STOCKHOLM and HAGENDORF, Switzerland, December 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Train punctuality increases as rail workers are now able to receive shift information on their iPhone or Android devices and efficiently communicate changes with train planners

Appear, a provider of mobile enterprise application platforms and Qnamic, the leading provider of planning software for the transport industry, announced today a commercial and technical partnership to offer a mobile resource management communication solution to rail operators.

Appear and Qnamic are developing RailOpt Anywhere, a best-of-breed mobile solution that makes it possible for train planners to efficiently distribute duty plans and exchange information with field personnel such as train drivers, onboard personnel and cleaning staff.

The solution allows rail operators to save costs by efficiently interacting with their workers wherever they are in the field. Train drivers and conductors do not need to wait for the completion of their shift to log into the system from a desktop and can report travel delays or shift completions directly from their smartphone while onboard the train. Cleaning teams working on the train preparation in the yards can provide real-time information on the rolling stock status and availability.

With better collaborative planning in place, rail operators can base their resource planning on accurate real-time data, thereby improving the punctuality of their trains while reducing their operating costs.

Marc Schaffert, COO Qnamic, explains: "Rail workers are increasingly equipped with smartphones and should be able to use them to communicate with train planners efficiently. However, existing resource planning systems have been poorly integrated with mobile devices, which are still primarily used for voice communication. Our deep knowledge of the resource planning allows us to efficiently mobilize key data such as duty plans, vacation requests or delay reporting."

Xavier Aubry, CEO Appear, adds: "The technical challenge was to provide a powerful iPhone or Android app that delivers the power of the Qnamic back-end to the fingertips of the mobile users. The RailOpt Anywhere smartphone app delivers true business functionality related to core resource management processes, unlike many apps that are merely pared-down websites disguised as apps. This translates into high usability for the rail workers and real cost savings for rail operators."

Rail operators can enter the beta program for RailOpt Anywhere by registering interest before Jan 31st, 2012 at railopt@appearnetworks.com.

Contacts:
Mia Falgard, Appear
+46709559356
mia.falgard@appearnetworks.com

SOURCE Appear Networks Systems AB