[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6188021,"mediaKeyId","5064145-031700aec75766293c5c737ec0c26525","parentId",5064145,"title","Industry urges federal incentives and grants to speed telematics on freight rail; RailPulse seeks nationwide rollout","audioSeconds",4184,"startMs",1454000,"endMs",5638000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5064145-031700aec75766293c5c737ec0c26525&start=1454&end=5638","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5064145-031700aec75766293c5c737ec0c26525/thumbnail_1454000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6188021/Industry-urges-federal-incentives-and-grants-to-speed-telematics-on-freight-rail-RailPulse-seeks-nationwide-rollout","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6188021-ff8cd31e112dd24c5029cf9364cfca64/orig.mp4?Expires=1771162185&Signature=miwcDspXWJikhUzzFxdUS8-NbBb3aAuPFDeezsKmbHYPUzJJg8yM4vRHD82Uwln0w9LVcjGBolLG7GclfkG4GyEXqjih1A84SQdzfWGD-c~V~FPWoeYLsTwlrdoITImlPYlNGOQJ45NE7ykszG~0tmeXSVHT1uW9I8IbJ13zYb4K19S5RNCm~PoVmO5LXN9rP~W9v3PufCqdhaSEyxWkfNLLbDFU8zYpmzRZ-zIazLo5Gzm3J1Gt11aTp3LDzXvwFAj-wAMvtsMGnqmLRwkNAoqIgNBOOGSYqn8ct8jOKRlwEW1coe00J4EgX35Myg5tXjcwV8Zh~8MljbZrHHjJ1A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure","date","2025-06-25T04:41:01Z","article","Witnesses at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee hearing described efforts to equip freight railcars with telematics and other sensors and urged Congress to promote adoption through grants and incentives.

David Shannon, general manager of RailPulse LLC, told the panel that RailPulse grew out of a 2021 coalition of railcar owners and suppliers and launched a North American platform in September 2024 after a multi‑phase pilot. He said the pilot equipped more than 1,000 railcars of various types with GPS and sensors and that RailPulse now seeks to scale equipment across what he described as roughly 1,600,000 railcars in North America. Shannon asked Congress to consider financial incentives to help accelerate adoption by smaller owners and short lines.

Industry witnesses argued broader telematics adoption could make freight rail more competitive with trucking by improving on‑time performance, car availability and safety. Eric Gebhardt of Wabtec (testifying for the Railway Supply Institute) described a set of technologies—asset health monitoring, automated inspection platforms and “trip optimizer” software—that he said reduce fuel use, lower emissions and enable condition‑based maintenance. Gebhardt and others urged continued federal investment through programs such as CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements) and research and development funding inside the FRA.

RailPulse and other proponents also pointed to hazmat statistics discussed at the hearing: speakers noted freight rail has fewer hazardous material incidents per ton‑mile than truck transport and argued telematics and improved rail utilization could reduce highway hazmat incidents. Shannon cited data presented at the hearing that, across a multiyear period, rail had far fewer hazmat fatalities than highway shipments when normalized to comparable tonnage.

Several members of the subcommittee asked how to bring short lines and small car owners into modernization. Shannon said the cost to equip cars is a barrier for smaller owners, and that incentives or targeted grant set‑asides within programs such as CRISI or a competitive grant established under IIJA (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) would accelerate systemwide benefits. Representative Nels (sponsoring a legislative concept discussed during the hearing) described a bipartisan bill, the Tank Car Modernization Act (H.R. 2515), which would provide FRA grants to car owners to purchase and install telematics devices; RailPulse and witnesses said they supported that approach.

Labor witnesses said they support technology that demonstrably improves safety but insisted workers be included in deployments and data‑use discussions so that new systems augment rather than undercut frontline inspection work. Tony Cardwell of BMWED said unions want to negotiate how technology is used and want workers involved in pilot programs and procurement decisions.

Committee members probed regulatory and procurement barriers. Witnesses urged outcome‑based approval criteria, clearer waiver timelines and grant programs that explicitly include short lines and smaller car owners. Several witnesses asked that the committee preserve or expand programs they described as effective, notably CRISI and IIJA funding for locomotive modernization and telematics pilots.

