PC*Miler Rail
ENTERING ROUTES AND DETERMINING
MILEAGE: THE BASICS
Railroad Routes
A railroad route is identified by an origin, an optional
sequence of intermediate points, and a destination, as well
as the railroads that connect them. There are two types of
routes: single-line and inter-line. Single-line routes
contain an origin and a destination location, and a single
rail carrier serving them both. Inter-line routes occur when
different railroads serve the origin and destination points,
or another railroad must be used to "bridge" the origin and
destination carrier(s). Inter-line routes require the entry
of one or more railroad-to-railroad junction locations.
There are an infinite number of possible
routes between any two rail points in North America (i.e.
traffic between Atlanta and Dallas could go via New Orleans,
Memphis, or conceivably even via Chicago). Realistically,
there are a limited number of feasible or practical routings
based on which railroads serve the points, their operations
and the junctions at which they interchange cars.
When the same railroad serves both origin
and destination, a single line route is usually most
practical. While in some cases, inter-line routes may be
valid alternatives to competing single-line routes, they
require coordinated effort between multiple railroads to
interchange traffic and share the responsibility/revenue of
the shipment. In other cases, no single-line route exists
and one or more inter-line routes are the only way to move
between origin and destination.
Railroad Locations
To generate routes and rail mileage in PC*MILER|Rail, the
user must specify the origin, intermediate locations (if
desired) and destination rail freight stations using one of
the following geographic codes which are described in detail
in the User's Guide:
-
City Name and State Abbreviation
(City/ST)
-
Standard Point Location Code (SPLC)
-
Freight Station Accounting Code (FSAC)
-
Eastern Railroad President's
Conference Codes (ERPC), sometimes referred to as
“3-3-3”
-
Rule 260 Junction Codes (R260)
Two Ways to Enter a Route
PC*MILER|Rail features two basic methods of route entry. If
you know a route and simply want to generate mileage, you
enter the sequence of locations and railroads manually in
the route entry window. If you would like PC*MILER|Rail to
suggest possible junctions and connecting railroads between
two points, you can use the AutoRouter feature. You may set
the default method by selecting either New Route or
AutoRouter from the File menu.
SINGLE ROUTE ENTRY: Newark, NJ to
Baltimore, MD
If you know the route and simply want to
generate mileage, first enter an origin in the City State
field or the Geocode field. To do this, use the buttons in
the top left corner of the route entry window to designate
which code is to be used, then click on an entry field and
begin typing. When the origin is entered (Newark NJ in this
example), a pick list of available railroad freight stations
with the same name will pop up, allowing you to make your
selection. Or you can enter the appropriate railroad
abbreviation (NS) in the RR field directly. Intermediate
stops and the destination are entered in the same way. PC*MILER|Rail
automatically assigns the last stop on the list as the
destination of your route.
After entering your route, click on the
Options button to see the various routing options.
Routing Options
PC*MILER|Rail features six routing options: “Practical”
routing is based on total mileage as well as on the
mainline/branchline code to simulate the most likely
movements of rail traffic. “Shortest” routing minimizes
distance between two points.
A few railroads use “Practical” routing
option to determine miles for fuel surcharge calculations.
All other railroads use “Shortest” routing option instead.
In order to make things easy for users,
PC*MILER|Rail applies a railroad-specific
routing option for each leg of the move when “Fuel
Surcharge” is selected.
“Intermodal”, “Coal/Bulk” and “Auto
Racks” routing options are used to simulate how carriers run
their intermodal (trailer/container traffic) trains, coal or
grain unit trains, and multi-level (finished automobiles)
trains, respectively.
Route Name and Report Memo
In addition to routing options, the Options dialog box lets
you customize route names and include a customized message
on printed reports (use the report memo area).
Familized and Non-Familized Modes
PC*MILER|Rail also features two routing modes: “Familized”
and “Non-Familized”. The “Non-Familized” mode will find the
optimal route, per the routing formula, within the specified
railroad’s network. The “Familized” mode will also include
the rail networks of separate but affiliated railroads (for
example, KCS and KCSM) to consider feasible routes and find
the best one.
To run the route you entered, click on
the Run button. Mileage appears in the route entry window
when processing is finished:
Single Route Entry Window Showing
Generated Mileage
Choose New Route from the File menu to open a new route
entry window in order to begin entering another route. This
will keep the route from Newark to Baltimore open or you may
click on the Clear button to clear the route entry window.
To save the route and its selected options, choose Save from
the File menu.
AUTOROUTER ROUTE ENTRY: Atlanta, GA
to El Paso, TX
The AutoRouter feature is a valuable tool for determining
which railroads serve the origin or destination and how they
connect via intermediate junctions. To access the AutoRouter,
click on the File menu header and choose AutoRouter (or
click on the AutoRouter icon on the tool bar). For a route
between Atlanta and El Paso, enter Atlanta GA as the origin
in the City State field or enter the SPLC code for Atlanta
in the geographic code field. Railroads that actually serve
the origin will appear in the Origin RR’s scroll list.
Railroads to be included or excluded are then chosen. In the
example shown below, AMTK is turned off (it is not checked).
Enter El Paso TX as the destination. Again, railroads to be
included are chosen from the Dest RR’s scroll list for
routes terminating at this location. You also have the
option to enter an intermediate via point.
The routing options can be set by
clicking on the Options button. The Fuel Surcharge routing
option is not available in the AutoRouter mode because the
AutoRouter module considers feasible routes over the entire
North American rail network at once to select the optimal
route from an origin to a destination, making it impossible
to apply railroad-specific routing formula. Also, for the
same reason, the Non-Familized mode is not available.
Click on the Run button to see all
routes. The AutoRouter generates one route for each Origin
RR – Destination RR pair, except when a railroad serves both
the origin and destination locations, in which case only
single-line routes are displayed and no multi-carrier route
options are considered. In the example shown below, there is
a BNSF direct route, but no BNSF–UP or NS-BNSF routes in the
output.
Another option available in the
AutoRouter is for including or excluding routes that need
terminal switching operations (when a junction transfer
happens at the origin or destination). If Exclude is
selected from the Options window, the terminal switching
routes will be filtered out of the AutoRouter output routes.
To review an individual route,
double-click on it and a new Route Entry window will open
showing the intermediate stops, railroads used, and mileage
for this route. The route shown below is the third best
practical route from Atlanta to El Paso. This single route
entry window, generated using the AutoRouter, can function
as a window for single route entry mode. Routes can be rerun
with changes to stops or options.
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