Glossary | Railway Dispatcher Pro

📖 About This Glossary

This page explains the railway terms used in the game in two parts: ① a quick paraphrase → ② what it refers to in the game. If you come across a word you don't know, look it up here.

If you're new, we recommend starting with Getting Started. The actual controls are covered in the Dispatching.

🛤 Track and Equipment

Term	In a nutshell	In the game
Track circuit	One square of track, as if the line were divided into the squares of a board game. Signals and routes are managed by which square a train is in.	Each piece of track on the map is one of these. It has an ID such as `TC_0001`. White = normal / yellow = route set / red = occupied.
Switch	A point where the track changes over: where one track splits into two directions.	It has an ID such as `SW_001`. The side that isn't set is drawn in dim gray.
Normal / Reverse	On a switch, going straight is "normal" and branching off is "reverse". Basically, "straight" or "turn".	Changing it in the Timetable Change window changes the path ahead and the arrival track.
Signal	A device that tells the driver "whether you may go, and up to what speed".	The round markers on the map. Red = stop / orange = restricted / yellow = caution / yellow-green = reduced speed / light blue = proceed. On ATC (cab signal) lines there are only two: red = stop / green = proceed.
Shunting signal	A signal used only for shunting (moves that aren't revenue service) in depots and headshunts.	Drawn as a white ring, and lit only when showing proceed.
CTC	Centralized Traffic Control. A system for watching and running a whole line from one place.	The game's main screen itself. You look down on the whole line from the dispatch center.

🚦 Routes and Interlocking

Term	In a nutshell	In the game
Route	Reserving one path for a train from one point to the next. Once reserved, the switches are fixed and the signal clears.	Set automatically by default. Sections with a route set are shown in yellow.
Lever	A switch for setting routes. Press two, "from here" and "to here", to make one route.	Start lever = triangle (yellow = main line / green = shunting), end lever = circle. You can use them only at stations under station control.
Station control	Setting a station's routes yourself with the levers instead of leaving them to automation.	Switch it per station in "Gameplay → Station Control...". It doesn't change how the trains themselves run.
Locking	Locking routes and switches so they can't be moved carelessly, for safety.	If you try to release one, it is refused as "locked". A mechanism that never lets you make a dangerous move in the first place.
Approach locking	A lock that keeps a route a train is approaching from being cancelled at the last moment.	It unlocks automatically 30 seconds (time release) after the train's approach ends.
Conflicting routes	Routes that clash with each other and can't be open at the same time.	If one is already set, the other is refused with "Conflicting route is active".
Sequence control	Settling contention for conflicting routes by the order in the planned timetable, instead of first come, first served (= first-come control).	On the Sendai Regional Railway: 6 routes, the starting routes at Fukushidai-mae (12H, 13H, 15I, 16I) and the home routes that conflict with them (11F, 11G). On the Uchibo Electric Railway: the starting routes from the turnback and passing platforms at Dentetsu-Kamatori, Ichihara, Dentetsu-Anegasaki and Dentetsu-Kisarazu, plus their conflicting routes, 18 in total (details in the Dispatching). Not used on the Yokohama New Urban Railway. The planned order is kept even when trains are late. Trains that are held, terminated short, cancelled or failed, and trains that can no longer reach the route because of an obstruction, are taken out of the order.
Overlap	Space kept clear beyond the stopping point in case a train overruns it.	If another train is in it, the route can't be set.

📈 Timetables and Services

Term	In a nutshell	In the game
Timetable (diagram)	A chart that draws the timetable as lines. Stations run vertically, time horizontally, and each sloping line is one train.	"Window → Show Diagram". Each line is also called a "train path".
Planned / actual timetable	Planned = the original schedule, actual = how the trains really ran.	On the diagram, the planned timetable is a thin gray line and the actual one a thick line in the train type's color. The gap between the two is the size of the delay.
Service	The job of running as one train. When it reaches the end of its run, the vehicle turns back and takes on its next service.	Joining services with "link" means the same vehicle runs them one after another.
Rolling stock duty	The set of jobs one trainset does in a day.	In "Duty Assignment (`F3`)", you place vehicles at stations and decide the first service each one runs. Only vehicles you have placed will run.
Train type	Categories such as local and rapid: a grouping of trains by which stations they stop at.	Set the calling points and color in "Train Types (`F4`)". It becomes the color of the lines on the diagram.
Turnback	A train that has reached the end of its run reversing direction and going back the way it came.	Needs at least 60 seconds. When a section is blocked, you set up turnbacks at a station short of it to keep trains running.
Continue	Carrying on in the same direction without turning back.	Since the direction doesn't change, the vehicle can take on its next service from the same time it arrives.

📣 Orders and Rescheduling

Term	In a nutshell	In the game
Rescheduling	Reworking a disrupted timetable on the spot to keep the damage to a minimum.	The central job in the game. Done in the "Timetable Change" window.
Hold	Keeping a train at a station. It isn't allowed to depart until released.	Specify the station from the Orders window. In the "Hold / Release Departures" window you can also hold all trains, or trains in one direction, at once.
Delay departure	Delaying a departure by a set amount of time.	Build it up per stop in steps from +10 s to +5 min. Used to wait for connections or adjust spacing. Ordering it again adds to the delay already in effect.
Extra stop / Skip stop	Specially stopping at a station the timetable passes / specially passing a station where it stops.	Can be ordered for upcoming stations. Clear it with "Restore to Timetable".
Line-clear departure	A way of running in which the train waits to depart until the line ahead is completely clear.	A standing order checked at every station until you release it.
Terminate short	Ending a run at an earlier station instead of going all the way to the terminus.	The basic pattern is to terminate short before the blocked section and set up a turnback from there.
Stopped outside station	A train coming to a stop somewhere that isn't a station. Passengers can't get off, so it's the situation to avoid above all.	Often part of a scenario's objectives. Once it happens, it can't be undone.
Incident	An event that disrupts the timetable, such as a train failure or an obstruction on the track.	In scenarios, incidents occur at set times. You can also trigger them yourself to practice.