NRE is no longer just a diesel/electric locomotive control provider, not since its engineers successfully applied NRE microprocessors and choppers to an all-electric AC/DC traction locomotive.
“This is the first time NFORCE has been installed in an all-electric locomotive,” said Kirby Roseveare, Vice President of International Sales at NRE. “To date, NRE has only supplied to the diesel electric locomotive market. This opens up a large market which NRE has never serviced.”
NRE’s Independent Axle Control (IAC) system is state-of-the-art locomotive control that is easily applied and can be tailored to increase performance.
And because IAC installation is minimally invasive, there’s minimal risk. Add NFORCE’s real-time and remote diagnostic tools and downtime if minimized substantially.
Retrofits involve outfitting locomotives with NFORCE microprocessors and new IAC motor controllers or choppers on each axle. The choppers regulate the current supplied by the generator to the motors so that when a wheel slips, for example, the IAC system instantly cuts power to that wheel while it boosts power to the others, maintaining horsepower and speed.
And now that all of the benefits of the IAC system are available for all-electric AC/DC traction locomotives, NRE is positioned to tap into a new market that many rail experts predict will grow exponentially in the next decade.
Roseveare is convinced, as are many rail visionaries, that “the world is moving toward all-electric railway systems.”
Rail is already the most efficient form of ground transportation, vital to the U.S. economy. Proponents of railway electrification imagine fleets of super-efficient, all-electric railroads, arguing that it’s a natural transition for the rail industry, and an important part of a larger vision of a clean energy future for America.