automated brake test

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.’

Short video on the automated brake test and its benefits

Press release

‘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.’

PJM_Automatische_Bremsprobe_@SBBCargo-klein

‘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.

PJM_Staatspreis_Digitalisierung-007klein

General / Waggon Tracker - 05/15/2024

Nomination for the State Prize for Digitalisation

The most innovative digital projects and products were sought, evaluated and selected by a top-class jury according to a wide range of criteria. The submission phase took place together with the FFG (Austrian Research Promotion Agency). We are delighted that our project "Digital Rail Transport: Automatic Brake Test via Tablet" has been nominated. The decision on the State Prize Digitalisation 2023 will be made at the JOYN ORF 4GAMECHANGERS Festival 2024.

Watch live on TV or via Facebook:

14 May 2024 at 8.00 pm

Further (German) information on: https://www.digitalaustria.gv.at/WissensWert/Events-Digital-Austria/Staatspreis-Digitalisierung.html

General / Waggon Tracker - 04/19/2024

Innovation Award for automated brake testing system

The brake testing system is the best digital project and was honoured with the Innovation Award 2024. The coveted award was presented by Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, member of the Styrian government, and Christoph Ludwig, Managing Director of SFG.

Renowned jury members, including Sabine Hertlitschka from Infineon Technologies and representatives from institutions such as the Austrian Patent Office, the Institute of Industrial Science and AWS, determined the most outstanding projects in the categories of sustainability and digitalization in a two-stage selection process. The assessment criteria included innovation content, overall economic effect and market opportunities.

The award was combined with a personal visit from the Provincial Councillor for Economic Affairs, who not only showed great interest in the automatic brake test, but was also impressed by the entire PJM service portfolio, the headqaurters and the technical equipment. Provincial Councillor Eibinger-Miedl warmly congratulated and emphasised: "Mobility in particular is a field of strength in Styria and PJM is one of the innovation companies." Günter Petschnig was delighted with the award. "We have a great team and a great network with our partners such as SBB Cargo. We have had massive investments for developing the automatic brake test and further innovations, and we keep drive forward new technologies. The award is a great pleasure for us!"

Photos: With courtesy of SFG / Oliver Wolf

General / Waggon Tracker - 03/25/2024

FS Logistics Business Unit continues fleet upgrade with PJM’s smart train portfolio

Combining transport efficiency with safety is an important requirement for Mercitalia Intermodal in daily intermodal transport. The Italian wagon operator has therefore been focusing on digital monitoring functionalities and automated processes for several years. The transformation of the existing fleet into Smart Train freight wagons is being systematically implemented. This year, at least another 180 wagons will be modernized, while around 200 wagons - mainly of the T3000 type - have been upgraded in the past two years. Mercitalia Intermodal began upgrading its freight wagon fleet back in 2017.

The benefits of the Smart Train functions are far-reaching: shorter delivery times thanks to automated processes in the track environment, predictive maintenance logic and condition-based maintenance models reduce costs while increasing reliability, efficiency and the general safety of rail transport.

Media release

General / Waggon Tracker - 02/16/2024

2nd award for the "Smart Train" from Mercitalia Intermodal

The smartest goods train in Europe has been honoured for the second time. Following the Austrian Mobility Award 2023, which was presented to Günter Petschnig and Christoph Lorenzutti in Vienna in September, Mercitalia Intermodal - Polo Logistica Group FS was honoured as "Logistico dell'Anno 2023" in Italy. The goods train is equipped with a wide range of monitoring and automation functions based on PJM's WaggonTracker system. Congratulations!

Details & all functions of Europes most intelligent goods train

Artikel Auszeichnung (in italienischer Sprache)

General / Waggon Tracker - 12/05/2023

The sensation in rail freight automation: BAV’s type approval for automatic brake testing

Now it's official: the automated brake testing system has been granted type approval by the Swiss “Federal Office of Transport” (Schweizer Bundesamt für Verkehr). Hence, the automated brake taste is the first approved system worldwide and the first far-reaching automated application in European rail transport. The system was developed with SBB Cargo and is a functionally safe application that has been trialled in various phases over several years. The project milestones in brief:

2017: First test trains
01/ 2022: Pilot train
03/2022: Positive review by TÜV Süd
11/2023: Operational approval by BAV

The automated application provides many benefits:

- Enormous time saving: for a 500 m long goods train, the time saved is around 75 minutes (35 minutes each for 2 shunters)

- Faster, more reliable and safer: the brake check can be carried out automatically by the train driver, is more reliable and increases safety (thanks to the consistent quality of the brake check and the system's objective evaluation criteria).

