“The mobile classrooms will supplement ongoing training conducted at leading-edge facilities where employees are introduced to new technology, and provided refresher certification,” said UP.

The training fleet employs “pioneering communication capabilities to sync with Union Pacific’s mainframe computer network, accessing the most current instructional sessions and federal training documentation.”

Every mobile classroom has seven workstations, each capable of accommodating two employees. Each simulator station includes a webcam feature enabling instructors in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Omaha, Neb., to assist the students at any time.

“Early training equipment, such as locomotive simulators, were large and heavy—about the size of two large deep freezers sitting side-by-side,” noted UP. “Today, through technological advances, those same locomotive simulations can be experienced on a laptop computer with these mobile classrooms.”