The transportation sector, including aviation, automotive, mining and shipping, has long embraced digital transformation, integrating real-time monitoring, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance safety and operational efficiency.
Aviation, though a much younger industry than rail, has used real-time diagnostics for years, enabling airlines to track aircraft systems and predict failures before they occur.
Automotive has incorporated advanced telematics to improve safety and performance, while mining and shipping operations rely on real-time condition monitoring to maintain mission-critical equipment. Freight rail, however, has not responded similarly.
Peter Hogg, Managing Director of rail company Transdiagnostics, said the industry remains entrenched in outdated practices and technology pioneered in the 1980s, which are directly linked to catastrophic derailments.
“Globally, the rail industry is lagging in adopting modern safety and efficiency technologies,” Hogg said. “Despite freight rail being the backbone of logistics and supply chains, operators continue to rely on fragmented and reactive safety measures that belong to the past.”
A data-driven future
With over 60 years of combined rail industry expertise, Transdiagnostics is driving the shift towards a more advanced, data-driven future. Its flagship product, Transend®, delivers 24/7 real-time monitoring, eliminating the need for unreliable wayside detectors and antiquated detection systems.
Standard derailment detection methods require each rail car to be fitted with an identification (ID) tag. As the train passes a wayside detector site, one module reads the rail car’s ID tag, another module measures the temperature, and both pieces of data are transmitted to a central server, where the two readings must be matched to identify the rail car with the problem.
“This process is inefficient and often inaccurate,” Hogg said. “By the time data is processed, it only relates to one location and does not show how the data is trending – if an ID reading is even recorded at all.”
Additionally, with freight trains growing longer, existing wayside detectors struggle to communicate alerts effectively.
“Ideally, if a train bearing is overheating, a radio signal should notify the train crew immediately,” Hogg said. “However, in more and more cases, the signal fails to reach the locomotive due to the surrounding terrain and sheer length of the train.”
Transend, by contrast, collects track temperature, force, and noise data every ten seconds, delivering contextualised insights directly to train crews, train control, and maintenance personnel. With Cloud-based connectivity, instant alerts, and predictive diagnostics, the system enhances both safety and operational efficiency.
“Our technology separates critical safety alarms from routine maintenance data,” Hogg said. “Maintenance teams receive track-related performance information, while train control is notified only of urgent safety alerts. If an operator prefers, the system can also be configured so that only high-priority warnings are sent to the train crew.”
Tried and tested
Transend has undergone extensive field testing over four years on the Mary Valley Rattler, a heritage railway in Gympie, Queensland.
Hogg said the patented technology, designed and manufactured in Brisbane, has transformed the Rattler’s aging infrastructure into a fully connected system, providing a real-world proving ground for its capabilities.
“One of the key challenges was maintaining the track, and previously, the general manager would ride at the back of the train, visually inspecting undulations and taking location details to share with maintenance crews,” he said.
“Transdiagnostics revolutionised this process by installing a camera under the train.
“Now, the system generates a digital map that pinpoints track irregularities in real time. If an issue is detected, a maintenance manager can click on the flagged location and instantly access a recorded video, eliminating the need for manual inspections.”
With readings taken every ten seconds across all wagons simultaneously, any anomalies are identified almost immediately, allowing for swift intervention.
Derailments aren’t inevitable
Freight rail derailments are disruptive, costly, and hazardous – but Hogg argues they are not an inevitable reality of the industry.
One high profile example is the East Palestine train derailment in Ohio in February 2023, where a train carrying hazardous materials derailed after the hot railcar bearing sparked a fire. The resulting derailment of 38 cars led to the release of toxic chemicals into the air, forcing residents within a 1.6 kilometre radius to evacuate.
The environmental and economic effects are still being felt more than two years after the crash, with Vice President JD Vance recently visiting the site and advocating for stricter monitoring, corporate accountability, and stronger federal oversight of railway operators.
Hogg said the United States National Transportation Safety Board’s final report hearing confirmed that real-time monitoring could have prevented the disaster. The train had passed three wayside defect detectors, each recording rising temperatures – yet no action was taken until it was too late.
“These outdated detectors generated an alert that was emailed to someone, but by the time action was taken, the train had already derailed,” Hogg said.
“Transend’s real-time monitoring would have made a crucial difference. The derailment report identified various forensic data, all of which our product is designed to detect.
“Notably, the bearing made so much noise that residents living nearby could hear it from their homes – six separate times. Our system would have flagged the issue early, allowing the train crew to stop the train 30 miles before disaster struck.”
The time for change is now
Australia has also experienced its share of derailments, including a 2022 incident in Inverleigh, Victoria, which disrupted both interstate and intrastate rail transport.
Hogg said the solution lies in onboard sensor-driven, continuous digital monitoring – technology that detects failures before they escalate, enabling proactive intervention.
“Derailments don’t have to be accepted as a fact of life,” he said.
“The technology to prevent them exists today, but it requires the industry to embrace innovation and move beyond outdated safety measures.”
The rail sector stands at a turning point, with increasing regulatory pressure and mounting operational risks demanding a shift away from legacy systems.
Proposed legislation in the United States, including the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024, is pushing for enhanced monitoring, improved safety protocols, and real-time data reporting.
“Companies that embrace digital transformation will not only improve safety but also increase efficiency, profitability, and stakeholder value,” Hogg said.
“Regulatory momentum, industry challenges, and technological advancements are converging – presenting an opportunity for rail operators to lead the way in proactive safety measures.”
How Transend solves freight rail’s biggest challenges:
- Real-time condition monitoring detects failures before they escalate.
- Transend ensures compliance with emerging regulations through seamless data integration.
- Data-driven decision-making reduces downtime, improves efficiency, and boosts network reliability.
For more information, contact Transdiagnostics at info@transdiagnostics.com or visit transdiagnostics.com.
