CAN ACI BE A DECONGESTANT FOR RAILROAD TERMINALS

The Chicago General Managers' Association ACI Task Force has produced a report for an Automatic Car Identification Interchange and Information System. Objectives are: maintain a central interchange bureau, provide accurate and understandable information on cars involved in ACI scanner movements, report on a real time basis advance information on cars moving between railroads, provide an information bank of train, transfer, and car moves throughout the Chicago terminal. The hardware required includes 109 ACI scanners and 100 decoders installed at 40 strategic locations. Scanners will monitor 90 percent of the 25,000 interchange cars per day moving in more than 1,100 trains. Recommended is a central computer with buffered ACI scanner (decoders) and critical site functions duplexed. Monthly costs will be $120,800 with lease maintenance, or $112,900 if the GMA sets up its own maintenance force. The one time charge for installation will be $560,300. If GMA assumes maintenance, a one time set up expenses charge will be $74,400. Potential savings are estimated at $10,750 per month. Twenty-two member railroads and seven other railroads would participate. Prior to an interchange move, a header card would be entered into the central computer. When the interchange move passes the designated scanner, the certified interchange is effected. Other savings include switch crew time waiting on lists. Per diem expense can be reduced since each road will get a list of owned cars reported by the last scanner location, and home route information will be shown. Advance consists will enable immediate identification of cars delivered without waybill information. Data will be available on empty available cars coming in interchange. It will take about 20 months to make the proposed system operational. Communications lines will be leased from the telephone company.

• Corporate Authors:

  Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

  P.O. Box 350
  Bristol, CT  United States  06010
• Publication Date: 1970-8

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos;
• Pagination: p. 26-31
• Serial:
  • Railway System Controls
  • Volume: 1
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: Business Press International Limited

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic car identification; Information systems; Yard operations
• Identifier Terms: Chicago General Managers Association; Chicago Railroad Terminal Information System
• Old TRIS Terms: Yard and terminal information systems
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00041072
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Railway System Controls
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 9 1973 12:00AM