The International Heavy Haul Association commissioned in 2017 a benchmarking survey amongst its member railways and rail authorities that was aimed at identifying what key innovations have commonly lead to success in heavy hauling, what railways are planning and working on as the technologies that will drive them forward, and what they see as key technologies that will define the Railway of the Future.

The survey was answered by a broad and diverse representation of rail authorities around the globe, and can be considered as being well representative of the directions of the rail bulk haul industry worldwide. There was considerable commonality in their visions of key innovations and their visions of what is needed to be competitive and sustainable in the future.

Key sections of the Benchmarking Paper include:

• Section 1: Summary of Operations Benchmarks, now vs 2003.

• Section 2: Survey Results: Technologies that have made Heavy Haul Railways Successful Today

• Section 3: Survey Results: Technologies / innovations that are underway with plans for implementation

• Section 4: Survey Results: Innovation Strategies Leading us into the future

• Section 5: Summary and Conclusions

  • Information, Communication, and Train Control

  • Future Freight Cars and Their Maintenance

  • Future Track Infrastructure and Its Maintenance

  • Working for the Railway of the Future