Route optimization uses algorithms- kindof like a giant algebra problem that a computer solves to figure out the best path to your destination. It’s what makes the blue line on your navigation app show the fastest route. Route optimization can use all sorts of details like speed limits, traffic jams, road types, and sometimes even traffic light patterns to predict how long it’ll take you to get there.
Some unknowns are easy to estimate, but the trickiest variables are those that have a big impact and are basically a coin-toss. Railroad crossings are a perfect example because they can either give you the shortest, fastest route if you zip right through, or they become the worst kind of delay if you get stuck waiting on a train. To top it all off, they are notoriously difficult to predict within the crucial time-frame to re-route before a delay becomes inevitable.
That’s where we come in! We turn that coin-toss into a known variable by serving a live data feed of exactly when each crossing will close, how long it will stay closed, and when it will reopen.
Where We’re Going
At the time of this writing, the world has entered a phase of self-accelerating technological progress. Artificial intelligence isn’t merely a powerful tool or a disruptive technology- it is a general force and a new organizing principle for civilization itself. Just as humans escaped biological limits by storing knowledge externally through written language, AI escapes human limits by acting directly on the canonical record of stored human thought.
In practical terms, the future favors systems that improve AI decision-making by giving AI better information to base decisions on. Locomotive Location applies this principle to physical infrastructure by winning the most consequential coin-toss in route optimization- whether or not a train will impede a road vehicle's travel.
Our mission is to advance route optimization from a predictive science into an interpretive exercise by enabling decisions to be based on what will happen, not what might.
— October, 2025
How We Do it
Our data is derived from information gathered by remotely-operated equipment that can detect valuable information about trains from several miles away, including their geographic location, length, speed, which railroad company is operating it, and which set of tracks it’s on. This information is then cross-referenced with a database of all at-grade crossings to generate time-related metrics relevant to any particular crossing. These metrics are updated continuously to accommodate changes in the train's speed, track switches, etc.
Who We Serve
We serve organizations whose operations are based in the United States, in markets where foreknowledge of railroad crossing closures creates a competitive advantage. For example:
Consumer Navigation Apps
Ridesharing, Courier, and Food Delivery Services
Route Optimization & Telematics Vendors
Delivery Fleets & Logistics Operators
Emergency Services
Urban Traffic Management Systems
What We Do
Locomotive Location is a data analytics company that delivers foreknowledge of when railroad crossings will close, how long they will remain closed, and when they will reopen. We deliver this information as a live data stream, designed to integrate directly into customer systems. For customers who need it, we also provide crossing-level attributes that support safety analysis and risk modeling.
Where We Started
Birmingham, Alabama boasts more railroad crossings per capita than any other city in the United States (and they close often). This creates an unusually rich environment for real-world, iterative testing because we can observe, model, and validate behavior continuously under live conditions.
Solving for “
” in Route Optimization
Solving for “
” in Route Optimization
Route optimization uses algorithms- kindof like a giant algebra problem that a computer solves to figure out the best path to your destination. It’s what makes the blue line on your navigation app show the fastest route. Route optimization can use all sorts of variables like speed limits, traffic jams, road types, and sometimes even traffic light patterns to predict how long it’ll take you to get there.
Some variables are easy to work with, but the trickiest variables are those that have a big impact and are basically a coin-toss. Railroad crossings are a perfect example.
That’s where we come in! We turn that coin-toss into a known variable by serving a live data feed of exactly when each crossing will close, how long it will stay closed, and when it will reopen.
What We Do
Locomotive Location is a data analytics company that delivers foreknowledge of when railroad crossings will close, how long they will remain closed, and when they will reopen. We deliver this information as a live data stream, designed to integrate directly into customer systems. For customers who need it, we also provide crossing-level attributes that support safety analysis and risk modeling.
How We Do it
Our data is derived from information gathered by remotely-operated equipment that can detect valuable information about trains from several miles away, including their geographic location, length, speed, which railroad company is operating it, and which set of tracks it’s on. This information is then cross-referenced with a database of all at-grade crossings to generate time-related metrics relevant to any particular crossing. These metrics are updated continuously to accommodate changes in the train's speed, track switches, etc.
Who We Serve
We serve organizations whose operations are based in the United States, in markets where foreknowledge of railroad crossing closures creates a competitive advantage. For example:
Consumer Navigation Apps
Ridesharing, Courier, and Food Delivery Services
Route Optimization & Telematics Vendors
Delivery Fleets & Logistics Operators
Emergency Services
Urban Traffic Management Systems
Where We Started
Birmingham, Alabama boasts more railroad crossings per capita than any other city in the United States (and they close often). This creates an unusually rich environment for real-world, iterative testing because we can observe, model, and validate behavior continuously under live conditions.
Where We’re Going
At the time of this writing, the world has entered a phase of self-accelerating technological progress. Artificial intelligence isn’t merely a powerful tool or a disruptive technology- it is a general force and a new organizing principle for civilization itself. Just as humans escaped biological limits by storing knowledge externally through written language, AI escapes human limits by acting directly on the canonical record of stored human thought.
In practical terms, the future favors systems that improve AI decision-making by giving AI better information to base decisions on. Locomotive Location applies this principle to physical infrastructure by winning the most consequential coin-toss in route optimization- whether or not a train will impede a road vehicle's travel.
Our mission is to advance route optimization from a predictive science into an interpretive exercise by enabling decisions to be based on what will happen, not what might.
— October, 2025