Its 1:16 p.m. and train time yet again at the former Southern Pacific depot in Glendale, where Amtrak and Metrolink trains now call, and Union Pacific freights now thunder by. The arriving train is Metrolink's #105, a mid-day run headed outbound for Moorpark.

A few minutes later I observe this same train from a different perspective ... an electronic one! I am inside a well-filled, darkened room in a nondescript commercial building a short distance from the Glendale depot, where hushed voices confer and men and women monitor dozens of glowing computer screens.

This is the Amtrak operations facility for the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), which dispatches Metrolink and other trains trains on trackage under their control. The electronic signature of train 105 on one of those screens tells us that it is now leaving the Burbank Airport station, with only one other train (an Espee freight) keeping it company on the multi-colored display.

Currently there are four dispatcher desks at this control center. The Santa Clarita (Lancaster) and Ventura County (Moorpark/Oxnard) lines, which share a common Southern Pacific heritage and common trackage inbound from Burbank Junction, are covered at the left hand desk. This is where we observed train 105's progress on the track disgram screen for the Moorpark line.

To the right are displays for the Orange Subdivision (Orange County line) and Olive Subdivision (new Inland Empire-Orange County line). These keep a dispatcher, or "DS" in traditional railway parlance, very busy at his work station. We'll come back in a minute and talk with him.

The next position covers the San Bernardino line, where numerous purple colored track sections on one screen indicate lots of midday maintenance of way work going on. Amtrak employee and center supervsior Jeff Bundy informs us that traffic "is approaching trolley car frequency" on this route. With successful Saturday service as well, this line is quite a feather in Metrolink's cap and keeps a dispatcher occupied. Although the Riverside line is dispatched by Union Pacific, it is monitored on separate screens at this same desk. The Riverside line is scheduled to open the next new Metrolink stations soon, in Montebello and Pomona.

The last position, on the far right, is the newest one. During this past summer, Mission Tower at the throat of Union Station was closed and each of the control points under its jurdisction came under the dispatching center's operation. This is the hot seat during the morning and evening rushes.

Metrolink dispatchers now have the flexibility of two "escape routes" north of the Mission Tower area: the traditional Espee line on the east bank of the Los Angeles River, and the former ATSF line on the west bank. After Santa Fe sold their Pasadena Sub for eventual conversion into the Pasadena Metro Blue Line, the river front trackage was available for Metrolink use (Blue Line light rail cars will use a viaduct over Chinatown). After upgrading and reconfiguration, this vital stretch became a welcome addition to help the DS keep operations fluid. Generally, most passenger moves use the west side and freights use the east side tracks, but the dispatchers have flexibility in routing.

Beyond the Pasadena Metro Blue Line's future terminus at Sierra Madre Villa Road and the 210 Freeway, ex-Pasadena Sub trackage is still used by BNSF local freights. Block signals are still in place and Metrolink dispatches this trackage. It may eventually see diesel rail car service such as the recently touring Danish IC-3 equipment.

Mission Tower isn't the first to succumb to new SCRRA technology. When the five-county agency first commenced operations, Southern Pacific's Dayton Avenue Tower (in the shadow of the Golden State Freeway at Taylor Yard's south throat) handed over its function and closefd. Funding was found to relocate the tower at the entrance to Metrolink's maintenance facility (off San Fernando Road on the site of Taylor Yards), where it will be preserved. Fortunately Mission Tower will be left standing in its current location for now.

L.A. Union Station's Terminal Tower is scheduled to close in 1997, with most of its duties assumed by the same DS covering the Mission Tower control points. The Terminal Tower building is also supposed to remain intact after closing.

Overlooking the semicircle of dispatching stations at the Metrolink control center are the supervisory desks located behind them. One the walls are standard time clocks, general orders of each railroad Metrolink works with, a large map, and an Amtrak calendar. A standby generator is available and an earthquake monitoring device keeps a constant vigil for ground tremors.

During the hours of Metrolink passenger operations, a transportation coordinator is on duty, with the ability to pass on information to passengers at the stations through message sign read outs and an audio public address system. A daily "morning report" is put together listing the previous days' passenger counts, delays, etc., as reported by the conductors.

When a Metrolink train becomes disabled, arrangements are made here to help passengers. This happened a few days before our visit to the center, when an Orange County line train hit a tractor trailer rig attempting to make a U-turn over the BNSF tracks in Santa Fe Springs. When the train was annulled at Norwalk station, an OCTA mini-bus was dispatched to carry passengers connecting to Inland Empire service as far as Riverside!

