5 Top Sensors & IoT Startups Impacting The Railway Industry

Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions for railroads. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising Sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) startups.

For our 5 top picks, we used a data-driven startup scouting approach to identify the most relevant solutions globally. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 interesting examples out of 38 relevant solutions. Depending on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely different.

Traditional methods of rail track maintenance and repair affect operators as the cost of manually detecting and clearing obstacles are quite high. From a fallen tree on the track to crucial misalignments, there are currently various innovative solutions in development that aim to help operators run trains without unnecessary delays.

British startup Vortex IoT develops RODIO – Railway Optical Detection of Intrusions and Obstructions, a railway condition monitoring system that detects obstacles on the rail tracks. Easily scalable and cost-effective compared to traditional methods of obstacle detection, this simple yet powerful solution could potentially make rail transportation safer.

While loading freight, human error can lead to expensive spills, damages, or even theft. Those workers loading freight usually are exposed to the threat of injury or exposure to harmful chemicals. Railway freight operators are increasingly adopting technology to make their operations safer for their workers, more cost-effective, and better for the environment.

Canadian scaleup TransRail Innovation Group develops sensors for loading liquid freight into car tanks. TLoad helps terminal operators improve worker safety by rethinking the loading processes and XLoad is designed for freight operators to conduct accurate level measurements for the load. Their solution eliminates the need to open tanks for calculating such data, a sensor placed inside and around the car tank provides and monitors the level constantly.

Many countries today have trains and extensive railway networks. However, they also lack basic safety mechanisms and public awareness about railroad safety is quite low. Given this, it is no surprise that the number of rail line crossing deaths is quite shocking.