(The following story by Ben Fields appeared on The Independent website on December 17.)
RUSSELL, Ky. — A CSX worker was in fair condition Tuesday evening following a rail yard accident involving a remote control locomotive.
According to CSX officials, Lloyd “Shane” Bishop, 29, was riding on the side of a rail car during a switching operation in the Russell rail yard about 5:30 p.m. Monday when he apparently fell, injuring his leg.
Company officials would not specify Bishop’s injuries, but a spokesman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers International said one of Bishop’s feet was crushed by the rail car, causing amputation at the ankle.
Bishop, a Raceland resident and railroad employee for the past four years, was transported to Cabell Huntington Hospital where he was listed in critical condition overnight. He was upgraded to fair condition Tuesday afternoon, a hospital official said.
CSX has been using remote controls for switching operations in the Russell yard since last fall, and in other locations since the beginning of 2002.
Company officials have said they made the move for safety reasons, arguing that remotes have been proven to reduce rail yard accidents over a decade of use in Canada.
However, engineers say the remotes are dangerous, adding that conductors using a remote on the ground cannot see or get a feel for everything that affects the movement of a locomotive. Local engineers also expressed concern that radio signals could become crossed, or remotes could malfunction, leading to possible catastrophic results.
The company and the members of the engineers union dueled over the issue in Greenup County Fiscal Court in late 2002 and early 2003, while county officials considered a ban on remote technology use within Greenup rail yards. No such ordinance was passed, though members of the fiscal court said they would continue to monitor the situation.
CSX spokesman David Hall said it is too early to tell if Tuesday’s accident was the result of a remote malfunction or human error.
“(Bishop) and another employee were using remotes to switch cars in the yard, and he fell while the two were about to couple one car to another,” Hall said. “We are investigating the circumstances of the incident, but, at this time, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause.”
Hall said the company is primarily concerned with Bishop’s health.
“Any time an employee is injured, our primary concern is that he and his family are being cared for,” he said.
The other employee involved in the switching operation was Bishop’s older brother, Tom Bishop of Raceland, who declined comment on the incident Tuesday.
Since their implementation in the CSX system last year, remote controls have been involved in at least one employee death, which occurred in Syracuse, N.Y., in February. Company officials deny a remote control malfunction caused the accident.