Radio-free railroading: for Florida East Coast, electronic authorities are the way to go

Railway Age, April, 2008 by William C. Vantuono

These days, many people have forgotten what life was like before cellphones. It's now within the realm of possibility that railroad field personnel will someday soon regard digital communications in the same light.

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"I'm lost without it." That's the opinion of one Florida East Coast Railway track supervisor and inspector who has come to rely on eAX[TM] (Electronic Authority Exchange), the Digital Concepts technology that automates the T&T (track and time) authority request/issue/release process. In late 2007, FEC became the first railroad to deliver the majority of its T&T authorities using eAX, following a successful 2006 pilot program. Now, more than two-thirds of authorities are issued through eAX, with 25 wireless workstations deployed to personnel track supervisors, m/w roadmasters, track machine foremen, dispatchers, and division engineers across FEC's 541-track-mile system.

FEe track supervisors typically cover anywhere from 50 to 100 miles of railroad in a day. Using a wireless workstation that displays exactly what an FEC dispatcher sees on the railroad's DigiCon-supplied Digital Traffic Control system, the track supervisor can access train lineups and estimated times of arrival, see where trains are on the railroad (using DTC's Big Picture function), see where and when section gangs are working, determine the time length of a work window, see where slow orders have been issued and for what reason, and find the best location to get on the railroad with a hi-rail vehicle. T&T authorities, which include such job briefing information as the type of work to be performed and the length of time needed, are requested of the dispatcher, who in turn approves and issues the authority. Once work is completed, the track supervisor releases the authority. The process is similar to e-mailing.

All of this used to be done through a time-consuming process using radio or telephone communications that also entailed manually recording all the required information. There was always the possibility of a miscommunication, and if a track supervisor or other m/w person exceeded the limits of a track authority, there was no way to warn the person on track or the dispatcher.

With eAX, everything is done electronically. M/w work scheduling and planning are far more efficient. Productivity has improved. So has safety. T&T authorities are requested for specific traffic control system blocks for both CTC and TWC (track warrant control) territory. Limits of authority are enforced through a GPS-based location system that sounds an alarm if the user comes within 10 to 15 feet of exceeding an authority. All information is recorded and stored automatically, and can be easily recalled.

FEC TRACK SUPERVISORS

TYPICALLY COVER 50 TO 100 MILES OF RAILROAD IN A DAY

WANT TO KNOW WHERE TRAINS ARE ON THE RAILROAD

DON'T HAVE TIME TO WASTE REQUESTING T&T AUTHORITIES

By William C. Vantuono, Editor