We have packed our highlights of 2024 into a PJM review 2024. 1 year in 1 minute to look back on.
Partnership with GATX Rail Europe
GATX Rail Europe is pleased to announce its new partnership with PJ Monitoring (PJM), a respected player in the rail solutions industry. This collaboration, finalized during a recent workshop in Graz, is a strategic move to diversify and enhance our telematics sensor offerings. Through this partnership, GATX aims to provide our customers with greater capabilities to strengthen their rail operations in three areas.
1. Complementing Existing Telematics Solutions & Sensors
GATX will be introducing a new range of sensors that will enhance its current sensor portfolio. These additions are designed to optimize efficiency and safety. These enhancements will provide a new level of automation in rail logistics.
Johannes Friess, Head of Fleet Management at GATX Rail Europe, said, “We are known for our high-quality, modern railcar fleet and are now expanding our sensor portfolio with easy access to state-of-the-art sensor technology, paving the way for the next level of railway transport automation.”
2. Enhanced Overload Protection
With the new Eanos & Eamnos railcars, GATX offers the option of using the overload protection sensors from PJM. This technology has been tried and tested on various wagon types over the years, demonstrating its effectiveness. The commitment is to increase its implementation and extend its usage to optimize the safety and efficiency of rail freight transport.
3. Innovative Automatic Brake Testing
In collaboration with PJM, GATX is also actively offering railcars with automatic brake test system equipment. This holds immense potential for our customers, giving them the means to significantly streamline their operations by saving time during brake tests. GATX Rail Europe views this initiative as more than just a singular solution; it represents a cross-sectoral development that has the potential to positively influence the entire railway market.
Günter Petschnig, Managing Director at PJM, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with the railcar experts at GATX Rail Europe on digitialization and automation solutions such as the brake testing and the load monitoring, because together we can increase the safety and efficiency of railway transports.”
Video on load monitoring system
Text provided by GATX Europe, photo by Markus Lang
Timber loading made easy: video on automated load monitoring
Loading ‘difficult’ materials such as wood, gravel, bulk goods or scrap is always a challenge for hauliers and shippers, as it is not possible to load by volume. The weight of timber can change by up to 50% - depending on the weather conditions. Overloaded or asymmetrically loaded freight wagons cost valuable time and money, e.g. due to the queuing at infrastructure points, higher repair costs due to increased wear and tear, etc.
With real-time load weight monitoring, the loading capacity is utilised in the best possible way and overloading is avoided. Signal lamps directly on the wagon provide real-time information about the loading status so that the loader can take corrective action. The advantages of the load monitoring system? Greater efficiency, faster loading, lower costs and more safety for environmentally friendly rail transport.
1-year anniversary of PJ Motion
The youngest company in the PJM Group can look back positively on its first financial year. Due to the very good order situation, three more colleagues have joined the company. Approval issues with functional safety and retrofitting of rail vehicles are particularly in demand.
The founding team of Thomas Hofer, Markus Fankhauser, Lorenz Kochan and Joachim Wagner summarize the first review of the past 12 months in an interview: Short clip
Styrian Future Conference 2024: PJM takes part as innovation award winner
Companies and scientific institutions from Styria are coming together this year under the motto of cooperation. The Future Day is a platform for new ideas, knowledge exchange and future-shaping projects. The “Future Day” is organized by SFG, the Province of Styria and JR.
PJM has been invited as a winner of the Innovation Award 2024 and will put the spotlight on its unique automatic brake test. It is the first and only approved system that automates a complex, manual process. The brake testing system is already in use at SBB Cargo and on board of several pilot trains in Europe.
Automated rail freight transport is crucial in order to become more attractive, competitive, faster and safer and to cushion the demographic-related shortage of skilled labor. The focus is also shifting to environmentally friendly rail transport in order to achieve the climate targets that have been set.
InnoTrans 2024: For the first time, PJM is presented with 4 companies
PJM will be presenting itself four times at this year's industry highlight. PJ Messtechnik, PJ Monitoring, PJ Motion and RCC will be represented with their areas of expertise.
With these 4 business areas, PJM is now a strong partner throughout the entire life cycle of a rail vehicle and can take on all tasks relating to the authorization of rail vehicles. The range of services includes consulting from the initial idea and authorization management by PJ Motion, engineering and vehicle testing by PJ Messtechnik, and the portfolio as an accredited inspection body by RCC. The portfolio is supplemented by digital applications for goods trains such as automatic brake testing or the most comprehensive smart train functions currently available in the freight wagon sector. ‘Through organic, sustainable growth and the consistent expansion of infrastructure and specialist areas, PJM has firmly established in the rail industry. This is reflected, among other things, in the fact that larger project volumes are being commissioned in the area of vehicle testing and engineering,’ says Martin Joch, CEO of PJ Messtechnik.
The automatic brake testing and smart train functionalities provided by PJ Monitoring are attractive applications in the freight wagon sector: ‘Our brake testing system is of great interest to large rail transport companies, smaller private railways and also wagon keepers, as it solves several key problems. Train preparation is shortened and the shortage of skilled labor as well as increasing costs due to higher personnel expenses and inflation are significantly cushioned. The system saves time and money and creates efficiency - all of which is urgently needed in rail transport,’ says Günter Petschnig, CEO of PJ Monitoring.
PJ Motion is the youngest company in the PJM group, but has already established itself as a renowned partner after just one year, particularly in authorization management. ‘The focus of our projects is clearly on authorization management. Our expertise in the 4th railway package is in hight demand because we can reduce complexity and provide objective decision-making support in terms of technical and economic challenges,’ says Thomas Hofer, CEO of PJ Motion.
