More than a game: Light rail simulator provides opportunities for operators to hone skills

在埃拉蒂轻轨设施内, Light Rail Vehicle Instructor Art Scott sits in a windowless room in front of a wall of monitors. The monitors show various buttons, 开关es and levers below a 3D rendering of light rail tracks. Behind Scott, a rookie light rail operator steps into a small room with another instructor. This room holds a 1:1 scale custom-built exact replica of a light rail cab with every lever, button, 开关, 屏幕, 踏板和后视镜，一个人会看到在一辆车的线, surrounded by a 180-degree wraparound projection 屏幕 displaying the rendering Scott also sees at his desk.

This is RTD’s hidden secret for training its elite light rail operators – a fully operational simulator designed to throw everything an operator would experience out in the field their way.

Groundbreaking on the project began in 2012 out of a necessity to train operators on the basics of operating light rail, as well as introducing them to challenges they will experience while on duty in a safe environment.

“创建模拟器是为了提供辅助培训,维妮莎·斯通说, 轻轨车辆培训经理. “操作员可以在这里犯任何他们想犯的错误.”

所有轻轨操作员都被要求花时间在模拟器上. 培训机会因某些因素而异, 比如他们的经验水平和一年中的时间. 在即将到来的夏季中断期间, 例如, 操作人员将接受培训，学习如何在即将生效的手动区块中导航. Operators can request additional simulator time at will, as long as a certified trainer is available.

RTD与Oktal Sydac合作, 一家设计铁路模拟器的跨国公司, 汽车和航空组织, 对模拟器的数字方面进行编程, 而两个复制小屋完全由RTD的车身车间内部制造.

“最初, 这是发送给外部来源的出价, 成本又回到了100多万美元,美体小铺主管丹·奥尔特加说. “然后管理层找到我和我的团队，问我们是否可以按比例制造它们.”

奥尔特加, 谁负责区商店的公共汽车车身修理厂, was eager to put the team’s fabrication skills to the test with this new and unique challenge.

“我们被赋予了建造和创造所需东西的自由，”他说.

当实体小屋被制造出来的时候, 奥克塔尔的工作人员正忙着骑马, 扫描每一个信号, 建筑, 穿越, 路, 开关, 在RTD的每条轻轨线路上安装信号和桥.

Oktal公司的代表与轻轨运营商一起乘坐E线列车, H, W, D线和L线, 以及之前的C线和F线, using video cameras to capture and scan the environment as the train proceeded up and down the line. 奥克塔尔在2017年开通R线后重新开始扫描. 使用捕捉到的视频, the company was able to create a virtual 3D-rendered environment that accurately represented each line, 甚至到斜角.

模拟器考虑到了每辆车的重量, meaning the physics of the virtual train are dependent on how many cars are added to the virtual consist. 汽车越多, 虚拟列车越重, 从而影响它在轨道上的操作, 就像在现实生活中一样.

当然, 对于运营商来说，赛道上并不总是阳光灿烂，彩虹闪烁, 模拟器可以创造最激烈和最苛刻的场景来导航. 斯科特毫不掩饰地向运营商抛出他所能抛出的一切. 当操作员在模拟室内时，他们就在他的领域内.

斯科特的角色相当于司法部的“地下城主”,” a person who is the organizer in charge of creating the details and challenges of a tabletop roleplaying game. Scott has control over every scenario and can decide what obstacle the operator will overcome next.

"暑期班, 我喜欢在新操作员中加入随机的暴风雪和冬季天气事件,斯科特说. “By the time they have completed training, they will be prepared to navigate fall snowstorms.”

斯科特的一个班级就是这样做的.

“One class went out during a snowstorm later that fall and they didn’t get jittery,” he said.

At Scott’s fingertips lies a monitor loaded with a library of obstacles that he can drag and drop into the simulation in real time. 他可以在轨道上或轨道旁边添加动物和行人, 创建手动封锁区域, 操纵信号和开关, 改变天气, 将无生命的物体倾倒在轨道上或轨道周围, 设立工作区域并发放旗帜.

“We can force operators to encounter things they probably will not encounter in real life,轻轨训练教练布莱恩·罗弗斯说. “另外, 我们可以在开关处放置手动块和旗子, 操作员在那里会遇到的事情.”

Manual blocks are sections of track between sets of 开关es where trains are temporarily diverted to the opposite track, 通常用于工作人员在轨道上工作或非常靠近轨道时. 这些开关通常需要由维修人员手动操作.

“我们可以向操作员显示手动块的交叉点在哪里,轻轨训练教练埃里克·曼尼斯说.

斯科特可以实时看到哪些按钮, 操作人员已激活或停用的杠杆和开关, 允许培训师在安全可控的环境中发现任何错误, such as a foot that’s too far off the “dead man 开关” or a door accidentally left ajar before leaving the station. 另外, he can monitor the simulated train’s location on a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)-like 屏幕, 就像在马里波萨监狱发现的那个, 但规模要小得多. SCADA屏幕允许Scott控制即将到来的开关和手动块, 作为模拟控制器，与机舱内的操作员进行通信.

Not only does the simulator serve as a training tool for navigating weather and obstacles, it also works as a familiarization tool with different zones and understanding information out on the track, as well as allowing operators to practice callbacks when controllers present instructions.

“向新操作员展示信号和开关在哪里真的很好，”斯科特说.

在驾驶室里, 操作员有一个复制的通讯器，可以让他们呼叫斯科特, 谁扮演控制者的角色. When there are issues on the virtual track or if the operator is approaching a flagged section with workers present, 如手动阻塞或交叉门故障, 操作员和斯科特可以互相沟通, giving operators practice on reporting issues and how to properly respond to instructions given by controllers.

These features have been helpful for both new and veteran operators preparing for the upcoming downtown rail reconstruction and coping panel projects, as they can get an understanding for what navigating the two construction projects will be like with the manual blocks in place.

在模拟器于2015年发射之后, it became a focal point for agencies visiting RTD looking for new solutions to train their operators. Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) took it one step further and used RTD’s simulator as a blueprint for designing its own simulator.

The success of light rail’s training simulator has inspired N Line Commuter Rail Transportation to build one of their own.

“We began discussing obtaining a simulator prior to the beginning of revenue service in 2020,铁路服务交付经理菲尔·华盛顿说.

该模拟器由CORYS公司设计. 硬件设计即将结束，软件设计将在接下来的几周内开始.

比如轻轨模拟器, the N Line simulator seeks to be as realistic as possible to provide trainees with the tools they need when encountering the same situations out on the line.

“Software design finalization will consist of a review of the virtual assets that will be displayed and used within the simulator, 并将确保这些资产尽可能真实,华盛顿说.

华盛顿乐观地认为，该模拟器将在2025年初全面投入使用. 它将设在711大楼，那里是N线目前的运营基地.

One unique thing about the N Line simulator is engineers will be able to earn and recertify their 240 certifications within the simulator. 另外, hours spent in the simulator by student engineers will count towards their on-the-job hour requirement toward certifications.

RTD’s investment into simulator technology is another testament to the agency’s mission of making lives better through connections.