The vision that Intramotev, the St.Louis-based rail technology startup founded in 2020 by Tim Luchini, Corey Vasel and Alex Peiffer, hopes to achieve; trains that do not use locomotives and can carry everything from lithium wagons to intermodal containers over short distances.
The idea came about as Peiffer was looking at case studies on the U.S. logistics market while Luchini was delving into rail technology — particularly the kind that could unlock new capabilities and uses for the traditional freight rail system.
In line with the information they received from the stakeholders of the sector, he learned that the railways were not included in the market consisting of a distance between 600-1000 miles and this market was taken over by the highway, although it profitable for railway transportation.
Peiffer and Luchini began to consider how they could improve their railways to enter this short-haul market. In addition, the company; He reported that 900.000 rail carsout of 1.6 million rail cars in the US on any given day, are not moving, and all wait for diesel cars on average 24.6 hours during their movement from the origin to destination. Whether they are retrofitted or technologically customized, these wagons can be added together to form a train without a locomotive.
The firm has focused on its prototype for promotion and plans to complete all tests in the second half of next year and then seek a pilot shipment where it can use the vehicles and get feedback on them.
Source: freightwaves.com
