Rubber on Roads vs Steel on Wheels: How Centering Customers is Driving the Modal Shift

Pioneering a carbon-free freight era is no small feat. It requires a more efficient and greenhouse-gas-free rail network that can be competitive and sustainable. With over 140,000 miles of track across the U.S. freight corridors, investment in the future of rail benefits both urban and rural communities. 

Utilizing more rail and less trucks would be a game-changer:

• A single freight train can move a ton of freight 一加仑燃料跑472英里. A truck only gets 134 miles per ton, out of a gallon. (1,000 gallons of fuel saved per carload.)
• 铁路运输40%的货物 (每吨英里)和占 不到美国经济总量的1%.S. 温室气体排放.

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Rail also represents the most cost-effective, 节能, and safest mode of moving people and freight on land. Current trends indicate that freight and passenger activity will more than double by 2050 as the sector pushes for 清洁er transportation. 的 reality is that achieving sustainability by reducing carbon is a tall order that requires a big shift—a modal one.

在本质上, a “modal shift” (in this context) would mean a change from one form of transportation to another in order to move freight, 例如, 把更多的卡车换成铁路. It’s also a new way of thinking about how freight moves from point-to-point. It encourages innovation, and at its core, pushes people towards more sustainable transport. 

“We have one of the most reliable and efficient fleet of locomotives on the continent and many of the locomotives hauling freight today in North America were built by Wabtec. We have made it our business to become more reliable and more efficient for the 25 years that I've been in the industry,吉娜·特朗布利说, Wabtec’s EVP and Chief Commercial Officer. “这不是什么灵丹妙药. It’s about an incessant focus on having the best possible technology on the head end of the train, 哪个是火车头.”. 

But what would a modal shift actually look like in practice?

以客户为中心

特朗布利为, the modal shift is about driving consistent reliability when service and price can serve as blockers to organic growth. Especially, having a commitment to innovating and developing cutting-edge technology. But she says the real key is the customer.

“We are a key technology partner to the safe, efficient, and on time operations for our customers. So, the more we can invest in technology that allows them to improve this service, 更好的,特朗布利说. “的 more reliable the locomotives that are hauling those intermodal cars are, 公司就会变得更好, and 更好的 the railroads are going to operate. 的 secret sauce for Wabtec is to be closer to the customer now more than ever,特朗布利说.

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One of Wabtec’s newest digital offerings is already driving customer rail consistency and reliability.

的 Next Generation Terminal Operating System (NG TOS), is a cloud-based software that helps train terminals manage tasks more efficiently with a powerhouse of features including: a customizable rules engine, 轻松的系统集成, and integrated analytics to optimize workflow management.

Milan Karunaratne, AI高级总监 & Advanced Digital Technologies at Wabtec, 最终同意, it’s the customers who decide on the modal shift, 我们的目标是服务质量.

“为什么不能让更多的货物通过铁路运输? What are the problems that need to be solved? 的 shift comes through things like investing in network and yard optimization and bringing in more visibility of shipments. 他补充说, “Wabtec is exploring various technologies that enable our railroad customers to be more competitive and disruptive with more efficient train configurations for better service quality and delivery certainty,”

“Think about it as you're taking a nonstop flight from LA to New York versus a flight from LA to New York where you stop in Phoenix, then in Dallas; what is the probability of you getting to New York on time? Much lower than if you took a direct flight, right? It's the same concept with rail,” says Karunaratne.

行动上的转变

Wabtec目前的 调度、计划和优化 tools offers real-time clarity and swift solutions to keep bustling railroads and drivers on track and able to correct errors faster.

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的 运动规划 (MP)提供最佳的货物运输, ETA services and traffic-planning so freight can get to its destination more efficiently.

Combining increased shipment visibility, dynamic planning tools, and decision support, the 院子里规划师 is unlocking productivity for yard networks.

的 港口优化器 tool empowers the supply chain to stay two steps ahead. With cross-functional communication and delivery excellence, it enables efficiency through a holistic view of on-time, 清洁, 统一数据.