Customers who call Union Pacific are now able to release empty railcars using a speech-recognition telephone system.

The SpeechWorks system fields about a third of the 22,000 calls UP receives monthly for the release of empty cars.

“SpeechWorks has enabled us to provide customers with another business channel, while also freeing Union Pacific staff to concentrate on providing more value-added services,” said Charlie Duckworth, UP’s senior director, electronic commerce. “The number of customers using our speech recognition system is well beyond our expectations. Customers get right into the system and conduct their business – it's immediate. We see the system as a strategic component in providing superior customer service.”

The SpeechWorks' SpeechSecure speaker verification module, powered by Veritel, enrolls the voiceprints of first-time callers, and then verifies each caller's voice in subsequent calls.