Rail Operations, Theater

Military railroads operate basically on the same
principles as commercial railroads. Locomotives pull rail
cars, loaded with freight or passengers, over miles of track
called a division; train movements are controlled by some sort
of schedule or signal communication; some trains have
superiority over others. The transportation
railway service (TRS), with a mission of
operating and maintaining the military
railroads in a theater of operations, is
organized like any of the commercial railroads in
the United States to carry out four functions: train
operation, maintenance of way, maintenance of equipment, and train
control.

Between the two types of railroads, however, are big
differences. Civilian railroads are built and operated to make money
for their owners; they compete with each other; they offer many
conveniences to passengers and shippers. They must meet all the
legal requirements set up by the Interstate Commerce Commission,
Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration and the
Association of American Railroads as well as the agreements made with
organized labor groups. Military railroads, on the other hand, must
be operated economically but the foremost economy is not money.
Time, material, and manpower are the principal things that must not
be wasted; they bring profit to our Government in the form of success
in battle. Conveniences must often be sacrificed; to get troops and
supplies where they are needed on time is the first aim of the TRS in
a theater of operations. Military needs come before legal
requirements, and manpower is used to the maximum.

Many problems must be faced and solved before setting up a
railway service in a theater of operations. After the service has
been started, three phases of operation are used to obtain maximum
service out of the railways and their facilities. From your study of
the first chapter in this reference text, you should be able to
describe the basis for selecting rail lines and the phases of
operation after the lines are in use. After studying chapter 2, you
should be able to explain how the transportation railway service is
controlled and why it must have a close working relationship with
other