Solution architecture for Austrian Federal Railways
Automating train routing and modernising the workstations of dispatchers – the people who set the routes for every train on the network.
Context
On a railway network, dispatchers set the routes that trains run on: they watch the timetable and the live position of every train in their area and decide where each one goes next. Much of that work is routine and can be automated; the rest needs a workstation that shows the right information at the right moment.
Task & role
I work as a solution architect for Austrian Federal Railways in a full-time engagement. The programme automates train routing and modernises the dispatcher workstations, and my part is the solution architecture across the systems involved.
Architecture
Automatic train routing sits between the dispatcher workstations and the operational systems: it reads the timetable and the current train positions and sets routes through the interlockings. Dispatchers supervise it from their workstations and take over wherever a situation calls for a person.
Decisions & trade-offs
- People stay in charge. Automation takes over the routine; dispatchers keep the overview and the final word.
- Architecture as a shared language. Models and documentation give operations, engineering and suppliers one picture of how the systems fit together.
Outcome
The engagement is ongoing.