UK: The British division of Heidelberg Materials has announced its intention to equip 32 of its cement tank cars with the iWagon solution from Knorr-Bremse. A further 32 railcars will also be acquired with the same equipment. Installation activities are scheduled to commence in mid-November.
Following the development by the German manufacturer in cooperation with the leasing company VTG, iWagon has been tested since 2023. In addition to axle lock and wheel flat sensors as well as four generators for their energy supply, each car axle is equipped with sensors that monitor brake condition, vibrations, temperature, and a gateway to send the data to a cloud-based server. The system provides real-time monitoring and data transmission to both the operator and driver. According to Knorr-Bremse, the iWagon system is capable of predicting faults.
The German component manufacturer is pursuing a strategy to become a market leader in the telematics sector through the development of telematics platforms either independently or in collaboration with the major market player, Nexxiot. With this objective in mind, Knorr-Bremse acquired a strategic stake in the Swiss company in 2022.
