The Trains will Run

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Union Pacific Railroad Year 2000 Project Status ~Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure

This site has very good information.

I suggest a look at the FAQ's also, they answer a lot of questions people have been asking.

http://www.uprr.com/y2k/2kfaq.shtml

Will highway crossing warning systems be affected by the Year 2000?

What conversion methods are being used?

What tools is Union Pacific using for the Year 2000 Project?

Has Union Pacific's independent accountant reviewed the Year 2000 plan?

Have any outside agencies reviewed Union Pacific's Year 2000 plan? ******************************** Union Pacific Railroad Year 2000 Project Status ~Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure

http://www.uprr.com/y2k/2kprojct.shtml

Year 2000 Project Status Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure (Last edited February 9, 1999) snip

Union Pacific decided the best way to approach this complex enterprise-wide project was to divide it into five sub-projects, and develop enterprise Year 2000 contingency plans:

Mainframe Systems Client Server Systems User Department Developed Systems Vendor Supplied Software, Hardware & Embedded Systems Electronic Commerce and EDI Systems Year 2000 Contingency Plans

Current Project Status

1.Mainframe Systems

Union Pacific's enterprise-wide mainframe systems are essential to the business. All of these systems were converted, tested, implemented, and certified Y2K ready in 1998. Periodic audits are planned during 1999 to ensure that no new Year 2000 date problems are introduced into these already certified systems.

snip 2.Client Server Systems Currently, over 50% of all client server systems are certified. All of the railroad's critical client server systems were converted, tested, and certified as Y2K ready in 1998. The non-critical client server systems are scheduled to be certified by mid-1999.

3.User Department Developed Systems

This category includes mainframe and PC-based systems developed by internal user departments. Headed by a coordinator within each area, approximately 96% of these systems were converted, tested, and certified Y2K ready as of December 31, 1998, and the remaining 4% are mostly low-priority systems that are scheduled to be completed in the first half of 1999.

4.Vendor Supplied Software, Hardware & Embedded Systems snip

Union Pacific is working with connecting short line and regional railroads via involvement in various Association of American Railroad ("AAR") committees. In cooperation with the AAR, Union Pacific is sharing information on the compliance and testing of safety critical components common to the industry. Union Pacific helped fund the development of a shared web site for this purpose, and access to this information is available to other participating railroads.

snip

To assure safety and Y2K readiness, selected critical software, hardware, and embedded systems are being tested by Union Pacific, even if the vendor has already certified the product.

snip

The railroad industry's Y2K EDI transaction standard was implemented in late 1998, and the railroad can now transmit and receive the new EDI standard, which involves a 4-digit year. Union Pacific took a very active role with the AAR in testing the new standards with other railroads and with its trading partners. Since many companies will continue to use 2-digit years, Union Pacific will continue to support older versions of EDI transactions and interpret the 2-digit year to the appropriate century for its internal applications.

Year 2000 Contingency Planning

The contingency plans also include a Year 2000 command center staffed 24 hours a day in the fourth quarter of 1999 and continuing into early 2000 for any problems that might occur due to Y2K. The staff will be comprised of technical experts to fix or advise what to fix if systems fail, and knowledgeable representatives from each business unit. Although Union Pacific expects and has planned for January 1, 2000 to be just another day, contingency plans will be ready to implement just in case.

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), July 18, 1999

Answers

Thanks Cherri for taking the TIME to post. I know you don't have TIME to reply to Cory's challenge like you so boldly said you would.

-- O.J. (OJSimpson@jailhouse.com), July 18, 1999.

From a prior thread I saw that railroad embedded chip failures might take place 9/9/99. Anyone have further information?

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWAyne@aol.com), July 18, 1999.

That would be 09/09/99. The zeros in the date will reduce the likelihood of the so called 9 9 99 end of file problem so widely anticipated by some posters. I may be wrong, but to me it is a nonissue.

-- Ed (wiseone@wow.gom), July 18, 1999.

Indeed, there is a thread on "Nines and Railway Monitoring".

-- Lane Core Jr. (elcore@sgi.net), July 18, 1999.

Lane, Thanks. Looking that over I see that there are still questions on that in re the IEEE material, which suggests that the testing itself was faulty. I hope it's okay as I want to take the train to Florida after September... I actually just queried Amtrak about the 9/9 date and embedded systems. I'll let you know...

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWAyne@aol.com), July 18, 1999.


I declare this new thread to be stupid doomer trash cause I say so. Just try and argue with my logic.

-- (doomers@suck.com), July 18, 1999.

This snip is from back in January, but in the context of multi-year Y2K projects, could the situation really have changed that much in six months?

http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cte068.htm

[snip]

Problems on the rails

But the U.S. railroad system, oil and gas pipelines and segments of the power grid remain a top concern.

''We are deeply concerned about the railroads,'' Koskinen says. ''We have no indication that they are going to make it.''

The rails maintain their own telecommunications system, which provides computerized operation for vital systems, such as switches and warning signals, Koskinen says.

If railroads are forced to slow down so automated functions can be carried out manually and to provide a greater margin of safety, then a broad cross section of the economy, from heavy industry to fresh foods, could be affected.

[snip]

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), July 18, 1999.


A more accurate title, Cherri - would be "Union Pacific trains May Run - One Company's Remediation and Testing Proceeding Well."

___

But one company does not a national railroad network make. Look at the national delays in all railrods caused by only two getting bottlednecked because of schedule conflicts involved routing.

Remember, as many as 80-85% of all companies have always been expected to get through remediation and testing. Right now though, less than HALF of state, local and emergency agencies and companies are even responding to self-reported telephone surveys on their compliance. Less than 1/4 of any group reports they are finshed.

And of those that do respond, half "expect to finish" in the LAST quarter of the last year possible.

Not that it is likely any more, as very few companies are far along as UP, but I congratulate them on their (solo, unprecedented, and unparalleled) success.

-- Robert A Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), July 18, 1999.


Robert,

Contrary to popular belief (on this forum) most industries do not live in a vacume.

**

Union Pacific is working with connecting short line and regional railroads via involvement in various Association of American Railroad ("AAR") committees. In cooperation with the AAR, Union Pacific is sharing information on the compliance and testing of safety critical components common to the industry. Union Pacific helped fund the development of a shared web site for this purpose, and access to this information is available to other participating railroads.

**

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), July 19, 1999.


"We can run the trains off peanut oil if need be" - Cherri's mentor, Paul Davis

-- a (a@a.a), July 19, 1999.


Cherri: Do you mudwrestle?

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.com), July 20, 1999.

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