Yes, I believe one of the main usage for the dispatcher is to build a large waiting station for trains (that is how I use it).
When an outpost is low on some resource (iron plates for instance), or when it reaches a certain level of some resource (iron ore for instance), it requests a train to the dispatcher.
As you said, it requires to have your outposts and the waiting area connected with a red or green wire (I believe there is a mod for wireless signals). Also the signaling logic is not so easy to implement, but it is possible (I did it, I may post the bluprints at some point)