Austin Western Railroad Team Plows Through Challenges
Even in the best circumstances, it’s a challenge for months, field testing occurred nightly from 8 p.m. short lines to keep freight moving efficiently and to 4 a.m. The AWRR runs most of its traffic during safely. But the past 18 months have been anything these hours and adapted its operations around but the best circumstances for the Austin Western this schedule. Railroad (AWRR). Mandated federal testing, the “We worked around each other,” says AWRR General pandemic, and new leadership are all factors in Manager Anthony Hoyte. “One night they would adjustments the team has had to account for. In test on the east side, the next night on the west spite the challenges the team faced, the AWRR side. Most trains come from continued to collaborate with the west sub. So, if they were our customers to increase car doing testing on the east side “We’ve had some great growth traffic and improve service. of the central corridor, we’d at the same time that we’ve had The AWRR shares a 32come from the west and make a lot of challenges,” notes Carla mile stretch of track with interchanges. The only time it Ewing, Watco’s Vice President MetroRail’s commuter Red really affected us was when they of Sales for the AWRR. “The Line in Austin, Texas. Since this were doing testing on the west.” operations and sales teams is a passenger line, MetroRail’s have done a fantastic job working The pandemic brought its own owner Capital Metro needed challenges of keeping team with our customers and with to install and test Positive Train members healthy and safely Cap Metro to create positive Control (PTC) on the AWRR moving freight. However, with track between downtown efficiencies across the line. That’s more people in the Austin area Austin and northwest to allowed us to find capacity on working from home, Cap Metro Leander by the federallya very constrained railroad.” ridership plummeted, and the mandated agency reduced its service December 31, 2021 deadline. schedule. That March, it scaled PTC is a technology designed to prevent train back the Red Line timetable to Monday through collisions and protect on-track workers. Prior to Friday with no late-night service. implementation, testing needed to happen. For 4 The Dispatch | August 2021
