Union Pacific has been building America for more than 160 years. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, they manage 32,000 miles of track across 23 western states. Operating 7,000 locomotives transporting 8.3 million cars of goods a year, they play a key role in the world’s supply chain.

Proper management of railcars is a time-consuming, yet safety-critical task performed by Union Pacific conductors. Inexperience leads to hazardous railyard accidents, which can easily lead to injuries. A straightforward solution is needed to train conductors on how to safely position cars in the yard.

Our virtual reality (VR) application, Cars in the Clear VR Training, creates a true-to-life simulation, simplifying the difficulties of normal training. By training in a virtual space, we provide trainees with hands-on experience before using real equipment, which reduces safety risks. Our application targets two critical skills: placing cars in the clear to stop cars from colliding, and lining switches to guide cars to their proper destination.

Cars are in the clear when they do not interfere with passage on an adjacent track. Trainees are shown the clear area of a track, then must properly position train cars clear of adjacent tracks.

Lining switches is the process of examining and flipping switches to ensure the train follows the desired path. Trainees practice identifying the type of switch and how to properly use them. The trainee then uses the switches to navigate a train to a target track.

The combination of these skills provides critical baseline knowledge for daily railyard operations, reducing accidents and improving workplace safety.

Our Cars in the Clear system is developed as a VR application that runs on a Meta Quest. Our application is written in C# and runs on the Unity game engine.