NJT has announced links to DepartureVision…the train boards at Hoboken and NY Penn. For the maddend railfan crowd which is intrigued by logistics, time, balancing acts, etc., this will drive you mad. www.NJT.com and look for DepartureVision information. It is fun and mesmerizing…I gotta go, see what track the Trenton Local is set for at NYP…later…
The web site is www.njtransit.com. You have to select a station (either Hoboken or New York Penn Station) and then on the top of that page will be a link to Departure Vision. It says to click on the train to get stops, but what they mean is click on the train departure time to get the list of station stops for that train. Very nice.
Not oonly is it these stations but all the stations from 30th st to NYP are listed (ex Newark) This is a good upgrade and Amtrak needs to put it on all their NEC stations first. Note: The Amtrak trains as well are listed for 30 th St, trenton, Newar, and NYP maybe others. Saves calling Julie.
It’s neat…I flip back and forth between the two boards matching up the problems to be encountered by a late departure, etc. I wish they’d include arrivals. These boards are NJT’s so missing from the NYP board are the Amtrak NY lines and, naturally, the LIRR, which is understandable. Why the Amtrak eastbound services to Springfield and Boston is show, I’m not sure.
Neat. thx ign
The madness gets worse. Found key stroke to get Departurvision at any NJT station!!! There goes my weekend!
All seriousness aside. If you check Departurevision for several stations on any given route or routes at any given time you will understand the multiple perspectives a train Dispatcher has to deal with, train by train, location by location, every second of his 8 hour shift. Trains are A-B-C-D-E-F at Station 1 but F-E-D-C-B-A at Station 10 and C-F-B-A-D-E at Station 5 and F-C-D-A-E-B at Station 6 all at the same time. He has to understand these juxtopositons plus the resulting juxtopositon in a half minute, and full minute and so forth through an 8 hour trick. Plus he has to know what to do to make sure it all works out in the end, train by train, location by location. Think being a dispatcher is easy?