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Locomotive engineers protest use of remote-control systems
This
story was published 7/24/02 By Jeff St. John Remote-control
trains aren't child's play for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. Members
of the union demonstrated Tuesday in Kennewick against what they say is the
unsafe use of remote-control systems to operate locomotives in railroad
switching yards. Canadian
railroads have been using the technology, by which an operator controls a
locomotive via a radio control unit, for about 10 years. Now U.S. railroads
are joining in, replacing engineers with less-experienced remote-control
operators. Union
Pacific's Hinkle rail yard in Hermiston started using remote control this
year. The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. rail yard in Pasco
expects to use it at some point, said spokesman Gus Melonas. Canadian
National Railway Co. reduced yard mishaps by 56 percent over five years using
the technology, said Frank Trotter, president and chief executive of CANAC
Inc., manufacturer of a widely used remote-control device. But
members of the 59,000-strong Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers disagree
that the technology is safe. Since
April, there have been four accidents at the Hinkle yard because of remote
control, BLE representative Tim Donnigan said. Once, a locomotive was knocked
on its side by a remote-controlled train. "If
there was an engineer at the controls, none of those mishaps would have
occurred," Donnigan said. A
Union Pacific database showed no accidents at the Hinkle yard caused by the
technology, said spokesman Mike Furtney. He said only a few accidents have
happened in the yards where it is being used, most because of operator error. BLE
union members say that proves experienced engineers should operate the remote
controls. Union
engineers go through a six-month apprenticeship and are certified through the
Federal Railways Administration, Donnigan said. The
remote-control operators get 48 hours of classroom training and 40 hours of
on-the-job training, Furtney said. "The
average yard engineer, most of them out there have 20 to 25 years experience.
You're replacing that with, maximum, two weeks" experience, Donnigan
said. Jobs
are another issue. No engineers have been fired after being replaced by
remote control but have been reassigned, Furtney said. About
40 engineers have been reassigned at the three BNSF yards where remote control
now is used, BLE representative Dennis Pierce said. Will
Amaya, 29, has worked as a locomotive engineer at the Pasco rail yard since
1996. When the yard switches to remote control, he said, "my job will be
eliminated, and I will have to relocate to continue to work as an
engineer." The
Federal Railroad Administration allowed the use of remote control by major
U.S. railroad companies early this year. In
January, the BLE was blocked by a federal judge from striking over the issue.
Since then, the union has filed two lawsuits to stop the technology's spread
until safety issues are resolved. From
January 2001 to April 2002, the Federal Railroad Administration had five
reports of accidents involving remote-control technology, with no injuries or
fatalities, said spokesman Warren Flatau. |
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