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A typical shift

You take over a desk from the controller before you and get briefed on every train, work crew and signal problem on your territory. Then you run it: lining routes, issuing clearances, deciding which train takes the siding and which keeps moving, protecting track crews with work blocks, and talking to crews by radio. Most of a shift is planning meets so that two trains arrive at a siding at the right moment. When a train breaks down or a crossing is blocked, the whole plan reshuffles at once and everyone calls you.