Railroad unions want scrutiny of remote control trains after death of worker in Ohio railyard
Most of the reaction to the death of a rail worker who mistakenly stepped in front of two CSX locomotives last month has focused on whether the 19-year veteran should have seen the train coming
OMAHA, Neb. — Most of the reaction to the predawn death of a rail worker who mistakenly stepped in front of two CSX locomotives last month has focused on whether the 19-year veteran should have seen the train coming and not on the actions of a worker who could hardly see the front of the locomotives he or she was operating using a remote control.
Some railroad unions want more scrutiny of the safety of remote control operations major railroads have used for years in and around railyards without significant problems. Remote control helps limit costs by using less experienced workers to move locomotives that help assemble trains — a task that once required licensed engineers who are among the highest-paid rail workers.
Even if the CSX remote control operator in the Sept. 17 incident in Walbridge, Ohio, did everything right, as the railroad suggests, Don Grissom, president of the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen union, questions why locomotives don't have an automatic safety warning system at a time when nearly every new automobile will warn drivers when they are close to backing into something.
“They can put a back-up sensor on a car. Why can’t they put something on a locomotive when you get, you know, get so close to them, they automatically ring the horn or something?” Grissom said.
To Grissom, the answer to that question is simple: He thinks CSX and the other major freight railroads are too focused on preserving their profits to invest in technology to better protect workers.
Jacksonville, Florida-based CSX didn't immediately
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