Riding the Rails

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 11/1/1998

As highway congestion increases, more and more shippers are looking at rail and intermodal services as a competitively priced, efficient alternative. To help draw new customers and better serve existing ones, rail and intermodal companies are adding new services, increasing the amount of equipment, offering new software, and providing new and updated reference materials. Below is a sampling of some of the newest equipment and services available today.

ALK Associates Inc. has developed a new software system called ALK's "PC*Tracker," which is designed to handle rail shipment tracking and fleet management.

PC*Tracker provides location, status, and trip information on rail fleets ranging from 100 to 30,000 cars. Location and status information is fed to the system via industry-standard Electronic Data Interchange messaging. The system employs client-server database technology to store, process, and distribute rail tracking information.

Users can gain access to the PC*Tracker database through a corporate network, via a dial-up connection, or through the Internet. PC*Tracker can interface with enterprise-management systems to disseminate transportation information to other business units.

A typical installation of ALK's PC*Tracker runs on six to 12 client machines. According to the manufacturer, the system's greatest benefits include improved fleet utilization, enhanced customer-service capabilities, and access to data and tools necessary for production and shipment planning.

PC*Tracker provides users with mapping capabilities to filter equipment searches by location and status. Railcar positions and routes can quickly be displayed on ALK's North American rail network, which encompasses 200,000 rail miles, 64,000 freight stations, and more than 580 carriers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Icons representing individual cars indicate car type and condition, including loaded, empty, delayed/detained, on time, or misdirected units.

Individual railcar profiles are maintained by the system, allowing users to keep equipment service records and lease information up to date. Additional features of ALK's PC*Tracker include Internet reporting capabilities, freight and route management, mileage credit auditing, detention charge assessment, and performance measurement.

In addition to PC*Tracker, ALK has introduced "PC*RAIL" for Windows, a rail routing and mileage software system.

This software's rail network contains more than 250,000 miles of rail line, more than 64,000 freight stations, and more than 620 rail carriers. PC*RAIL provides rail routes and mileages for rate determination and negotiation, equipment management, railcar mileage auditing, and carrier selection.

PC*RAIL generates routes and determines mileages between any two rail-served locations in North America. Each location is identified by city name and state abbreviation or by commonly used geographic codes.

With PC*RAIL, shippers can calculate the "Short Line" route (shortest) and/or the "Practical" route (based on historical operations) between any two points. In addition, users can specify interline junctions with the "junction finder" or let PC*RAIL choose junctions by weighing location vs. gateway importance. Routings for intermodal, coal, or grain trains also are included.

PC*RAIL's RouteMap displays and prints map-quality graphics that show different routes, railroads, and locations in multiple colors and line types. The detailed map enables users to examine routes in detail, visually evaluate routing alternatives, and perform a variety of "what-if" analyses.