Understanding How Train Dispatchers Manage and Control Trains: Results of Cognitive Task Analysis

This report documents the results of a Cognitive Task Analysis that examined how experienced railroad dispatchers manage and schedule trains in today’s environment. The objective was to understand the cognitive demands placed on railroad dispatchers and the strategies that experienced dispatchers have developed in response to those demands, as an input to guide development and design of digital communication systems and advanced information displays. A hybrid methodology was used that combined field observations at two railroad dispatch centers (one that primarily handles passenger trains and one that primarily handles freight trains) with structured interviews of experienced railroad dispatchers.