Dispatching trains through Orange County is quite a challenge for the operations center. Track capacity, of course, has long since been maxed out, with Amtrak, Metrolink, Espee, BNSF, and maintenance of way crews vying for track space and time from the DS. As we look over his shoulder, he points out the latest new trick in his bag: the second main track in Anaheim and Orange through the stadium station. Each new bit of added capacity is a great relief.

As Orange County line trains pass Redondo Junction tower they enter BNSF tracks and change to its radio frequency. Movements to Fullerton are controlled by a BNSF dispatcher, currently located in former Santa Fe facilities at Schaumburg, Illinois but soon to be relocated to the former BN complex at Fort Worth, Texas.

Eventually Metrolink will schedule trains all the way into the Inland Empire on this BNSF subdivision through north Orange County and the now triple-tracked Santa Ana Canyon. Equipment for this line was delayed when Caltrans' California Cars were not forthcoming from MK Rail. Coaches will not arrive from Bombardier in April or May of 1997, according to Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca, who arranged our tour. Funding for this service was reallocated to improve existing Inland Empire service, which has borne steady ridership increases. So, he explained, new funding and a start-up date are yet to be identified.

As a rain destined for the Orange Subdivision passes Santa Fe's Hobart Yard in LA, it begins to be monitored on the Orange Sub dispatcher's screens for advance planning. When the movement is ready for a green signal at Fullerton Junction (from any of the three BNSF tracks through Fullerton station onto either of the two OCTA-owned Metrolink mains south), the BNSF dispatcher indicates this with a flashing arrow on the display monitored by his Orange Sub cohort. Only after the Orange Sub DS acknowledges with a clear indication does the signal aspect change to green. Upon passing through Fullerton Junction, each train's crew members reset their radios to the appropriate Metrolink frequency. Northward moves follow a similar hand-off procedure.

Now the southbound train is under the Metrolink DS' watchful control all the way through central and south Orange County. He or she also receives trains onto the Olive Subdivision beginning at Atwood and blends them in at Orange. Meets are scheduled with each northbound at sidings or double track sections. If one movement falls significantly behind schedule, it may be directed out of the way of all other movements. This flexibility may inconvenience some passengers but helps the DS meet all the other schedules.

When Oceanside-bound Metrolink train (or San Diego-bound Amtrak San Diegan or BNSF freight) crosses the county line south of San Clemente near fabled Trestles beach, the SCRRA control center still has it under its jurisdiction. The former Santa Fe "Surf Line" tracks south of this point are owned by San Diego County's San Diego Northern Railroad. The dispatching territory, however, remains seamless all the way to the venerable Santa Fe depot in downtown San Diego. The challenges for the DS are also intense down here. The Coast Express Rail (Coaster) commuter trains are now part of the mix, including well-received midday, reverse and weekend schedules.

So how safe is Amtrak's dispatching and train handling for Metrolink? Amtrak's Jeff Bundy commented that even if their latest fail-safe technology precludes any signal malfunction, the human factor still comes into play, both in the control center and onboard trains. He explained that the dispatchers, some having previous tower or dispatching experience, train for one or two years before being fully qualified. Each desk is manned 24 hours a day in three eight-hour shifts.

Although Metrolink was already following all of the safety procedures mandated after the tragic Maryland crash of 1995, additional precautions were made in some cases (notably on the UP's fast Riverside line). Even with the unsurpassed technical experience and excellent "track record" that Amtrak has with Metrolink, there still is talk at SCRRA board meetings of putting out new bids to operate the commuter network.

What if Orange County's good fortune with earthquakes finally runs our and we get hit by The Big One? As soon as the initial jolt is registered on the control center's monitoring equipment, Metrolink will halt all train movements within 100+ miles of the seismic event. As was done after the Northridge quake (where the only movement on the dispatchers' screens, an SP freight, was knocked off the tracks), a thorough inspection and repair procedures will be followed. This took a whole day in the Northridge incident, during which no trains ran. Fortunately, wire-based communications were not lost. If in the future they are knocked out, conversion to microwave communication can be made quickly and cellular phones may be utilized.

How can rail enthusiasts assist the DS in his or her duties? Extra pairs of knowledgeable and safety-conscious eyes and ears out in the field are always welcome help to the professionals. If you observe a dangerous situation that can't be rectified by a railway employee on-site, or by local police or the sheriff's Metrolink detail, then Amtrak's Bundy welcomes tips placed to the center's direct phone number at 800/618-7446. Sorry, this number isn't for use in obtaining information on train operations!

Well, its almost 2:00 pm and time for a shift change at the control facility. Yet another weeknight outbound Metrolink parade will begin shortly. Our tour must now conclude, but our appreciation of SCRRA's accomplishments only continues to grow. This solid foundation bodes well for a future bright with rail passenger expansion in southern California.