Users of RailSync Command are being provided with significant enhancements for rail shipment management and operations.
The benefits to railroads and shippers include improved shipment arrival predictability, accurate train scheduling and interchange service windows. Together, these enhancements will provide railroads with the ability to schedule, plan and measure their performance to meet the requirements of customers and partners in real-time.
Key elements in the enhanced Command include Train Operations, Service Scheduling and Interline Service Management (ISM) capabilities.
"Our customers who use Command to manage rail operations have contributed valuable input toward the development of this new release," says Allen West, President of Railinc. "These enhancements have been developed to drive efficiency into their operations by providing railroad partners and their customers with the capability to offer reliable, efficient and measurable performance."
Train Operations tools improve operating efficiencies including the reporting of train starts, crew starts and locomotive use. With these tools users can obtain system, terminal and customer views of operations to optimize rail and switching services.
Using Command's Service Scheduling capabilities, railroads can better plan crew and asset utilization based on historic performance data. In addition, reliability is improved because transit time information is predictable for specific customers and commodities, permitting users to determine where equipment needs to be positioned for efficient execution of service plans.
ISM capabilities, now available for beta deployment to short lines using Command will promote seamless interline service. Data exchanged through ISM provides carriers with elapsed time information for better scheduling and customer service.
Key benefits include:
*Participation in ISM, which provides customers and carriers ETI (Estimated Time of Interchange) and ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) information
*Scheduled rail operations with customer service windows, interchange service windows and transit times based on train schedules and car velocity
"These enhancements will provide short lines with the ability to schedule and to share shipment information regarding ETI, ETA and transit times so that railroads can better manage and plan service," says Richard Flynn, Railinc's AVP-Marketing & Sales.
"In the past, Class I railroads had to 'gap' the service schedule for the short line portion of an interline shipment. With Command, they will be able to manage their own service schedules and fully participate in the ISM process."
Overall, the new capabilities in Command serve to eliminate information "black holes" that have existed between short line and regional railroads and their Class I connections. Railroads and their customers will have real-time management information not previously available.
"Combined with our recently announced price reductions for Mobile Command, these enhancements provide railroads and their customers with the most efficient, useful management tools offered in the industry," Flynn adds.
