HealthTrak®

Wireless Railcar Monitoring

  • Very low power satellite communicator
  • Full Logistics- location, speed, direction, ETA, etc.
  • Always-On™ instant poll response
  • True two-way communication
  • Car Health and Track Anomalies
  • Impacts- 3-axis, settable trigger levels
  • Cushioning Unit performance
  • Cargo Sensing - load weight
  • Solar powered for stand-alone operation
  • Complete coverage throughout North & Central America
  • Fully Web-Enabled Access



The Application
Where is your rail car? Has an over-speed coupling caused damage? Has it been humped? Are the cushioning units functioning properly? What is its net load weight? The temperature of your tank car? When was it unloaded at your customer's facility? What is the cycle time? Like to match empty equipment to requested load locations? Measure Ride Quality? Refine ETA's during shipment? Or define your own logistical needs?

HealthTrak® collects information about individual railcars and relays it in real time, via satellite, to our full-service Web Server. The result is the most comprehensive rail fleet management tool available.

At this moment, StarTrak is monitoring & tracking hundreds of railcars around the globe. We "join" every satellite message with complete industry information via waybill, CLM (Car Location Messages) and/or Train II. StarTrak has made wireless monitoring of rail cars useful, affordable, and available via the Web.

From Your Railcar...
The HealthTrak® unit is mounted on your rail car. It includes a communicator, batteries, solar panel (for rechargeable versions), and internal sensors (3-axis accelerometer for impact monitoring, temperature or pressure sensors for tank cars, etc.). Alarms are sent to you in seconds via Email, pager or fax. Trigger levels and reporting times are settable over the link and HealthTrak® can be configured for virtually all rail car types (auto rack, box, tank, gondola, reefer, etc.).

...Via the WEB...
All StarTrak solutions are fully Web-enabled. All information is available from any PC (or pager or cell phone) instantly. All you need is a browser - no special software to download or maintain. Rail information (CLM, Train II, waybill, etc.) is also available from the StarTrak server.

...To Your Desk
Custom reports? Interface to legacy systems? No problem. Our in-house software team can create just about any report you need quickly and economically - all fully Web-enabled!


Detailed maps showing location can be accessed from any Web-Enabled PC.

Who Can Benefit?
This Web-Enabled fleet management system is available for real-time use by all railroad personnel, shippers, private car owners, lessors, and customers as appropriate. StarTrak provides full Web-access to all required industry data.

Always-On™ Communications
Poll your asset any time. Get a response in minutes every time. No “dead spots” because our geosynchronous satellite communicator offers truly complete coverage throughout North and Central America (global solutions also available). It also has the lowest power budget of any wireless communicator available.

Alarm Routing
You specify important events (impacts, begin unloading, arrive destination, pressure or temperature alarms, etc.) When the event occurs, an alarm message can be sent immediately anywhere you specify. Email to dispatch, fax to the loading facility, page to a field rep. Links to your legacy system are fully supported. Geofencing notifies you when a car goes off-route.

Complete Rail Solutions
HealthTrak® models are available for virtually any type of rail car including: auto racks, box, auto parts, tank, reefer, gondolas, road railers, covered hoppers, intermodal & container cars , locomotives.

Rail Applications Include: ride quality, track anomalies, over-speed impacts, damage prevention, temperature, pressure, door open, security, preventative maintenance, logistical fleet management, load measurement, refrigerated car control.

HealthTrak® offers complete logistics with over-speed impact and lading monitoring by virtue of its internal 3-axis accelerometers. HealthTrak™ can even deliver a complete impact waveform to your desk, seconds after an event.

TankTrak® is optimized for tank cars of every description and includes temperature and pressure as well as optional load measurement.

LoadWeigh™ adds accurate load measurement from your rail asset in real time. Load weights within 3% accuracy are available in minutes right from your desk. Now you know precisely when your tank car is unloaded, or the true inventory of your supply chain pipeline.

ReeferTrak® offers the only wireless full-authority monitoring and control for any perishable transport (rail or truck) with complete coverage in North America.

Ride Quality... Also in Real Time
StarTrak has been the world leader in ride-quality monitoring for Rail and other transport applications since 1993. Below, a complete waveform for a longitudinal impact identifies location and circumstances of a car handling event. The g vs. delta V plot can be brought back over the link from the car for analysis. A Track Anomaly report helps identify appropriate locations to focus maintenance-of-way efforts. Note the excellent alignment of the two data sets (captured across multiple trips). Truck hunting, ride quality, histograms, and other detailed measurements are also available in real time via your browser over the wireless link.


Complete g & dV waveforms from actual impacts may be sent over the link to your web browser or Email.

HealthTrak® Specifications

Communicator: Geosynchronous satellite or cellular telephone network
Event response time: 30 sec. typical
Poll Response time: 30 seconds to 3 minutes (user settable)
Logistics Information: Latitude, longitude, speed, direction
Impact Monitoring: 3 Axis, -6 to +6 g, with 0.1 g resolution; delta velocity resolution to 0.1 mph; waveform transmission (optional). All trigger levels remotely settable over communicator link.
Optional Sensors: LoadWeigh™ , Track Debris, pressure, temperature, load, level, flow, etc..
Additional I/O: 4 analog, 4 digital, bus expandable
Mechanical: 22 X 9 X 2 inches (other form factors available)
Optional Features: Ride quality histogram, waveform transmission, truck hunting, wheel quality, cushioning unit quality, track anomaly.

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