The Greenbrier Companies, an international supplier of equipment and services to global freight transportation markets, joined RailPulse, a coalition of railcar owners, builders and operators working to facilitate the adoption of GPS and other telematics technology across the North American freight rail network.

RailPulse was formed in 2020 and includes Norfolk Southern, GATX, Genesee & Wyoming, Watco and TrinityRail. The group aims to aggregate North American railcar fleet data on a single platform to increase the safety and efficiency of freight rail transportation and enhance the visibility of customer goods throughout the shipping process by:

• Using data to provide real-time performance information, including safety data, on railcars to shippers, railcar owners and railroads across the entire North American rail network
• Giving shippers visibility into the status, location and condition of rail equipment and the commodities being transported

“We are very excited to welcome Greenbrier to RailPulse,” Mike McClellan, vice president of strategic planning at Norfolk Southern, said. “Greenbrier brings a tremendous amount of industry experience and capacity to the RailPulse team, and we look forward to integrating their expertise into the development and deployment of the platform. This is just another indication of the growing appeal of the transformative possibilities offered by telematics for the benefit of all parties in the rail ecosystem — railroads, shippers and railcar owners alike.”

“The adoption of RailPulse technology advances rail safety, enhances our customer service model and drives growth for the rail freight industry at large,” Brian Comstock, executive vice president and chief commercial and leasing officer at Greenbrier, said. “It also extends Greenbrier’s commitment to sustainability by making a more fuel-efficient transportation option appealing to freight shippers and enhancing the competitiveness of rail freight compared with other modes of shipping.”