Amtrak Train Status - How do they report?

[ExtonFlyer]

So.....one thing that I really enjoy doing is "watching" amtrak trains move through their route on my computer. I do this through a combination of using the train status feature on amtrak.com as well as the fantastic site "Amtrak Status Maps" located at http://www.trainweb.org/capt/AmtrakMapsForward.html.

My question is that I was wondering how this arrival and departure information is relayed from the train to Amtrak's servers. Is it a manual entry? Does the engineer or conductor radio the info to someone, somewhere or is it recorded automatically?

I will give you an example. I can watch PO91 (my favorite train) make its way south from NYP at 10:50am all they way to RGH at 9:13pm. The status page updates within seconds/minutes of the train departing each station. After leaving RGH though, the train stops reporting status. This happens every night that I have logged in to check. The next morning at some point (either at SAV or JAX I suppose), the train "wakes up" and reports all of its past status history and fills in most or all of the blanks.

This could make it difficult for anyone trying to board 91 from SOP, HAM, CAM or any others in the carolinas.

I had thought that maybe it has something to with the fact that the Silver Star leaves CSX territory right around this time and gets on NS track, but this happens at Selma - prior to getting to RGH (where the train makes is last report, already on NS track). That theory would hold water if 91 didn't make that last update at RGH.

Anyone else have any ideas/theories? I really enjoy and appreciate your insights.

ExtonFlyer

 

[Anthony]

Sometimes there are automated sensors along the track that send OTP data straight to Amtrak as soon as the train passes. Other times, it's manually entered by an agent at the station the train passes through or at a nearby station. And other times, it's entered by someone at CNOC who is monitoring the train. The info is all stored in ARROW, Amtrak's nationwide mainframe that also handles tickets and reservations.

If the status isn't updated for a while, it's because there isn't an automated update happening, and nobody's manually entering the data into ARROW. What's probably happening is that the conductor is recording the delay info on a piece of paper and then submitting it to someone in the morning for entry.

There are also delay notes (reasons for delays, like slow orders, track problems, whatever) that are manually written by conductors and faxed to CNOC, then transcribed into ARROW. That doesn't happen for a day or two, and besides, the notes aren't shown on the public site. Sometimes you can ask an agent (on the phone or in person) a day or two afterward and ask for the reason for a delay - YMMV.

 

[transit54]

Here at the ESX station, the volunteer stationmaster calls in the time that the train arrives. I'd assume that Amtrak then manually updates it using ARROW.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

There are also delay notes (reasons for delays, like slow orders, track problems, whatever) that are manually written by conductors and faxed to CNOC, then transcribed into ARROW. That doesn't happen for a day or two, and besides, the notes aren't shown on the public site. Sometimes you can ask an agent (on the phone or in person) a day or two afterward and ask for the reason for a delay - YMMV.

or UP stuck us in a hole 57 times in 10 miles.

 

[jackal]

When I rode the CZ, I hung out in the lower level of the SSL after the crew change at GJT and talked with the conductor for an extended period.

After the train departed the GRI stop, the conductor pulled out a cell phone and called someone (presumably in dispatch) and had a short conversation telling him the arrival and departure times at GRI. I assumed this was used to calculate OTP.

I don't remember the exact circumstance, but the conductor handed the phone to me at one point so I could help him figure out something on it (how to pull up the calendar or something silly like that). The screen had been programmed to reflect that it was an official Amtrak company phone.

When I worked on the Alaska Railroad, the conductor would radio the dispatcher after every meet and report the departure time and delay time (in dark territory, anyway). I would assume the passenger trains (I only worked on freights and yard duty) did the same after [the relatively few] passenger stops.

I assume Amtrak doesn't do this (radio the dispatcher) because telling a UP, BNSF, CSX, NS, etc. dispatcher does nothing, since they can't report the stats directly to Amtrak any easier than the conductor himself can.

 

[printman2000]

Actually, I have heard departure times being reported to dispatch many times on my scanner.