UP Worker Killed in Remote Control Accident Heightens Workers' Safety Concerns
[Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 12-9-03]
CLEVELAND, December 9 -- Early Sunday morning, December 7, 2003, a Union Pacific locomotive struck and killed a 37-year old railroad employee in San Antonio while he was operating two locomotives via a waist-strapped remote-control device. The remote-control device allows an operator to control a locomotive and move trains without an engineer on-board.
This tragedy comes despite persistent warnings about the potential dangers of remote control technology and training to operate the technology in the United States from locomotive engineers and their union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, which soon will merge with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
"We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Brother [Jody] Herstine's family and friends," said Don Hahs, International President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. "Jody Herstine had been a switchman at Union Pacific for only five years. Our hearts go out to his grieving wife, Sara, and two children."
"While the National Transportation Safety Board will determine the specific causes of this accident, we hope that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and rail companies will heed our concerns before another tragedy occurs," Hahs added.
"This senseless death underscores the need for enforceable regulations to be adopted by the FRA to make remote control operations safer," said James P. Hoffa, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. "What we have here is 21st Century technology used on a 19th Century infrastructure and 20th Century locomotives which carry tons of explosive and hazardous materials through our communities. One life lost, is one too many."
So far, 43 cities and counties across the United States have passed resolutions calling on the Federal Railroad Administration to adopt enforceable regulations to make remote control operations safer.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
FRA Defends Remote Train Operation
[Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 12-9-03, from article by Lisa Sandberg posted on the San Antonio Express-News website]
SAN ANTONIO -- Operating trains by remote control doesn't appear to be any more dangerous - and could be safer - than running them using the conventional two-man teams, an official with a government regulatory agency said Monday.
"There is no evidence to suggest that remote-control technology is unsafe," said Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration, which enforces rail safety regulations.
Flatau spoke just a day after Jody Herstine, a Union Pacific Railroad worker and married father of two, was killed in a near East Side rail yard by one of the two trains he was operating via a waist-strapped remote-control device. A switchman for five years, he was working alone at the time.
The death of the 37-year-old switchman has reignited the debate over whether the cost-saving technology will lead to profits for railroad companies at the expense of worker safety.
Flatau said his agency has investigated about 100 reports of injuries that purportedly were caused by the remote-control devices and hasn't been able to substantiate a single one. The FRA has so far seen no reason to require that two employees be on the ground when the remote device is employed.
The technology eliminates the need for a train's engineer, who once sat in the cab and communicated with the switchman on the ground. Now, there's only the switchman, who communicates with an on-board computer. The devices are only used while the trains are in the rail yards.
American rail companies began embracing remote technology to sort cars in rail yards about two years ago, railroad experts said, and about 1,000 of the devices now are in operation in the United States.
The technology has been in place in Canada since the late 1980s, and data there show a 56 percent drop in railroad accidents and $20-million in savings for rail companies.
"There's never been a fatality due to the technology," said Mark Hallman, a spokesman for Canada National, one of that country's two major privately owned rail companies.
But those who believe the remote technology endangers American railroad workers point out that Canada requires two-worker teams to guide the trains."Here, the way the system's been implemented, there are no enforceable federal regulatory policies," said John Bentley, spokesman for Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, which has been critical of the technology.
The FRA is expected to release the results of an audit sometime next year. In the meantime, the controversy doesn't seem likely to go away.
Scant details of Herstine's death Sunday have been released. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating, wouldn't comment. It is expected to take about six months to complete its report.
Meanwhile, Herstine's family, which declined comment, made funeral arrangements Monday.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RELATED REPORT:
UNIONS BATTLE IT OUT OVER ISSUE OF REMOTE CONTROL: On December 11, the United Transportation Union issued an article to its members by National Legislative Director James Brunkenhoefer entitled 'UTU Leading Way on Remote Control Safety.' The UTU represents conductors and switchmen who perform yard switching functions where remote control devices are employed. "Rather than stand in the street protesting, which is like spitting in the wind, your UTU has been working with Congress and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to ensure RCL is examined scientifically to ensure its safety," the article says. Referring to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, which opposes use of the device, the article continues: "The other organization only protests. It has accomplished absolutely nothing except convince fewer than 50 of the more than 40,000 communities nationwide to enact a symbolic ban against remote control. Those actions are symbolic because local communities, by law, may not interfere in the regulation of railroad safety where the FRA has and uses that authority." In response to the UTU article, Raymond Holmes, vice president & U.S. national legislative representative for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, on December 12 issued an article entitled 'Opinion, Death by Friendly Fire' fiercely attacking the UTU. "The latest attack by the UTU leadership against the BLE's efforts to bring safe remote control operations to our industry is filled with the usual baloney about what a great job the UTU is doing in looking out for the safety of its members. The article, if you missed it, is classic UTU leadership hogwash." MORE
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RELATED REPORT:
FRA FINDS MIXED VIEWS ON REMOTE CONTROL: Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter says that in its ongoing monitoring of locomotive remote control operations, FRA has found "much to praise and several areas of concern that we have brought forward for action," according to this railwayage.com report. In remarks prepared for the 22nd meeting of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee in Washington on December 2, Rutter noted that the Senate Commerce Committee had asked FRA to perform an audit on remote control operations, with initial findings in six months and a final report in 18 months. "The scale and variety of these operations has grown to the point that a more formal review and report should be helpful to us in assessing the need for additional enforcement or regulatory actions," said Rutter. He encouraged railroads "to take a good look at their programs and consistency of implementation." He also said FRA was seeking input from affected labor organizations: "Recently we circulated to the United Transportation Union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers a simple, user-friendly form for railroad employees to notify us about accidents and incidents related to remote control operations." [United Transportation Union, 12-3-03, from RailwayAge.com]