PJM at InnoTrans: City Cube/ Hall A / 220
The automatic brake test and the WaggonTracker system will also be showcased on various freight wagons in the outdoor area:
- TATRAVAGÓNKA a.s., T4 / 60
Load Monitoring System: TransAnt GmbH, T8 / 60
WaggonTracker system: Erciyas Rail Raylı Ulaşım Araçları San. A.Ş: T2 / 17
PJ Messtechnik
- Accredited test center ISO/IEC 17025 including the test areas running behavior, fatigue strength, brakes, acoustics, aerodynamics, pantograph (new test area)
- Engineering / design CAD, calculation FEM, simulation MBS / certification AAR WABL Committee
- Development & series production of instrumented wheelsets
- Autonomous measuring systems for rail vehicles and infrastructure
PJ Monitoring
- Digital rail freight transport
- Digital overall system WaggonTracker
- Automatic brake testing & load weight monitoring
- Smart freight train & Europe's most intelligent goods train
PJ Motion GmbH
- Authorisation management according to the 4th railway package
- Project management / technical project management
- Bid and tendering support
- Feasibility studies
- ECM implementation
- Asset management
RCC Railway Competence & Certification GmbH
- Notified body interoperability (Notified Body) NB 2697
- Independent assessment body (Assessment Body) AT/35/0122/0400
- Designated body Austria (Designated Body) ID 2021-0.881.187
- ECM certification body EIN: AT/30/0421/0001
Railway Gazette provides an in-depth article on smart train technology
The international railway magazine Railway Gazette analyses the digitalisation of goods trains in Europe and takes a detailed look at our smart goods train concept. Get the in-depth article on the development steps and benefits of intelligent freight trains.
PJM group showcasing at InnoTrans 2024
The "International Trade Fair for Transport Technology" is the industry get-together of the year. PJM will be showcasing innovations, solutions and technologies from our accredited test centre, measurement technology, digital rail freight transport, authorisation and project management and conformity assessment. We look forward to seeing you in Berlin!
- 24-27 September 2024
- Halle A / Stand 220
- ExpoCenter City, Berlin
Facts & figures on InnoTrans
- Around 2,800 exhibitors from 56 countries
- 200,000 m² of exhibition space
- Around 138,000 visitors are expected
Styrian governor Christopher Drexler visits PJM
A lot is happening at our location. This week, we were honored to welcome the Governor of Styria at PJM. IT was a pleasure to report Christopher Drexler on our technologies and discuss developments in the railway industry.
Styria as an industrial centre is home to internationally renowned companies and world market leaders. The railway industry also creates products, technologies and services that are known far beyond the borders of this green province. A few figures at a glance:
- R&D ratio: 5.17% of GDP
- R&D expenditure: EUR 2.67 billion
- Universities & Universities of applied sciences: 9
- Students: 63,000
- Number of companies: 100,000+ (including sole proprietorships)
State Prize for Digitalisation 2023 for PJM
A railway project was honoured with the Austrian State Prize for Digitalisation 2023. The automatic brake testing system from PJM emerged as the winner in the ‘Digital Transformation and Innovation’ category. State Secretary Claudia Plakolm and Harald Kräuter, ORF Director of Technology and Innovation, presented the award to CEO Günter Petschnig and COO Christoph Lorenzutti from PJ Monitoring GmbH.
‘We are delighted to receive this award for two reasons. The fact that a rail project was honored underlines the importance of rail freight transport in an economic and climate policy context. 10 years of development work, high investments and perseverance have been rewarded. This is great recognition for our entire team,’ says Günter Petschnig. He adds: ‘SBB Cargo is a great development partner. Such complex projects can only be successfully completed if all project partners pull together. A big thank you for the commitment, the belief in the technology and the great collaboration.’
‘The quality of the projects awarded this year as part of the State Prize for Digitalisation is impressive. You can see how much innovative strength there is in Austria in this core area, which is crucial for a successful future. I am delighted that we have been able to bring some particularly outstanding ideas to the fore with today's awards. On behalf of ORF, I would like to congratulate all of the award winners,’ emphasised Harald Kräuter, ORF Director of Technology and Innovation.
The jury of experts evaluated the open-topic submissions according to a catalogue of criteria such as degree of innovation, quality of implementation, high usability, added value for users and market potential. The submission phase was organized by the FFG (Austrian Research Promotion Agency). The jury's statement: ‘The submission Digital Rail Transport - Automated Brake Test enables the digitalization of the previously manual inspection of brakes in rail transport using special sensor technology and remote evaluation via mobile operating devices. This reduces the manual effort and duration of the brake test. By automating this inspection process, the physical strain on staff and the time required for the inspection are reduced. This means that the rolling stock can be put back into service more quickly and enables rail transport capacities to be increased. This patented system has already been approved and is being used successfully by the SBB Cargo.’
‘The State Prize for Digitalisation shows that Austria is a strong location for digital innovations. We must continue to develop our qualities in a targeted manner and, above all, further strengthen digital skills throughout Austria. They are an important basis for successful digital transformation and innovative companies. I would like to congratulate all the award winners who are making new digital success stories possible for the whole of Austria and are attractive role models for other companies and institutions,’ said State Secretary for Digitalisation Claudia Plakolm.
‘Digitalisation is a decisive factor for growth and broad prosperity, which we must use in a targeted manner in Austria. Openness to technology is the indispensable basis for innovations that secure our competitiveness and thus our entire way of life. I am impressed by the achievements of the award winners and congratulate them warmly. Because they tackle and implement - that is the right spirit for the future,’ said a delighted Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
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