consumption and minimize in-train dynamic forces,” said John Samuels, Norfolk Southern senior vice president Operations Planning and Support. “In 2006 we will begin installing the technology on NS’ road locomotive fleet.”
“Norfolk Southern has been an outstanding partner in helping validate the fuel savings and other benefits provided by LEADER through exhaustive field trials” said J. Paul Morgan, NYAB President. “We are delighted with Norfolk Southern’s decision to begin installation of LEADER on its road locomotive fleet in 2006.”
LEADER ultimately will be an integral part of the Optimized Train Control (OTC) system, a positive train control program announced earlier this year and currently in testing. OTC will combine data communications, positioning systems and onboard computers tied to a train’s braking systems to enforce speed and operating limits automatically.
Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,300 route miles in 22 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada, serving every major container port in the eastern United States and providing superior connections to western rail carriers. NS operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is North America’s largest rail carrier of automotive parts and finished vehicles.
New York Air Brake Corporation, a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group, supplies air brake control systems and components, electronically controlled braking systems, foundation brakes, training simulators and driver information systems to the freight railroad industry. NYAB has facilities in Watertown, New York, where it is headquartered, and in Fort Worth Texas and Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Knorr-Bremse Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of brake systems for rail and commercial vehicles.