Parallel Systems Mark 2 Demo (Text Version)

This is the text version of the video Parallel Systems Mark 2 Demo.

This video demonstrates Parallel Systems’ battery-electric rail vehicles and their potential to help shift a portion of the freight carried by trucks to rail.

[Music begins, narrator speaks. Video clips of a Parallel Systems rail vehicle self-propelling along a train track]

Parallel Systems is creating the tools to convert freight from trucking to rail, enabling the rail industry to serve more markets. We are building battery-electric freight rail vehicles that propel themselves, the tools to integrate this service into the railroad, and building blocks to enable leaner terminal designs by taking advantage of the energy efficiencies of rail and battery technology. We are offering the supply chain a zero-emissions solution to move freight in a flexible way.

[Aerial video of a Parallel Systems rail vehicle moving along a train track, minus a cargo container]

Parallel's unique autonomous vehicle architecture allows Freight to move in and out of terminals, much faster self-sorting and assembling with multiple departures per day, and reducing delays to create a more responsive service.

[Video of a shipping container being loaded onto a Parallel Systems rail vehicle and switching train tracks]

The continuous flow of containers through terminals results in greater asset utilization and smaller footprints, making it possible to site terminals closer to or at customer locations, reducing or eliminating the last mile of transit.

[Animation demonstrating how Parallel Systems rail cars coupling and decoupling in and out of a platoon]

En route, our vehicles work together, forming platoons and splitting apart to route freight directly to end destinations. This introduces a wider range of service routes while making the best use of available network capacity.

[Animation of the aerodynamic forces pushing against each rail vehicle and propulsion from rear vehicles]

This flexibility is possible because our vehicles don't have couplers and operate interchangeably. They use a bumper system to push against each other, distributing the aerodynamic forces on the first container across the entire platoon, saving energy on every trip.

[Text on screen: Cloud. Animation showing that each rail vehicle is linked to the cloud]

By continuously transmitting information on location and vehicle performance using GPS, cell networks, and Wi-Fi, we are introducing a new level of transparency into freight service.

[Animation demonstrating the flow of data from a rail vehicle, to Parallel Systems’ back office, to the railroad back office, and to dispatchers]

Our system interoperates with infrastructure and interfaces available on each host railroad and ensures the vehicles move through the network in accordance with dispatcher directives.

[Animation showing multiple platoons on separate tracks]

As a result, our vehicles integrate with existing yard environments and conventional rail service, respecting the rules of the rail while planned movement is determined by the host railroad dispatcher.

[Video demonstrating the on-board perception sensors identifying a person walking towards a rail vehicle]

On-board perception sensors have the ability to identify hazards on the rail and initiate fast braking with our novel approach to braking.

[Text on screen: Braking distance. Animation showing the stopping distance of a Parallel Systems rail vehicle]

The stopping distance is as little as one-tenth the distance of a conventional freight train. When the vehicle stops for a potential hazard, remote monitors can assess the situation and make the necessary calls to get the service moving again.

Parallel Systems' flexible, zero-emissions freight service operates on existing rail infrastructure and alongside conventional freight rail service. We are testing our second-generation vehicles today and are looking forward to working with you on the future of freight.

[Narration ends, music stops]