Operator Handbook • Form NRN-1 • Issued to every new dispatcher
Welcome, new dispatcher
Welcome to the Signals and Telecoms office of the Northgate Rail Network. This handbook covers everything you need to work a shift. It is deliberately short. The job fits on one screen, and you will pick up most of it in your first hour on the boards.
Read the four sections below in order. Then report for your induction shift at Northgate Yard, a quiet branch chosen so that little can go wrong while you find your feet.
1 · Reading the Panel
The tracks, the signals, the junction and main line, the working timetable, and the score line at the bottom.
Read section 1 ›2 · Working a Shift
Approach and proceed, releasing on time, the grace hold, and the rules that keep the line safe.
Read section 2 ›3 · Incident Reports
When the interlocking locks you out, how to read the cause and file the report to clear it.
Read section 3 ›4 · Controls Reference
Every key and every controller button. Print it and tape it to your terminal.
Read section 4 ›Your rating starts at 100. Every clean move holds or raises it; every late departure or lockout costs you. Drop below 70 and you are dismissed for the shift. Boards are graded A / B / C / F.
- A Right on advertised. Nearly flawless.
- B A solid, safe shift.
- C You held the line, barely.
- F Dismissed. Try the board again.
- Sit an arm's length from the terminal, in a lit room.
- Learn the panel first (Section 1). Do not skip to the reports.
- When in doubt, hold. A held train is a safe train.
- Own your mistakes. A clean report clears the block faster than panic.