Access Machine Case History:

TRANSPORTATION

Customer Background:

Engelogica was hired to install a train tracking and plotting system for the Federal Railroad Network (RFFSA), one of Brazil's three state-owned railroad companies. The RFFSA is government owned and runs along the coast from Rio Grande do Sul to Maranhao; to the center of Brazil through Minas Gerais, Goias and Brasilia; and from Sao Paulo to Bolivia via Mato Grosso do Sul. The Central Railway of Parana is one of the most efficient RFFSA sections.

(Note: Customer Background information was obtained from the "Public Service Concessions in Brazil: Transportation" web page at www.brasil.emb.nw.dc.us/ppub4pg.htm.)

Project Background:

This project is a train monitoring system that covers approximately several hundred miles of the RFFSA track under the supervision of one control center. All information is viewed at the control center. Our customer hopes to expand the usage of this system for other train lines.

Customer Needs:

• The RFFSA has no on-track sensors to detect where the train is, therefore they needed a way to track the trains by station, indicating the last known destination.
• This monitoring and reporting system allowed the RFFSA to keep much needed historical records on train activity.

The Access Machine Solution:

The AccessPoint Train plotting package monitors and reports live data on the same graph with scheduled data. This allows the user to compare actual travel time with scheduled travel time. The interface is purely graphical and these graphs can be printed for reports. The arrivals/departures are plotted on a graph of time (x axis) vs. stations (y axis). It is possible to annotate the graph for the historical archive by clicking on a certain point on the plot and entering necessary comments. The data the user obtains is used to determine patterns in the train travel time and evaluate performance against the schedule for proper adjustment.

• Improved quality assurance - ability to track train location and travel time allows for necessary schedule adjustments
• Long term customer satisfaction - the historical records and annotations provide instant information on the past problems and solutions, this provides the company with information on how to improve for greater customer satisfaction