- Freight wagon downtimes are significantly reduced, while terminal turnaround times are increased.

- The implementation of an automatic brake test brings a concrete and - this is particularly important - immediate improvement for the railway companies.

- For the shunting staff and those responsible for brake testing, the automatic brake test means an improvement in the workplace situation. The interactive operation of a clearly displayed system replaces the strenuous, physically demanding manual inspection.

- The brake test is an essential part of the "1-person operation" that is gradually being implemented by railway companies such as SBB Cargo, particularly as a measure to manage the shortage of skilled labour resulting from demographic development.

Günter Petschnig, CEO of PJ Monitoring, looks back on several years of development: "It's a long way from the vision to the innovation of a completely new system. A major project of this size can only be successfully realised if the project partners work together step by step over several years. The teams at SBB Cargo and PJM have done a fantastic job. A big thank you to the stamina and commitment of everyone involved!"

Media release

General / Waggon Tracker - 11/30/2023

VTG relies on automation of brake testing with PJM

VTG, Europe's leading private operator of freight wagons, will offer PJM's automatic brake testing system as a project-related equipment option. VTG is thus consistently pursuing its digitalisation strategy in order to achieve further increases in efficiency in the handling of freight trains.

Automatic brake testing is a crucial factor in the preparation of freight trains, as it is obligatory to check the brakes each time a change is made to the wagon configuration or the wagon is stationary for more than 24 hours. Hence, the potential savings for railway companies in this time-consuming process are high, both in terms of human labour and costs.

Since 2017, the technology developed by PJM and SBB Cargo has been successfully tested in pilot freight trains. Based on this extensive testing, VTG will make this system available as an equipment option. The expansion of the equipment portfolio with the automatic brake test system supports the integration of the Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) and represents another important step in the digitalisation strategy of both companies.

Media release

General / Waggon Tracker - 10/20/2023

Technical lecture at the "48th Modern Rail Vehicles Conference"

The renowned symposium takes place every second year in Graz and is organised by the Institute for Railway Engineering and Transport Economics at Graz University of Technology. PJM will present a best practice model on the topic of "Automation and digital condition monitoring in freight transport" as part of a technical lecture. The focus will not only be on the technical implementation of a digital intermodal train, but also on the many benefits for the operator.

Further information on the expert congress

Railway station of freight trains from a height at sunset

General / Waggon Tracker - 09/12/2023

PJM at Railway Forum Berlin: presentation & Styrian event

The Railway Forum Berlin is Europe’s leading management conference of the railway industry. The industry get-together is taking place for the 8th time. This year, PJM will again present technological innovations in digital rail freight transport. There are several opportunities for you to see our digital solution around the WaggonTracker system live in Berlin:

Visit us at the joint ACStyria stand, stand C 10.
Short lecture by CEO Günter Petschnig: "Automation and digitalisation in intermodal transport", Thursday, 7 September, at 11.00 a.m. on the Exhibition Stage
Styria Coffee-Break: networking meeting with coffee and wine from the region, Wednesday, 6 September, 12:50, also at the ACStyria joint stand, stand C 10

Railway Forum Berlin, 6 - 7 September 2023

We look forward to your visit!

Invitation Styrian coffee break & wine taste: https://pjm.co.at/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ACStyria-Berlin-2023-Web-neu_b.pdf

General / Waggon Tracker - 08/21/2023

Styrian governor Christopher Drexler visits PJM

State Prize for Digitalisation 2023 for PJM

Nomination for the State Prize for Digitalisation

Innovation Award for automated brake testing system

FS Logistics Business Unit continues fleet upgrade with PJM’s smart train portfolio

2nd award for the "Smart Train" from Mercitalia Intermodal

The sensation in rail freight automation: BAV’s type approval for automatic brake testing

VTG relies on automation of brake testing with PJM

Technical lecture at the "48th Modern Rail Vehicles Conference"

PJM at Railway Forum Berlin: presentation & Styrian event

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