In a new publication, my colleague Jessica Lindblom and I explore the work of train traffic controllers and information officers working in Sweden’s train traffic control centers to shed light on how they manage to monitor and control this complex, fast-moving railway system without ever stepping foot on the tracks.
Control rooms are often described as the coordination centre, the hub, of critical systems like aviation, shipping, and railway traffic. The atmosphere in such control rooms is often calm and the concentration is almost tangible. The space is filled with computer screens and the constant noise from ringing phones and low-voiced conversations. In Swedish train traffic, two main work roles are keeping things running. These are the traffic controllers and the information officers. The former ensure that trains move safely and on time by controlling switches and signals along the rail, adjusting timetables, and solving problems when something goes wrong. The latter provides travelling information to passengers in cases of delays, disruptions, or platform changes, etc. Together, these two roles are managing thousands of trains across Sweden every single day. They don’t see the rails outside their windows, yet they know them as if they were standing right there. How can that be? To answer that question, we conducted workplace studies in Sweden’s eight traffic control centres over a time period of 2,5 years. During this time, we observed everything from daily work routines to the handling of accidents and extraordinary events, and discovered subtle and highly skilled ways in which the workers interpret and act on digital and analogue information of situations unfolding far from their own location.
Prior research offers concepts like “professional vision,” “situated seeing,” and “tool-mediated seeing” to explain how people use artifacts and experience to interpret their work environment. We combined these with the idea of “sense of place”, a concept we borrowed from environmental and geographical studies that emphasizes how people develop meaning and attachment to specific locations. From this theoretical standpoint, we propose a new concept: remote situatedness. This concept describes how control room workers can develop a deep, practical knowledge and a sense of connection to remote places, although they are not physically present at those locations. This ability allows them to “see” the railway, predict problems, and act in meaningful ways from a distance.
In the paper, we illustrate remote situatedness with three examples:
1. Mutually Enacted Situated Seeing – how traffic controllers and information officers jointly interpret and act on pieces of information about events along the rail.
2. Mediated Sense of Place – how technology and collaboration shape the workers’ connection to locations far from their own.
3. Failed Sense of Place – what happens when this connection breaks down, and how it affects railway operations.
In each of these three cases, we show that the workers’ expertise isn’t just technical but social, spatial, and deeply embedded in the context of railway operations. It’s an intricate mix of technology and human skill!
Our findings highlight that effective railway management depends on more than screens, software, and procedures. It relies on workers’ ability to connect with and interpret remote environments through a combination of technology, collaboration, and lived experience. By recognizing and supporting this remote situatedness, we can design better tools, improve training, and strengthen the resilience of the complex railway system.
For those who want to read more, the full publication can be found here.