A Preliminary Examination Of Railroad Dispatcher Workload, Stress, and Fatigue

Railroad dispatchers play a critical role in the safe operation of the nation’s railroads. In response to concerns raised by two Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) safety audits of dispatching operations in the U.S., FRA’s Office of Research and Development undertook a study to examine levels of workload, stress and fatigue in the railroad dispatching environment. A field study at two dispatching operations, one freight and one passenger, provided data for this analysis. Data collected in the field included physiological measures as well as self-report data, third party observation and paper records. The results of this study include findings with respect to dispatcher characteristics and their work environment as well as levels of workload, stress, and fatigue.