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