Western Railroad Discussion > GE focuses on "optimizing train arrivals and departures

There's an investment report about General Electric's various green efforts on the investment site SeekingAlpha. In addition to green locomotives, this piece caught my interest:

Similarly, GE is developing software to orchestrate arrivals and departures for locomotives. Ideally, the software will also allow trains to slow down or speed up to prevent congestion and optimize delivery. The company has also been working on bringing intelligence to household appliances. (GE exec John McDonald now heads up the effort to pass national smart grid standards at the National Institute for Science and Technology.)

Equipment, though, won't be completely ignored. Following the growth of its onshore wind turbine business, GE will put significant investments into the development of offshore turbines.

The ecomagination group almost functions like a "best of" group within GE.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/211738-ge-looks-to-smart-grids-for-airports-railroads

If this algorithm based computer runs like the rest of their locomotives do, count me OUT!

Once again taking control of the train away from the engineer is going to be a bad thing.
Let me tell you that we have problems with the computers on the engines now without more computers being added.

No kidding. Let's get them to where the DPUs won't give us crap while linking up, or lose com while you're on straight rail in the middle of a field on a sunny day.

Then we'll talk about them running themselves.

Pump

bnsfengineer Wrote:
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Let me tell you that we have problems with the
> computers on the engines now without more
> computers being added.

It doesn't sound as if they're taking direct control of the train away from the engineer. It's more like minimizing the "hurry up and wait" that can occur in current operations. It's similar to what has been done in aircraft operation; for instance, it used to be commonplace flying into Chicago for aircraft to get to the Chicago vicinity and have to spend time and fuel boring oval holes in the sky over Indiana before being cleared to land. That doesn't happen much any more; the pilots are told to slow down, burning less fuel, and then they can go straight in.

If you mean the "Trip Optomizer" we're using on GE's now, you can forget that ever working out for them. If you ran the trip as it recommends, it'll take an extra 30 minutes to get over the road on a perfect trip. And besides, most of them don't work anyway, but we're supposed to try.

On the railroad I worked for their belief was "We'll run no train before it's time..."

I was wondering what that softkey was on some of our ES44's...never got it to load anything...

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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>The company has also been working on bringing intelligence to household appliances.

Wonder if GE can do something along the same lines for politicians?

But it sure sounds wonderful to "investors" and shareholders who view the world through their computer screens!

Even railfans get a flavor of the high tech comedy, when we overhear hoggers talk to "UP Help Desk" on the scanner, trying to "reboot" their locomotives.

UPTRAIN Wrote:
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> No kidding. Let's get them to where the DPUs
> won't give us crap while linking up, or lose com
> while you're on straight rail in the middle of a
> field on a sunny day.
>
> Then we'll talk about them running themselves.
>
> Pump
>
> bnsfengineer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> Let me tell you that we have problems with the
> > computers on the engines now without more
> > computers being added.

Our yardmasters show us departed two hours before we are on duty now, why do they need help??