 |
Re: Will PTC allow more operational flexibility? That is not what it is for.
Author: Margaret (SP fan)
Date: 05-08-2017 - 19:45
mook --
PTC malfunctions far too often. It apparently
is not at all rugged or user-friendly -- but,
then, what computer program is ever really user-
friendly? They are all written by super-geeks
to be used easily only by other super-geeks, not
us ordinary people. And computers need a much
less rough environment than they can ever get
in locomotives. You are right that PTC was never
intended to improve operational flexibility; it was
mandated to keep trains from hitting each other.
But when it keeps malfunctioning, and has to be
turned off because the person at the PTC Help Desk
cannot fix it, and the dispatcher has to allow the
engineer to proceed with PTC turned off, or just let
the railroad grind to a complete stop, just exactly
HOW can it prevent trains from hitting each other?
Sorry, but PTC is a long, long way from being reliable
enough to trust it. What we really need are very well-
trained and competent engineers and conductors and
dispatchers and managers -- ALL of whom have a high
level of expertise in doing their jobs very well -- NOT
machines that cannot even work properly and reliably.
PTC malfunctions far too often. It apparently
is not at all rugged or user-friendly -- but,
then, what computer program is ever really user-
friendly? They are all written by super-geeks
to be used easily only by other super-geeks, not
us ordinary people. And computers need a much
less rough environment than they can ever get
in locomotives. You are right that PTC was never
intended to improve operational flexibility; it was
mandated to keep trains from hitting each other.
But when it keeps malfunctioning, and has to be
turned off because the person at the PTC Help Desk
cannot fix it, and the dispatcher has to allow the
engineer to proceed with PTC turned off, or just let
the railroad grind to a complete stop, just exactly
HOW can it prevent trains from hitting each other?
Sorry, but PTC is a long, long way from being reliable
enough to trust it. What we really need are very well-
trained and competent engineers and conductors and
dispatchers and managers -- ALL of whom have a high
level of expertise in doing their jobs very well -- NOT
machines that cannot even work properly and reliably.
