ALK Technologies, Inc., a provider of GeoLogistics and navigation software, announced the release of PC Miler Rail 19, the latest version of its rail routing, mileage and mapping software. The latest version has new data updates to keep track of continuous rail changes and additions on a quarterly basis.
PC Miler Rail is used by railroads, most large rail shippers, and railcar lessors in transportation management and in revenue applications. Key applications include fuel surcharge calculation, car hire, equipment management, rail car mileage auditing, rate determination and negotiation, carrier selection, and ad valorem tax reporting. Motor carriers and logistics providers with intermodal operations use PC Miler Rail to determine routing options, rail mileage, and freight rates.
A long-time customer of PC Miler, R&L Carriers also uses PC Miler Rail for researching terminals for multi-modal routing allowing them to make the most cost effective and efficient route choices. R&L Carriers operates a fleet of 13,000 tractors and trailers. Based in Fort Myers, Florida, R&L Truckload Services operates 500 power units.
“PC Miler Rail helps our operations a great deal by keeping up with our customer needs,” said Rob Bowman, vice president of operations at R&L Truckload Services. “Having both ALK’s rail and truck routing products at our finger tips significantly speeds up bid response time. This is a competitive advantage that also provides instant gratification for customers on rate quote turnarounds. PC Miler Rail allows us to pull together a complete truck/rail solution for the customer.”
“The growth of intermodal has caused us to expand our operations and PC Miler Rail is an important tool to help us grow that business,” he continued. “We were previously using paper maps which just doesn’t cut it anymore.”
PC Miler Rail 19 includes over 240,000 miles of rail line in North America. This new version is current with 49,500 active freight stations, thousands of unique junction interchanges, and over 750 railroads including 20 new carriers. Rail networks have been revised to incorporate recent track abandonments.
Additional features in PC Miler Rail 19 include the ability to avoid or favor junction interchanges in AutoRouter, a tool that simplifies route entry by suggesting the junctions and railroad connections to use between origin and destination points. PC Miler Rail-Connect includes the ability to extract mileage breakdown by railroad and state combinations, and obtaining latitude-longitude information for the generated routes.
