News
Announcements, milestones, publications, and product news.
A Federal Grant Program for Railcar Telematics May Be on the Way — Here's What to Know Now
A major surface transportation bill moving through Congress could put significant federal funding behind railcar telematics for the first time. The Build America 250 Act, recently advanced by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, includes a dedicated competitive grant program — Section 10408, the Rail Technology and Asset Pilot Program — that would reimburse railcar owners up to 50% of the cost of purchasing and installing telematics systems and gateway devices.
The bill still needs to pass the full House, clear the Senate, and be signed into law. But given its committee momentum and broad industry support, now is the right time to understand what's in it — so you're ready to move when the funding window opens.
What the Program Would Cover
Telematics is explicitly listed first among eligible uses, and the bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to prioritize telematics grants above all other project types. Eligible technology is defined broadly to include onboard sensors, GPS and cellular location tracking, event status sensors, predictive component condition monitoring, and wayside camera diagnostics. If it monitors your car's location, movement, or mechanical health wirelessly, it likely qualifies.
Other eligible uses include PTC upgrades, wheel and bearing integrity monitoring, train inspection portals, and crew communication technologies — but telematics leads the priority stack by statute.
Who Could Apply
Eligible applicants include freight car owners and operators, freight car manufacturers, rail network data platform companies, states, tribes, and public agencies. You don't need to be a Class I to participate. A 20% per-recipient cap on annual funds means the program is structured to distribute broadly — smaller fleets have a genuine shot.
Guidance on Mexico GPS Mandate for Rail Shippers
We at Hum are committed to keeping you informed about regulatory changes that impact your operations in the energy and transportation sectors. As a leading provider of GPS tracking technologies for rail assets, we wanted to bring to your attention a significant update from the Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE) in Mexico. The full text of the regulation can be found here: https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5768321&fecha=23/09/2025
On September 23, 2025, the Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF) published a new agreement establishing administrative guidelines for labeling and technical/interoperability requirements for global positioning systems (GPS) in vehicular units used for transporting petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and petrochemicals by means other than pipelines. This regulation directly affects railcar shippers who transport applicable products in Mexico.
Hum and Oriental Foundry Announce Partnership Agreement
(ST.LOUIS, MO) – Hum Industrial Technology, Inc. (“Hum”) and Oriental Foundry Pvt. Ltd. announce a long-term partnership agreement to bring Hum’s revolutionary railcar condition monitoring sensor technology to India. As part of the deal, Oriental Foundry will manufacture more than 6,000 railcars to be equipped with Hum’s proprietary wheel and bearing failure detection technology.
India has experienced several challenges in the existing rail network and with current infrastructure. At the same time, industrialization has driven an increased demand for rail freight transportation to meet the needs of one of the world’s most dynamic economies.
“Hum’s mission is to make rail transportation safer and smarter, and we’re pleased to find a sister organization in Oriental Foundry just as committed to bringing those outcomes to one of the largest rail transportation markets in the world,” said Byron Porter, CEO of Hum. “Utilizing outdated wayside systems to catch equipment failures as they happen remains a challenge. The use of next generation sensor technology like the Hum Boomerang to predict bearing failure months in advance will give Indian rail operators far more time to proactively remove problematic equipment and avoid deadly derailments.”
“Oriental Foundry is partnering with Hum to bring proven IoT-based on-board sensors, which capture the vibration for predictive maintenance of bearings, to India. The onboard accelerometers also capture the impact forces to measure wheel health. In contrast to the experience of wayside systems, the Hum Boomerang gives near zero false positives and false negatives thus improving safety and reliability of train operations.” said Saleh Mithiborwala, Director, Oriental Foundry.
Additionally, Kay Kapoor, CEO of Arya Technologies, played a key role in getting the partnership between the two companies consummated.
About Hum: Hum is a St. Louis-based technology company that designs and builds wireless sensors to drive the next generation of rail transportation. Hum’s portfolio of advanced devices was developed to provide rail shippers, railcar owners, and railroads with the level of real-time visibility and reliability they have been demanding for years. Hum sensors sync to the cloud to provide customers with enhanced safety monitoring, optimized fleet utilization, and predictive wheel and bearing maintenance.
About Oriental Foundry: Oriental Foundry is a leading integrated freight car manufacturer in India manufacturing for Indian Railways and other customers. It manufactures various types of freight cars for different commodities. It has a steel foundry manufacturing bogies, couplers and draft gears and also has a plant for the manufacture of helical springs. Oriental Foundry is developing modern and smart freight cars for the Indian market.