Abstract
New Technologies for GIS in Transportation
Track: Return on Investment and Business Value
Author
Challenge- Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the largest railroads in North America, operates in 28 states and 2 Canadian provinces. They face the enormous challenge of inspecting and maintaining 32,000 miles of track. In the past, this was handled by a combination of vendors and employees that submitted written reports of their findings to the Engineering department. This process meant that defects or changes in track geometry would potentially go unnoticed.
Solution- BNSF now requires contractors to report test results back as GPS coordinates along the route. This data is then fed into the GIS for immediate analysis. The process that BNSF is using can apply to any transportation infrastructure maintenance program.
This presentation will show how BNSF has transformed their traditional method, a paper system, to a new means of data collection and analysis that reduces the Inspection – Defect Identified – Repairs Affected cycle across their system.
William Watson
BNSF Railway
3017 Lou Menk Dr.
EOB-2
Fort Worth, Texas 76131
United States
Phone: 817 867-5705
E-mail: william.watson@bnsf.com