FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway will dramatically increase its track inspection capabilities early next year with the systemwide deployment of locomotive-based sensors that analyze track geometry while pulling trains in revenue service.
BNSF developed its ODIN system — which stands for Onboard Defect Identification & Notification — entirely in-house in 2023. The system relies on a combination of sensors, including lasers, that measure track gauge, cross-level, alignment, and track surface. The data the system collects is processed in real time, allowing BNSF to respond quickly to defects and prevent derailments caused by track geometry problems.
With the two-year pilot program completed, BNSF put the first ODIN-equipped locomotive in service in September. The railroad said this week that it now has 30 locomotives equipped with the ODIN system. Four more will be installed by the end of the year. And by the end of the first quarter of 2026, another two dozen locomotives will be ODIN-equipped, which will allow BNSF to fully cover its network.
The pilot program helped BNSF make improvements to the system, including its software.
“The changes we’ve made have been to improve software accuracy as well as add smarter defect-detection algorithms,” says Justin Devine, the railroad’s director of track measurement. “Now that we’ve proven ODIN’s accuracy and ramped up production, we anticipate increasing our annual track inspections tenfold, from 400,000 miles a year up to an estimated 5 million miles.”
BNSF’s Technical Research & Development team in Topeka, Kan., produces the ODIN units, which are about the size of a microwave and are mounted below the locomotive’s draft gear.
By year’s end the sensors will be installed on 33 ES44C4s and one ES44AC, BNSF spokeswoman Kendall Sloan says. ODIN-equipped units have decals affixed next to the steps on both the engineer’s and conductor’s side, as well as inside the locomotive cab above the engineer and conductor.
BNSF says the ODIN equipment generates more precise data than its track geometry cars. The ODINs eventually will replace the four track geometry cars, freeing up the track time and crews that they require.
The railroads says that in addition to mainline track, the ODIN system will cover sidings, yard tracks, and industry tracks.
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It is a step in the right direction to have onboard inspection capabilities as long as they don’t replace visual inspections. And if it can cover more territory than dedicated TGC trains, all the better.
But are they really going to run an ODIN equipped locomotive on every siding, yard track and industrial spur? I would think that visual inspection would be more practical.