TagMaster, the leading producer of advanced RFID solutions for railway applications, has received additional orders for the XT-3HD long-range RFID reader from Trafikverket (the Swedish Rail Administration). This follows the successful verification by Trafikverket of the performance of the XT-3HD reader’s in the field.

The first readers were supplied to Trafikverket at the end of 2011 under the supply contract issued to TagMaster and its system integrator Swarco. The RFID readers are being rolled out by Trafikverket as part of its nationwide system for tracking goods wagons as they pass detection sites on the Swedish mainline rail network.

TagMaster will deliver additional XT-3HD long-range RFID readers to Trafikverket which are fully EPC Gen 2 (ISO 18000-6C) compliant. The XT-3HD is the heavy-duty model of TagMaster’s XT-series of UHF readers and is certified to the requirements of the demanding railway environment. The XT-3HD is based on TagMaster’s existing fourth generation reader technology and includes an open architecture Linux operating platform. To enable the detection of untagged wagons, axle counters have also been interfaced directly to the XT-3HD reader in this application.

TagMaster continues its co-operation with organisations such as Trafikverket and GS1 in order to promote the use of EPC Gen 2 (ISO 18000-6C) compliant readers and tags for this railway wagon tracking application. Trafikverket, along with several other infrastructure owners in Europe are implementing RFID wagon tracking systems and by specifying the use of an ISO standard, they will provide interoperability over boarders for the various stake holders across Europe.

"We see this additional order not only as confirmation that the concept Trafikverket has selected is working well, but also that our RFID readers have met the tough requirements needed in the railway environment. We are very pleased to continue our co-operation with Trafikverket and we will continue to target this wagon tracking application in Europe and expect to see further interest from infrastructure owners and operations over the coming year," says Richard Holt, Director of Transportation at TagMaster AB.