Reinventing Freight Rail: The Open-Source Digital Twin Shaping 2030 and Beyond (Text Version)

This is the text version of the video Reinventing Freight Rail: The Open-Source Digital Twin Shaping 2030 and Beyond.

[Music begins]

ALTRIOS logo. Text reads: "ALTRIOS: Advanced Locomotive Technology and Rail Infrastructure Optimization System."

A freight train passes by a scenic river.

The American freight rail system moves a staggering 1.5 billion tons of cargo each year. But by 2050, it may need to move 50% more.

To upgrade our freight system, companies could be on the hook for million-dollar investments in new trains, port equipment, and freight terminals.

Two rail engineers consult with each other in a railyard.

How do they know they're making the right investments?

ALTRIOS logo.

They use ALTRIOS: The world's first validated, open-source digital twin of the entire freight rail system—from trains to terminals.

A train illustration fades into a schematic. The label reads "Conventional Diesel Powertrain." It shows power electronics, a generator, rheostatic brakes, friction brakes, and traction motors connected to an engine. The schematic changes to a "Hybrid Powertrain" that features an additional battery. It changes again to a "Battery-Electric Powertrain" that features no engine and a larger battery. It finally changes to a "Battery-Electric Powertrain With Overhead Catenary Option," which shows overhead catenary lines connected to the powertrain.

ALTRIOS simulates the end-to-end freight rail system in high fidelity, from single components within any kind of train—such as a conventional diesel-electric locomotive, a diesel-electric hybrid, or a fully electric locomotiveto full rail networks on geographically accurate routes.

The camera closes in on a single diesel fuel pump, then sweeps over a large recharging station.

From single fuel pumps—to full recharging systems.

A cargo container is lifted onto a train. The camera pans over a busy railyard.

And from single cargo equipment movements—to operations across an entire port.

Text onscreen reads: "What can ALTRIOS tell you?"

What can that tell you?

How new technologies will perform in the field.

Their energy use and costs.

If they present tradeoffs to speed, cost, or reliability.

Whether your payback will be measured in years or decades.

And how to gradually, cost-effectively replace old equipment with new technologies.

A user rapidly enters specifications into the ALTRIOS-Lite web tool, then generates results.

Best of all, it's light, fast, and free—so companies can test their decisions before they invest. Created by the National Laboratory of the Rockies, fellow research institutions, and the freight rail industry.

Because the future of rail isn't just bigger. It's faster, smarter, and more efficient.

With ALTRIOS, we can build it ... before we build in the real world.

Animated ALTRIOS logo.