RailComm finalizes rail yard SaaS contract with Kinder Morgan
Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
RailComm completed negotiations with energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan for a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) contract for remote rail yard control at its Deepwater Terminal in Pasadena, Texas.
Kinder Morgan’s yard control system will be hosted at RailComm’s datacenter, which includes access to the latest version of RailComm’s Domain Operations Controller (DOC®) system and high system availability.
Kinder Morgan will access RailComm’s DOC Yard Control System to provide remote control of switch machines and train routing. Communications from the central office to the field equipment is accomplished with RailComm’s RADiANTTM spread spectrum data radios.
In addition to controlling switch machines from a central location, Kinder Morgan has also opted for a DTMF control access. Control requests can be handled via hand-held or on-board VHF radios by using the DTMF keypad. This allows authorized personnel to remotely request switch machine movement or train routing from wherever they are in the yard if the need arises.
To achieve DTMF control, RailComm installs a proprietary DTMF translator, which is co-located with the RailComm’s central communications controller. The DTMF translator listens to incoming VHF/UHF requests coming from the field and translates them to RailComm protocol. The DOC System manages all DTMF requests and verifies that no conflicts exist in the field.
