(The following story by Matt Weiser appeared on the Californian website on February 19.)
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Controversial remote-controlled trains have been deployed in Bakersfield’s downtown railroad yard, raising concerns from some employees about safety in the busy area.
The yard, operated by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, is surrounded by a high school, hotels, a hospital, homes and many businesses. Concerned railroad employees and their families warned Thursday that the public may be at risk in the city’s densely populated core.
The remote-controlled locomotives are used only in switching yards to connect and separate railroad cars. A crewman standing alongside the tracks operates the special locomotive using a portable control panel. No one rides the front or rear of the moving train to watch for hazards.
Railroad officials insist the technology is safe. But others worry about injuries to pedestrians or an accident involving hazardous materials.
“They’re not pulling around icewater in those tanks, you know,” said Ranelle Smith of Bakersfield, whose husband is a Burlington engineer. “What we’re afraid of is a catastrophe involving the high school, the hospital, or the courtrooms downtown. It’s a nightmare just waiting to happen.”
Smith and other wives and family members of railroad employees plan to hold a rally to draw attention to the problem. They will gather at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the corner of 15th and D streets downtown.
Arrival of the technology at the downtown yard comes one year after railroad officials said they had no plans to use remote locomotives here.
Company spokeswoman Lena Kent said the railroad decided to use the equipment here because of its safety record.
Remote locomotives have proven safer in Burlington operations than manned switching operations, she said, resulting in a 52 percent reduction in injuries. The railroad uses remote locomotives in Stockton, Barstow and San Bernardino, as well as in other states.
“We’ve had just a remarkable safety success with the technology,” Kent said. “The people who are on the ground are the ones who are most vulnerable to accidents and injuries, so the technology allows those people to protect themselves from unexpected movement of equipment.”
Both employees and management of the railroad say job losses are not at issue.
Kent said the remote engines went into service in Bakersfield on Feb. 9, and additional crews are now being trained on the equipment. Currently, one remote and one conventional engine are in use in the switching yard on each of the railroad’s three shifts.
Guidelines require a remote operator to be able to see the moving end of an engine at all times to avoid obstacles, Kent said. Also, two remote operators must be present when a locomotive is moved, each with a separate control panel, she said. The equipment also imposes a 10 mph speed limit.
Union Pacific Railroad has used similar equipment in its east Bakersfield switching yard since January 2003. Information about Union Pacific’s safety record with the new trains wasn’t available Thursday.
Burlington engineer Diz Francisco noted that there are no federal rules governing remote operation of trains, only guidelines issued by the Federal Railroad Administration.
“I’m concerned about the pedestrian traffic in downtown Bakersfield,” Francisco said. “I have seen, with my very own eyes, women in skirts and high heels crawling through trains.”
Several cities — including Detroit and Baton Rouge, La. — have voted to ban remote trains within their boundaries, while others have urged the Federal Railroad Administration to adopt rules. Bakersfield joined the latter group one year ago with a City Council resolution calling for new regulations.