On the Right Track: 如何 Wabtec’s Trip Optimizer is Transforming Freight Train Efficiency

Imagine a world where freight trains glide effortlessly over varying terrains, respecting speed restrictions and adjusting to ever-changing operating conditions while saving fuel.

Welcome to that world made possible with Wabtec's Trip Optimizer™. It's not just a smart cruise control—it's an intelligent system tailored for trains. 通过精确计算最佳速度剖面, 考虑到火车长度和重量等因素, 年级, 和组成, Trip Optimizer解决方案套件旨在节省燃料, 提高安全, 并彻底改变火车旅行，一次优化一次.

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Wabtec在重载货运领域处于领先地位, 行程优化系统已经在世界范围内使用, with over 973 million miles traveled on 20 different railroads across five continents. Also, the Trip Optimizer has been certified by the EPA as a fuel-savings product. 通过投资可持续发展, Wabtec is leveraging real time physics-based algorithms with the big picture goal of positioning the Trip Optimizer to do the heavy lifting for train drivers so they can navigate more massive (often up to two miles long), 复杂的列车. 这个想法并不是要取代司机, 而是为了让他们的工作更容易管理, while offering drivers opportunities to be more vigilant to safety related concerns. Trip Optimizer also streamlines driver training so that companies can onboard new recruits faster.

凯龙·维加斯, Trip Optimizer的首席产品经理, 与产品团队和工程团队一起, 这是关于持续创新, 完善, 提高列车运行管理水平.

“当我们的客户开始建造更大的房子, and more complicated trains…you quickly start pushing the boundaries of physics in terms of what you can model. That’s where we’re harnessing advanced technologies to help augment our physics models and improve train handling,维加斯说。.

Rails之外

While the Trip Optimizer’s innovation over the past 12 years has been steady, there’s also been a resounding impact that goes beyond the technology.

Starting with Wabtec’s VP of Product Management for Trip Optimizer, 戴夫·, 谁是产品的代言人, playing a very hands-on role from its inception up until the first system was sold in 2009, 到今天的位置. Viegas recalls watching Eldredge’s dedication along his early career journey with Wabtec. “当时我们还没有卖出我们的第一个系统, 但戴夫和顾客在一起, 在铁路上坐火车, 将该系统安装在迪士尼3彩乐园上并进行测试, getting feedback…so he’s grown it from there to where it is today.”

然后是用户. 在过去的15年, 所有的铁路都通往墨尔本, 佛罗里达, as over 100 Trip Optimizer customers make their way down to the annual LOCOTROL and Trip Optimizer’s Users Conference. 四天, 与会者聚集在一起与演讲者和研讨会, 他们在哪里分享他们的成功故事, 最佳实践, 和挑战, while Wabtec’s product team shares the Optimizer’s latest advances and progress. “It’s an amazing forum for us to bring our customers together so they can share ideas and it gives us insights into what’s important for the customer. It’s been very successful in terms of the level of collaboration and feedback we get from users,维加斯说.

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最新的游戏改变者

Here’s a breakdown of five cutting-edge product additions that work in tandem with the Trip Optimizer (and why they matter):

• 行程优化smartpt
  Picture this: You're revving up a car with way more power than you need, 当你看着, 汽油表下降的速度比你想象的要快. That's what happens when trains run on excess horsepower—it guzzles fuel and pumps out more greenhouse gases. 在过去, figuring out the ideal horsepower for each train was like a challenging puzzle done manually, 导致一些火车比其他火车燃烧更多的燃料. +, 如果一列火车有额外的火车头, there was no easy way to put them on standby for segments where they weren’t needed. 行程优化smartpt optimizes train performance for a given horsepower per ton target, 推动逐步节省燃油. 
   
• 行程优化零到零和空气制动控制
  Zero to Zero reduces the “gap” between trip miles and auto miles and when set to Auto Mode, 它可以节省每一盎司燃料. But here's the catch: its aiming for a “Zero to Zero” experience—maximizing the miles driven automatically. 如何? 通过巧妙地集成启动和停止功能, ensuring that the system stays in Auto even applying air brakes for speed control, 并巧妙地在接近信号时保持自动状态. It’s not just automation; it’s the future of efficient rail travel.
   
• 行程优化器与locontrol分布式电源
  locontrol XA分布式电源, Wabtec最新的locontrol平台, was designed to minimize energy waste and dramatically slash fuel use by allowing railroads to spread locomotives across the train. 这种下一代平台增强了列车通信能力, 整合重要系统, 使效率最大化. Trip Optimizer automatically integrates with LOCOTROL XA to control the train asynchronously, 在牵引或远程迪士尼3彩乐园上施加动力, 以最有效地控制火车. 结果? Massive fuel savings, less manpower, and one powerful train doing the job of many.
   
• 行程优化与积极列车控制界面
  Gear up for a rail revolution when Trip Optimizer meets Positive 列车控制 (PTC). Adapting on-the-fly to rail surprises and adhering to the changing speed restrictions, 它们确保我们的火车在自动模式下平稳行驶更长时间. 结果? Fuel savings and efficiency with a fast track to a smarter rail experience.
   
• 行程优化与步调
  当旅行优化器遇到运动计划器，你就得到了节奏. This genius duo replans as needed to focus on the best meet timings on the line. And the railroads using this pacing strategy don’t just save on fuel – they nail punctuality with speed. It's not just about less fuel burn; it's the secret recipe for on-the-dot arrivals and a masterclass in speed and efficiency for every train.

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Wabtec继续推动行程优化器的发展, 扩大其操作范围，提高燃油效率. “The product is not static—we keep developing innovations,维加斯说。. “在这款产品问世的12年里, we’ve gone from a very bare bones system to a comprehensive suite of offerings for energy management. 这还没完. 我们不断对产品提出新的改进. 这就是我们不断取得成功的原因.”