The benefits of applying Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and electronic mapping technology to railroad business applications

摘要

Since its inception in the mid-1800s, the railroad industry has used mapping as a medium to communicate important information. For many years, maps were railroads' only effective way to display entire track systems over large geographic areas in a single view. Because it was difficult to create and maintain paper maps, railroad maps of the past included very basic information: track, state boundaries, cities, rivers, and a few other geographic features. At the time, it was also very difficult to produce and maintain discipline-specific variations of maps (i.e., marketing demographics, traffic volumes, and capital plans). Even with the advent of the computer, mapping required complex software and hardware systems with specialized technical skills that limited integration of business information. With the advent of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), global positioning system (GPS) and aerial satellite photography in the 1980s, mapping has been transformed from a hard copy medium to an accessible electronic medium that can effectively integrate everyday business applications. This paper will highlight several BNSF applications where the integration of GIS with a map-user interface has a beneficial impact in the performance of the target business activity, revenue growth, and customer service, monitoring operational conditions, mechanical defects and track production gangs.