1:43 p.m.
Hi,
Am 2020-06-15 07:16, schrieb Rolf Eike Beer:
Am Montag, 15. Juni 2020, 01:56:10 CEST schrieb Chuck Sanders:
> We got this generally sorted out on the US talk list, but I have a
> follow-up question where I feel like I need the wisdom of the ORM
> mailing
> list more specifically.
>
> We have a long term need in North America to preface our current
> combination of [ref=*] [name=*] for labelling of main tracks with
> these
> reporting marks, which is what got us started on the initial question
> about
> the tag a week and a half ago. It's a universal industry mapping
> standard
> here, and ORM won't be considered usable by the majority of potential
> users
> here until we get that done ... but we're a long way off, and right
> now I'm
> only concerned with a very specific question.
>
> In the vast majority of cases here, lines have a single operator, but
> there
> are many, many cases of multiple secondary operators (there is always
> one
What is a line? "Trains drive from A to B"? That is of no interest
here, this
is only about the infrastructure, which should in basically all cases
just
boil down to the owner. At least I _really_ doubt by all experience
that more
than 1, and by no practical means more than 2 companies can get it
right to
co-maintain such infrastructure. One that does the tracks and one for
the
signalling maybe, but everything else? Tell me how that really works ;)
Maybe
it works legally, but I fear for the safety of your infrastructure then
:P
When you have a freight line running from coast to coast and where
the
engines
come from 10 different companies, that is just a route=railway (or
something
similar) relation on top of that. This will not be rendered by
OpenRailwayMap.
It's the same problem we have with all the subway infrastructure
where
people
tend to add ref=N where N is the line number on that tracks. It could
even be
right, but in basically all cases it is not. Personal toy: in Hanover
the
lines are numbered, but the infrastructure has letters, so it's easy to
spot
wrong tagging.
There is no difference between Train Operating Companies and
Network
operators in North America. By default, every railway runs its own
trains on their network, which they own and operate by themselves. There
is no open access.
But in some rare cases, there are railway lines with several operators,
based on very long-standing contracts, which hardly ever change.
Usually, all operators involved in the specific line consider it part of
their network.
As far as I know, this happens in the following rare cases:
1) two lines of different operators run in parallel and are operated
together as one multi-track line for higher capacity
2) two lines of different operators were never completed, but yield a
complete line together
3) one operator had to give another operator trackage rights for a
specific line because of antitrust legislation
Case 1) is obviously limited to the parallel sections of the two lines
and their 2 operators.
Case 2) can be best illustrated on an extreme example (there are more):
The Denver - Colorado line of UP and BNSF.
See
https://denversrailroads.com/Denver/Timetables/UP_Denver_TT4_11-16-09.pdf (page
39).
UP considers this line Colorado Springs Subdivision, BSNF considers it
the Colorado Division. The actual ownership is quite scattered.
The timetable and the system special instructions (similar to German
VzG/MNS, Ersatzbuchfahrplan, La and Angaben zum Streckenbuch) on this
line are completely done by BNSF. Dispatching/interlocking is partly
done by UP and partly by BNSF, but these sections don't match the
sections of ownership.
The responsibility for maintenance is not published, but I'd guess, that
it is assigned by practical reasons as well on this line, not by actual
ownership.
And in the end, the line is used by trains of both operators. Otherwise
no through trains would be possible. Therefore, both companies consider
the complete line as part of their network.
Even Case 3) is rare and only used to fill in gaps within one operators
network. It is not applied to reach completely different parts of the
country. In the United States, there is no operator with a network of
own and shared lines spanning from coast to coast except for AMTRAK
passenger trains.
I don't know whether there are freight trains running trough between
severall networks. If there are any, I'd guess, that the responsibility
changes at the network borders like it does on country borders in Europe.
regards,
Micha