A representative from the American Train Dispatchers Association, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, sent a message to members this week telling them that NS executives plan to relocate and centralize all train dispatching operations for the eastern railroad at the Goode Center in Atlanta.
Representatives with Norfolk Southern declined to comment. Union officials did not respond to Trains‘ request for comment.
The union message forwarded to Trains News Wire reads:
“Brothers and Sisters,
Yesterday, myself, Vice President Broyles and President McCann received word of the Carrier’s intent to serve the Organization with a formal notice to centralize all Train Dispatching Operations into a single facility at the Goode Building, located at 1200 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia. Once formal notice has been issued, the Carrier and the Organizations (the ATDA and the TCU) will schedule meetings to begin the process of negotiating an implementing agreement. Obviously, this will be a lengthy and in-depth process with a multitude of issues to consider; many of which are well beyond the scope of any of our previous implementing agreements.
While we have not yet been given any type of official schedule regarding how or when this move will commence, we have been told that the Carrier intends to move each office in phases, beginning the process sometime in May of 2018, with plans to have all Train Dispatchers in Atlanta by October of 2018. Obviously, the Organization believes that this is an overly aggressive timetable, and given the difficulties encountered by our brothers and sisters on CSXT over the past year, I would implore everyone to not make any plans based on this preliminary announcement. The Organization will provide as many updates as possible throughout the process to ensure you have as much time as possible to make any necessary plans or arrangements.
While I am sure you all will have numerous questions and concerns, I would ask that you please try to address as many of them as possible through your Local Chairman or Vice General Chairman as I may not be able to respond to everyone individually on a regular basis. While I certainly can attest that receiving this news is extremely difficult, it is imperative that, now more than ever, we remain united and focused on the work that we need to do.
In Solidarity,
Brandon M. Denucci
American Train Dispatchers Association”
I do not like and never will like a and do not understand a centralized dispatch location for , a local dispatch center makes more sence , why put you,re eggs in one basket . one dispatch center per state in which the railroad runs then hand it off to the next dispatcher when it leave his or hers territory , just like air traffic controllers do . perfect example the tragic Amtrack crash the dispatcher in Jacksonville didn,t see the switch was in the wrong position, just maybe a local tower would have noticed the switch was set wrong just because he or she would only be in charge of a smaller area not the entire system . Maybe yes or maybe no.
Leave things the way they are NS.Its to your advantage
Ever been in Atlanta during one of the ice storms or snow storms. The place goes into complete grid lock and shuts down for several days. On top of that the power goes out in large swaths of the area. It looks like they are feeling the same pinch CSX did to improve the bottom line for Wall street ignoring the end result. I remember all the commuters in the DC area bitching up a storm when all commuter rail traffic was shut down because of bad weather in Florida because the CSX offices closed down then no rail could run on any of the tracks dispatched by them. It was sunny warm dry and comfortable in the DC area but no one could ride a train because of bad weather in Florida. That was why they moved the dispatchers to locations closer to where they controlled everything.
I for one do not think this is a good idea. The NS Dispatcher I now deal with is extremely knowledgeable and knows his territory well. To move that position a 1000 miles away is inviting trouble.
Sad. I thought NS was too smart for this. Dispatching is too integral to an efficient operation to report to an entity other than that in charge of the territory, in this case the division.
Where are the dispatchers currently located? Seems strange that information wasn’t included; it can’t be that many that they couldn’t be listed.
Headline is wrong. NS WILL move train dispatchers. No “mays” about it.
Autonomous trucks, autonomous trains, autonomous dispatching….
Ns dispatchers are required (or were) to make scheduled trips over the territories they control to remain familiarized with the territory and it’s characteristics. It will be awfully hard to do if they are hundreds of miles away from it.
Eric Schneider, you thought correctly. Don’t we all remember when CSX couldn’t run trains in Michigan because there was a hurricane in Florida. Of all the big railroads, NS was the one with that has had right idea: station dispatchers all around the system.
Georgia is not necessarily known for it’s hurricanes. We do have earthquakes from time to time, and the occasional flood. Tornados are the biggest threat, but they rarely hit downtown Atl (only twice in my lifetime). And while Southerners are absolute idiots when it comes to driving in snow and ice – or even rain for that matter – the winters are usually pretty temperate. I don’t think westher will be an issue when it comes to dispatching from Atlanta.
I thought decentralized protected against weather and other threats to a large railroad…