The hearing did not produce formal votes. Members signaled interest in including telematics grant language and pilot funding in surface transportation reauthorization drafts and in bipartisan bills aimed at speeding telematics adoption.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","America Builds: The Role of Innovation and Technology in a Safe and Efficient Rail System","oneSentenceSummary","Witnesses at a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee hearing urged Congress to speed adoption of telematics and sensors on freight railcars, saying federal incentives, dedicated grant set‑asides and clearer regulatory pathways would accelerate safety and supply‑chain benefits.","taxTitle","Transportation and Infrastructure: House Committee, Standing Committees - House & Senate, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1827,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6188026,"House rail subcommittee hears sharp debate over waiver to cut visual track inspections",5850,1290000,7140000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5064145-031700aec75766293c5c737ec0c26525&start=1290&end=7140","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5064145-031700aec75766293c5c737ec0c26525/thumbnail_1290000.jpg","/articles/6188026/House-rail-subcommittee-hears-sharp-debate-over-waiver-to-cut-visual-track-inspections","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6188026-834c4afbbd8ec2a8def5f7f6e2f306f2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771162185&Signature=B9H~IIbL8hYVNpQ8UvCi8fmZ5wxOlabgaD4sXaCrWv4bRbvVkkZ0YlLLWekmotTL-gn93r-uVNHpLb2yhMOm~KblyFwYdnvauO7Zk2rfVVr0avGoEIJPDqdg0m2HnbtH0aXb33mXSp7GAhtQakJvPiINDSmmBRBjnt1NMjEDQ3ntAFxbNFBegt2SmJLzivkNIe2Pc9buxRuSPqM6SOAjMJsqUCE5uDinFyqsG5eDUD6ZTq77ZCPuqKUs7-As8ncTk~4Wf~fRzce5CtwAZjtex~0AR-iBHIn-C9f5JzuhlHYvOgVMvjM-qa5LwKEhgqj8M1NFZmwo2h2ssV~en5xBPw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, lawmakers, labor officials and industry witnesses debated a request by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and related Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) waivers to reduce the frequency of mandated visual track inspections from twice weekly to twice monthly and to permit up to 72 hours before a railroad must address an identified defect.

The dispute centered on safety: labor leaders and some lawmakers warned the change would raise derailment risk, while industry and pro-innovation witnesses argued outcome-based rules and automated inspection technologies can improve safety if properly implemented.

The disagreement matters because current FRA regulations require human visual inspections twice a week and immediate remediation of many defects; the waiver request would shift parts of that enforcement timeline and rely more heavily on automated track inspection (ATI) systems and other sensors. Supporters say updated rules can accelerate adoption of technologies that detect problems earlier or more consistently. Opponents, including the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) and some members of Congress, said ATI cannot detect many defect types and should never replace on-foot inspections.

Tony Cardwell, president of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, told the subcommittee he supports technology when it improves safety but called the waiver proposal “a safety risk.” Cardwell said the waiver would cut inspections by 75% and allow railroads up to three days to remedy defects, and argued, “If the AAR waivers is granted, it will expose the American people to imminent danger.”

Cardwell and other labor witnesses repeatedly told the panel that ATI systems focus primarily on track geometry and do not identify many common and derailment‑causing defects—broken rails, drainage issues, switch problems and other conditions—that visual inspectors can see. Cardwell testified that only a subset of the FRA’s defect codes (he cited 6 of 23) are detectable by ATI and that many switch‑related defects remain outside current automated detection capability.

Industry witnesses and outside experts pushed back on characterizations that technology necessarily reduces safety. David Shannon, general manager of RailPulse LLC, described telematics and automated sensing as tools that can provide earlier and system‑wide visibility into car and track condition: “Telematics on railcars … provide real time information about their location, condition, and health,” Shannon said, arguing that those data can prevent failures by enabling condition‑based maintenance and earlier intervention. Other witnesses, including representatives of suppliers and technology firms, urged outcome‑based regulation rather than prescriptive rules that lock in specific technologies.

Multiple members of the subcommittee raised East Palestine, Ohio—the February 2023 derailment—as evidence of gaps in inspection systems and urged policies that prevent similar incidents. Representative Tim Ryan, who represents a district adjacent to East Palestine, said wayside detectors in that incident were spaced too far apart and that better placement of detectors or more real‑time telemetry could have prevented the derailment.

Several witnesses and members asked the FRA to adopt clearer, timelier, and more transparent waiver and rule‑making processes so innovators and rail operators can plan investments. Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure chair Charles McGowan (testifying for AII) and Eric Gebhardt of Wabtec/RSI argued the waiver process and the FRA’s proposed ATI rule still lean too heavily on prescriptive mandates—such as mandatory visual inspection minimums—rather than measurable safety outcomes and structured timelines.

Where testimony diverged was on whether ATI should ever replace human inspections. Labor witnesses uniformly said ATI should supplement but not replace visual inspections; industry witnesses said automated systems are valuable and should be integrated into a performance‑based safety framework. Several members urged that labor be included in pilot programs and waiver demonstrations so frontline workers can help evaluate how technologies perform in practice.

The subcommittee took no formal vote. Members asked that witnesses and outside organizations submit written materials to the record and signaled that the debate will shape language in forthcoming surface transportation reauthorization bills and any FRA rulemaking on ATI.

Looking ahead, the FRA has proposed revisions to its ATI-related regulations and will continue to receive letters and data from stakeholders; members of Congress on the panel pressed both for clearer decision timetables and for outcome‑focused standards that explicitly hold operators accountable for safety performance rather than mandate specific tools.","At a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, lawmakers, labor officials and industry witnesses debated a request by the Association of American Railroads and related Federal Railroad Administration waivers to reduce the frequency of mandated visual track inspections from twice weekly to twice monthly and to permit up to 72 hours before a railroad must address an identified defect.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Industry urges federal incentives and grants to speed telematics on freight rail; RailPulse seeks nationwide rollout

House rail subcommittee hears sharp debate over waiver to cut visual track inspections