Re: Safeworking!

[Eddie Oliver <eoliver@efs.mq.edu.au>]

> 
> Burlington Northern (now a part of BNSF) has had at least for 10 years Track
> Warrants(Train Orders), given over the radio but they are first put into a
> computer before the Dispatcher actually issues the Warrant verbally.  This
> system is by far more cheaper, but has a computer to back up the
> Dispatcher's directive.

Track warrants and train orders are not quite the same in any given
implementation, and the words mean different things in different
implementations - so don't just equate them willy-nilly.

However leaving that aside, even computerisation of the content of the
track warrants, train orders or whatever doesn't protect against errors
in the transmission of the information, which is presumably why Victoria
went one stage further with ASW or the British with RETB. 

For instance a major Union Pacific accident a couple of years ago was
caused by part of an order not being transmitted, and the dispatcher did
not even notice the omission when it was read back -  and the engineer
(driver) acted correctly on the incomplete order with fatal
consequences.

Most of the computer systems now require the dispatcher actually to move
a cursor (or similar) progressively through the order on the computer
screen as it is being read back, thereby reducing the likelihood of
incompleteness. That SHOULD be enough to avoid the need for the
expensive and inconvenient insistence on in-cab hardware.

Eddie Oliver