A1 Digital’s Rail Insight solution provides detailed information on freight wagons and infrastructure vehicles throughout transportation.
How A1 Digital approached the project
A1 Digital’s proven cloud hosting platform
Exoscale serves as the basis for a comprehensive IoT solution as part of RhB’s “GVD-IoT” project. The European A1 Digital Cloud ensures GDPR-compliant, fail-safe, geo-redundant hosting, thereby prioritizing the highest level of security and independence from the “Cloud-Act”.
A1 Digital’s IoT Platform
The IoT platform offers extensive configuration and evaluation capabilities in the form of various reports with aggregated information and analysis and is flexibly designed for future IoT applications. The platform not only provides RhB with up-to-date information. The IoT platform can also be used to set, monitor and manage limits e.g. with regard to temperature and/or inadmissible shock loads that trigger an alarm.
SMS fallback and better efficiency
In the absence of network coverage, the data transfer hardware also has an SMS fallback. On the one hand, the solution now in use increases efficiency in the planning of freight transport, and on the other hand, it also offers the possibility to reduce maintenance and upkeep costs with reliable data.
Energy self-sufficient SmartCargo devices
The built-in motion sensors of the telematics devices collect comprehensive, detailed information on the position, movement (track-related coordinates) and condition (e.g. temperature) of the respective wagon throughout the entire transport. The A1 Digital SIM cards installed transmit the collected information via the mobile network to the A1 Digital IoT platform, where the data can be visually processed and analysed.
„A1 Digital’s Rail Insight solution is a proven product with a good price/performance ratio and excellent references in the rail environment. Mobile coverage enables roaming in all three Swiss mobile networks. In addition to the competent implementation of our requirements, A1 Digital has shown a great willingness to respond to RhB’s specific needs."
– Peter Knaus, Head of Bündner Güterbahn, Rhätische Bahn
About Rhätische Bahn
Since 1889, Rhätische Bahn AG (RhB) has been transporting passengers and goods across Graubünden. The 1,500 employees ensure that the journey across the 384-kilometre regional rail network is an experience for 12 million passengers every year. The Bündner Güterbahn, as part of RhB, secures the supply of goods in the canton of Graubünden by rail, transporting 550,000 tonnes of goods safely and on time to their destination every year.
The challenge
Rail logistics is in a state of upheaval and will become more and more important in the future, not least due to climate issues. RhB is therefore preparing for the future with new solutions by offering its customers new services, such as departure and arrival times, as well as control over the cargo it transports. To do this, the 500 freight wagons and infrastructure vehicles not only need to be equipped with appropriate telematics devices, but a powerful Rail Insight solution must also be implemented.
The solution
A1 Digital International GmbH was awarded the contract for RhB’s “GVD-IoT” project. Following a successful test phase, A1 Digital equipped all freight wagons and infrastructure vehicles with energy self-sufficient tracking devices. The built-in motion sensors of the telematics devices collect comprehensive, detailed information on the position, movement (track-related coordinates) and condition (e.g. temperature) of the respective wagon throughout the entire transport. The A1 Digital SIM cards installed transmit the collected information via the mobile network to the A1 Digital IoT platform, where the data can be visually processed and analysed.
Text taken over from original – A1 Digital