{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T16:02:55Z","timestamp":1772553775913,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772496000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Computers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Digitalization of railway traffic dispatching systems is a key step in the modernization of railway telecommunication infrastructure. This paper presents a case study of the migration from legacy analog technology to a software-centric dispatching platform that integrates digital signal processing, optical fiber transmission, and Internet Protocol (IP)-based network architectures, as implemented in the Serbian railway system. The modernization is performed through an iterative, incremental process: existing analog dispatcher equipment and established operating procedures are preserved, while digital dispatching centers, trackside communication nodes, and radio-dispatching services are introduced gradually. This staged evolution enables high-capacity, noise-resilient communication and seamless interconnection between the old and the new subsystems without disrupting railway operations. The adoption of software-based control and integrated digital signal processing provides modular scalability, real-time system supervision, automated diagnostics, and improved maintainability. One of critical services within the new architecture, the Centralized Call Record- and Message-Archiving System (CCRMAS), provides a centralized platform that captures, secures, and retrieves operational railway communication in real time for monitoring, post-incident analysis, and regulatory compliance. The resulting architecture, deployed within Serbian Railways, establishes a scalable and resilient foundation for future automation, interoperability, and integration within intelligent railway traffic-management environments. Thus, the paper extracts a generalizable hybrid migration architecture model and transferable design principles, supported by deployment artifacts and illustrated through migration scenarios, that can be applied to the modernization of other legacy-intensive railway networks.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/computers15030163","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T12:48:56Z","timestamp":1772542136000},"page":"163","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Digitalization of Railway Traffic Dispatching Systems: From Legacy Infrastructure to a Software-Centric Platform"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6547-8879","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ivan","family":"Koki\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Mihajlo Pupin, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8926-8841","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jovana","family":"Vuleta-Radoi\u010di\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Mihajlo Pupin, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2163-0939","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iva","family":"Salom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Mihajlo Pupin, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6759-3881","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Goran","family":"Dimi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Mihajlo Pupin, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-3076-185X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bratislav","family":"Plani\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Mihajlo Pupin, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9507-4365","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra","family":"Velimirovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Mihajlo Pupin, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0551-3070","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Slavica Bo\u0161tjan\u010di\u010d","family":"Rakas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Mihajlo Pupin, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) (2025). 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