China Extends TransCore's Railway Wireless Tracking System Nationwide; TransCore Inc. and China-based Harbin VEIC Team on System to Enhance Operational Efficiency.

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2001

As part of ambitious plans to continue enhancing its railway infrastructure, the China Ministry of Railways will extend automatic equipment identification (AEI) technology nationwide using TransCore's Amtech(R) radio frequency identification (RFID) equipment. TransCore is teaming with the People's Republic of China-based Harbin VEIC Technology Development Corp. to deliver a complete AEI system. This is TransCore's second contract with the China Ministry of Railways since being selected for the initial launch of the system in 2000.

According to an October 2000 report from ChinaOnline, the China Ministry of Railways plans to spend $30 billion (U.S.) over the next five years to enhance its 68,000 kilometers of existing lines, build new lines, upgrade communications, and improve environmental protection. The effort is meant to reduce congestion and transit times, improve operational efficiency, and ultimately increase rail's profitability and share of the transportation market. Adequate and efficient railways are crucial to the continued economic growth and trade capabilities of a country that transports 70 percent of its products by rail.

"We admire the Ministry's vision to modernize the railways, take advantage of automated technology's benefits, and pass those benefits onto their constituents," said John Worthington, TransCore's president and CEO. "This reflects remarkable will and forward thinking within China's transportation community, maintaining the highest international standards for its infrastructure."

The ongoing multimillion dollar project will dramatically improve railway operational efficiency, saving time and money by fully automating the process of tracking the location and status of railway equipment. TransCore's RFID tags, designed for extreme conditions and low maintenance, are mounted on railcars, locomotives and other mobile rail equipment. Readers are installed at strategic points such as railroad junctions, rail yards, gates, weigh stations, fueling stations and maintenance facilities. Under the new contract, readers will be installed along the railways in hundreds of major Chinese cities. A reader identifies a tagged piece of equipment as it passes within radio frequency range and relays the time, date, location and other programmed information to a host computer for tracking. All of this occurs in less than 1/10th of a second, with 99.9 percent accuracy, even at high speeds.

The paperless system eliminates the labor cost and inaccuracy of manual data collection and input. Error reduction helps prevent misrouting and costly delays, while more efficient equipment utilization reduces overhead costs. Precise, perpetual inventory safeguards against the possibility of lost equipment. Wayside detection and weighing can be automated by identifying a car as it passes over a checkpoint. The system works continuously so real-time reports are available, including information that can be integrated enterprise-wide with other operational databases. Tracking information can also enhance customer relationships by enabling the railway to share freight status reports. Overall streamlining of various tracking tasks, coupled with the fact that railway equipment can be identified on the move, can even lead to better traffic flow and higher average train speeds.

China, the Association of American Railroads, and Europe's Union Internationale des Chemins de fer have all established national standards based on TransCore's Amtech technology.

TransCore has begun shipping 140,000 AT5110 tags and 1,500 AR2200 and AI1301 reader systems under the new contract. Harbin VEIC, the largest and leading China-based manufacturer of railway vehicle overhaul equipment and safety monitoring systems, is responsible for integrating the system and will work with China Railways technicians on the installation. The new equipment is slated for testing at the end of March 2001. TransCore provided readers, programmers and 440,000 tags under its prior contract. More tags and readers may be required as infrastructure expansion continues.

Asia represents an important intelligent transportation systems market for TransCore. Other than the two rail contracts, in November 2000 TransCore and Sichuan NeoSource Intel-Tech Ltd. of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China, announced the deployment of TransCore's paper-thin Intellitag(R) wireless communication windshield sticker tag in a first-ever vehicle registration application. Earlier that year, TransCore implemented the first electronic toll collection deployment in Manila, Philippines.

About TransCore Inc.

TransCore Inc., a privately held, $340 million company, provides transportation services and products that improve customer efficiency through wireless- and Internet-based technologies. TransCore specializes in mobile payment systems, fleet management and e-logistics services, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), and telematics applications. With installations in 37 countries, more than 70 patents and a world-class manufacturing center, TransCore's expertise is unparalleled in the transportation industry. Over the past year, TransCore achieved key elements of its growth strategy, acquiring four leading transportation services companies: American Traffic Systems (ATS), Amtech Transportation Systems, DAT Services (including its international EuroDAT operations), and Viastar Services. TransCore has approximately 1,800 employees and more than 80 offices throughout the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.transcore.com.