CC image courtesy of Magnus Manske
Rift Valley Railways (RVR), Kenya’s largest train service provider, has announced the installation of the Translogic integrated logistics management platform and global positioning system (GPS) on its trains.
With its vast rail network linking the shores of the Indian Ocean to the hinterland of the Kenya Highlands and into Uganda, the technology upgrade will allow RVR to centrally control the movement of cargo along the railway track.
The automated train warrant (ATW) software which costs the railway company 800 million (US$$9.2 million) allows online visualisation from an operations control centre in Nairobi of the precise location of trains along the railway together with a detailed manifest of the position and contents of all cargo-carrying wagons.
The service, which is used widely in Japan, Brazil, Argentina and South Africa, will enable communication with the trains through on-board computers installed in all locomotives, which have remote speed-control features and a mechanism to report data on the condition of engines and the track back to the control centre.
RVR also said that the manual management of crossovers at railway stations will be a thing of the past as the upgrade will enable satellite-enabled self-switching movement of trains.
“The introduction of satellite navigation technology to this core component of our operations means we will eliminate a lot of waiting time at stations by giving priority track access to trains carrying cargo and also allow us to handle larger fleets,” said Darlan De David, RVR group chief executive officer (CEO).
“This platform enables us to tell customers exactly where their cargo is along the 2,352km railway track we manage,” De David said.
