BaltACDThe CADS is one of the largest depository of data for operations that can be mined - and it isn't being mined and used for the benefit of operations.
Which I am sad to say is very common for most large data warehouses in Information Technology in large companies today.
CSX has had it both ways - twice.
At the formation of CSX Corporation - Chessie System and Seaboard System operated as two separate carriers operationally except for a couple of small 'coordinated demonstration' projects. 1987-88 began the Corporate merger of all the rail operating companies into the railroad CSX Transportation, and with all the company mergers brought about the Kenneth Dufford Dispatch Center aka the round building in West Jacksonville. When opened, the round building did have 15 foot high rear projection track model board displays - 'Star Wars on the railroad'. As the year 2000 approached, the rear projection hardware began to wear out and parts became unavailable. Sometime arround 2000, each Dispatching desk was equipped with multiple display terminals to display that dispatchers CADS territory as well as adjoining territory on all sides of the dispatchers own territory.
Over the period of a few years all the original CSX operating divisions dispatchers were brought to the round building; all except Chicago Terminal that remained in Chicago in anticipation of all the carriers in Chicago establishing a Chicago District dispatching center with all carriers participating; to date that has not happened.
With the acquisition in 1999 of the parts of ConRail that CSXT optained, their dispatching offices in Indianapolis and Selkirk remined in place.
With The Childrens Fund stock proxy battle for control of CSX Corporation the politics decreed that dispatching was to be decentralized, again. In addition to the offices in Indianpolis and Selkirk, offices would be established in Atlanta, Baltimore, Florence, Huntington, Nashville, Louisville and Jacksonville. Positions at each location were opened to system wide bidding by all Train Dispatchers.
After the 2008 decentralization, several individual desks got 'traded' betwen the operating divisions as the divisions traded the territory they controlled.
I retired in December 2016 and in September 2017 all the decentralized offices were centralized, again, back in the round building in Jacksonville.
My understanding is that the Indy Office is still configured so that, if necessary, personnel can be temporarily relocated to Indy and still run the railroad. To date it has not been necessary to run the entire show from Indy.
My observations of both forms of operation have been that Dispatching is a function that is out of sight and out of mind. The CADS is one of the largest depository of data for operations that can be mined - and it isn't being mined and used for the benefit of operations. Dispatching offices are black holes, information and data enter the office and never see the light of day ever again - it makes no difference if the office is centralized or decentralized.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
blue streak 1The US should not want to put any agency"s critical operations work in one position. That is especially important since we have any idea what Putin will do because of his apparent illness.
What are you saying? If Putin uses nukes, only the DC/Delaware area gets hit? If nuclear war breaks ou, Amtrak won't matter.
blue streak 1As well this is an example of Amtrak trying to put all its eggs in one basket. The US should not want to put any agency"s critical operations work in one position. That is especially important since we have any idea what Putin will do because of his apparent illness.
The sky is falling? I mean most of the class-1s are already centralized. Not a real stretch for amtrak to follow suit.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
Amtrak OIG faults Amtrak purchase of building to move operations center. There was no study to find if building suitable. As far as I know any rail dispatch centers now require 2 stories for displays? As well trying to move personnel to Washington they will not move to. Take the servance, Look what happened to CSX. ATL IT [for example) will not want to move. There are too many IT jobs that they can move into.
As well this is an example of Amtrak trying to put all its eggs in one basket. The US should not want to put any agency"s critical operations work in one position. That is especially important since we have any idea what Putin will do because of his apparent illness.
OIG-A-2022-009 UOC (REDACTED)_v3.pdf (amtrakoig.gov)
Railway age
OIG to Amtrak: Update (and Verify) Unified Operations Center Business Case - Railway Age
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