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OT: Union Pacific Railroad Chooses SpeechWorks to Speech-Enable Train Operations

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON, Mass.--June 4, 2001--

Leading Railroad to use Speech Recognition, Text-to-Speech,
Speaker Verification for Improved Customer Service

SpeechWorks (Nasdaq: SPWX), a leader in the speech technology industry, today announced that Union Pacific Railroad, the largest railroad in North America, will speech-enable the operational process of releasing its empty railcars for its 30,000 freight customers, such as General Motors, Dow Chemical and Dupont. Union Pacific will use SpeechWorks' complete solution, including its speech recognition and text-to-speech engines, and its speaker verification module with partner, Veritel.
Union Pacific's strategic direction is to provide its customers with multiple channels for conducting business transactions. The speech application will complement the company's current phone, fax and web-based services to arrange for the return of empty railcars when the freight has been delivered to its destination. The railroad receives about 10,000 calls per month for this service.
When the new phone service is in place, customers will be able to select the speech-enabled system from the phone menu. To maintain a high degree of security, customers' voices will be verified by the SpeechWorks' SpeechSecure verification solution. Using SpeechWorks' speech recognition technology, the system will then have a dialog with the caller who will speak railcar initials and numbers of the released cars. The phone service will understand the railcar name and route the information immediately to back-end systems to authorize the release of the car to Union Pacific's train work order system. The Union Pacific computer will then schedule the railcar to be pulled from the customer site by the next available train so it will be available for new inventory. SpeechWorks' text-to-speech engine will be used by Union Pacific to inform customers about the release of the car.
The potential for this phone service is to allow Union Pacific to broaden deployment of additional e-commerce tools to those customers who do not have access to Union Pacific's web site for releasing railcars. A typical customer of this type would be someone on an unloading dock who provides releases using a cell phone.
Union Pacific selected SpeechWorks because of its proven technology, large customer base and ability to deliver an application in a short timeframe. The fact that SpeechWorks offers a `SpeechWorks Here Market Accelerator Program' as part of its overall implementation package also played a part in the decision process. The SpeechWorks Here Market Accelerator Program is a free consulting program to help customers achieve the highest levels of success with their speech services and accelerate the return on investment.
"With SpeechWorks' complete speech solution, entire processes can be automated over the phone, expanding access channels for customers who don't have immediate access to the web, while reducing costs," said Steve Chambers, vice president of worldwide marketing at SpeechWorks. "We are excited to work with Union Pacific on this unique application which will be used by many of its global customers."
"Veritel is pleased to have been selected by Union Pacific as the biometric speaker verification provider, confirming the natural partnership Veritel shares with SpeechWorks," explains Marianne Stanke, vice president, marketing for Veritel. "By combining the biometric verification with the new speech-enabled service, Veritel and SpeechWorks are able to create a secure, convenient and cost-effective solution to meet the customer's needs. Veritel looks forward to more opportunities bringing total voice solutions to market with our partner, SpeechWorks."
Union Pacific's speech application is expected to be deployed in Q3. It will run on hardware from SpeechWorks' partner Dialogic, an Intel Company.

About Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad is the largest railroad in North America, covering 23 states across the western two-thirds of the United States. A strong focus on quality and a strategically advantageous route structure enables the company to serve customers in critical and fast growing markets. It is a leading carrier of low-sulfur coal used in electrical power generation and has broad coverage of the large chemical-producing areas along the Gulf Coast. With competitive long-haul routes between all major West Coast ports and eastern gateways, and as the only railroad to serve all six gateways to Mexico, Union Pacific has the premier rail franchise in North America. More information can be found at http://www.up.com.

About Veritel Corporation

Veritel Corporation designs, develops, and manufactures biometric voice verification software and applications that accurately verify a person's claimed identity. Veritel's language independent, core voice verification technology, VoiceCheck(TM), can completely replace vulnerable PINs and passwords by enabling identity verification via a user's voice. VoiceCheck(TM) is flexible, highly scalable, and the only voice verification technology designed for use on multiple platforms: telephony, embedded systems, enterprise, and the Internet. For any size business, Veritel provides security solutions that are cost effective, accurate, convenient, and user-friendly. Veritel also sells Speak N Set(TM), an automatic password reset solution. Veritel is a privately held company, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information on Veritel's security solutions, call 1.888.VERITEL or visit http://www.veritelcorp.com.

About SpeechWorks International, Inc.

Organizations worldwide rely on SpeechWorks (NASDAQ: SPWX) to delight their callers and provide them with a new level of service over the phone. Complementing the self-service model of e-business, SpeechWorks speech solutions, including the revolutionary SpeechSite(TM) product, Speechify text-to-speech engine and the SpeechSecure(TM) module, let customers direct their calls, obtain information and complete transactions automatically, simply by speaking naturally over any phone, anytime.
SpeechWorks customers include some of the world's most sophisticated customer service innovators such as Credit Suisse First Boston, Microsoft and United Airlines. The Company offers the SpeechWorks Here Guarantee, the industry's only program that includes a money-back guarantee. SpeechWorks strategic partners include over 100 leading corporations around the world.
SpeechWorks is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and has offices around the world. To experience the power of SpeechWorks, call 1.888.SAY.DEMO. For additional information, call 617.428.4444 or visit http://www.speechworks.com.

SpeechWorks, Speechify, SpeechSecure, SpeechSite and SpeechWorks Here are trademarks or registered trademarks of SpeechWorks International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks may be the property of their respective companies.

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