GOODS TRAFFIC INFORMATION SYSTEM WITH THE AUSTRIAN FEDERAL RAILWAYS (OBB)

In order to speed up their goods services, the Austrian Federal Railways intend to use EDP plants for a central control system. The main problem is the collection of exact data at all the operating centers concerned with the actual transport process. It is therefore first of all intended to create, in several stages, the conditions for the development of a central data library for wagons and consignments; this process is being initiated from 1973 as part of the project for the "goods traffic information system". During a first stage, computers with appropriate input and output periphery are installed at major key stations. This is in order to achieve a methodical treatment of the operating processes required at these stations by means of programme-controlled data input, to mechanise the documentation still required for this purpose, and to permit the automatic exchange of messages between the adjacent yards thus equipped so as to avoid the time-wasting repeated collection of the same data. The further objectives of this "island" type of operation are mainly: to try out the computerisable operating processes in practice and, if necessary, to modify them for the final stage; to ascertain the suitablity of hardware and software for the following stages; to carry out a systematic training of the existing staff at the yards concerned and to gather experience for a gradual introduction of automation; to obtain the greatest possible interim advantages right from the outset. For economic reasons, priority will be given to the equipment of long sections of line with heavy traffic. In the final phase, computer equipment will be provided for about 5% of all stations which are, however, responsible for about 50% of all originating wagon trips and about 70% of the through traffic. In a second and third stage to be realised later, it is planned to inter-link all these station equipments by means of a data transmission network, permitting not only the direct transmission of operating and wagon data directly from the station of origin to the station of destination of the train but ultimately also the continuous feeding of "on-time" data to a central high-capacity computer plant.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at Fourth International Symposium on Railroad Cybernetics, AAR/UIC/IRCA, 21-26 April 1974, Washington, D.C. This paper was also published in the November-December, 1973 issue of Rail International, which is available from E.S.L.
• Corporate Authors:

  International Union of Railways

  14 rue Jean Rey
  75015 Paris,   France 
• Authors:
  • Pucher, J
• Publication Date: 1974-4

Media Info

• Pagination: 5 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Computers; Freight service; Information systems
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Freight Transportation; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00053791
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: International Union of Railways
• Report/Paper Numbers: Paper
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 17 1974 12:00AM