Passenger Trains > Amtrak dispatching MI Line?

Can a reader in MI verify that Amtrak's Train Director in Chicago is now dispatching the Michigan Line between Gord (west end of Battle Creek) and former BO Tower in Kalamazoo (which just closed)?
Thanks!
Andy
Jacksonville, FL

Yes as of early this morning Amtrak is dispatching the RR from Kalmazoo to Battle Creek.

twropr Wrote:
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> Can a reader in MI verify that Amtrak's Train
> Director in Chicago is now dispatching the
> Michigan Line between Gord (west end of Battle
> Creek) and former BO Tower in Kalamazoo (which
> just closed)?
> Thanks!
> Andy
> Jacksonville, FL

How can a Train Director dispatch a line?  Train Directors work under the authority of a Dispatcher.

Similar question.  There is a new siding at Chesterton that is shown in the new Michigan Subdivision timetable.  Is it really in service yet?

mbrotzman Wrote:
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>
> How can a Train Director dispatch a line?  Train
> Directors work under the authority of a
> Dispatcher.


The Train Director is the Dispatcher. Just like in Canada, the Rail Traffic Controller is the Dispatcher.

mbrotzman Wrote:
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> How can a Train Director dispatch a line?  Train Directors work under the authority of a Dispatcher.

This is a quirk that has its roots in labor contracts.

​First off, the Train Directors at CUS have always operated independently of a Train Dispatcher, making their own routing decisions in and out of the depot, so there is precedent for their current setup.

The CUS Train Directors have clerk's seniority and are represented by the TCU, which also covers the clerical positions, ticket agents, janitors, baggage handlers and redcaps. If they were to be re-classified as Train Dispatchers, according to Amtrak's national agreements, they would have to leave the TCU (and forfeit their clerk's seniority) to be represented by the American Train Dispatchers Assoc. (ADTA), a division of the BLET/Teamsters. If they were going to a management position, they could have maintained their TCU seniority by continuing to pay dues, but not if moving to another represented craft.

In short, nobody in Chicago wants to forfeit the ability to bump back into another craft in case Amtrak should decide at some point to move these positions out of Chicago to the NEC dispatch facility in Wilmington, DE. This is a major concern, as if they had moved to ADTA representation they would have gotten a nice bump in pay. The choice has been offered to them in the past and each tiime they have chosen to remain in the TCU.

​ADTA membership potentially could have opened the door for NEC dispatchers bumping into Chicago and displacing the local members.

​I have some familiarity with this situation as I supervised the CUS Train Directors from late 2004 through 2006.

​NZ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/16 11:51 by NebraskaZephyr.