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

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.