They also hope that bringing the dispatchers into one big room, with panoramic views of trackage projected onto wall screens, will reduce communications problems and resultant train delays. CSX dispatcher Jan Cato gives one example of how the centers are more efficient. In order for Amtrak's southbound Silver Star to overtake and safely pass two freight trains on its way from Savannah, GA to Jacksonville, she merely types in the locomotive numbers, speeds and other vital data about the trains and the computer does the rest of the work. Previously she had to throw no less than 50 levers manually to line up switches and signals. That's when a dispatcher needs to step in.
Some dispatchers worry about information overload.
Other railroads say they are reluctant to move their dispatchers to a single location, fearing a widening gap between dispatchers and the territories they cover. Norfolk Southern Corp. However, officials of Burlington Northern Inc.'s rail unit are closely watching the new central facilities. Burlington Northern, which has already cut the number of its dispatch offices in half from 14 a decade ago, is considering further consolidation to one or two locations. CSX's dispatch center, which is housed in a circular buildiing 150 feet in diameter is permitting the railroad to retire antiquated dispatching facilities such as a 50 year old one in Deshler, Ohio. Dick Fliess, a CSX Transport vice president, says the company has solved software problems that slowed some train operations when the new center opened.