The Railway Industrial Clearance Association (RICA) announced its selection for 2016 Railroad of the Year: Union Pacific.
RICA, an industry association made up of railroads, shippers and manufacturers, and logistics providers determines its award on peer votes in areas such as technological advances and customer service.
Union Pacific received the honor largely due to creation and implementation of PS Technology (PST) software called iClear. PST is a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Pacific Corporation. iClear allows users to quickly validate railroad routes for oversized loads, without waiting for someone to manually check clearance, saving time and enhancing customer experience.
iClear uses automatic 3D modeling, creating loaded rail car geometry and rail network information to check for obstructions, select viable routes and produce meet-pass location mapping. The software was initially implemented by Union Pacific and is now available commercially.