(The following story by Ben Fields appeared on the Ashland Daily Independent website on January 15.)
GREENUP, Ky. — What was to be a routine update on the use of remote controls in Greenup County rail yards turned into another open and occasionally heated debate over the technology Tuesday, largely because of a recent accident.
CSX officials present at a Greenup County Fiscal Court meeting said an investigation into the incident last month that cost 29-year-old employee Shane Bishop use of his right leg is still incomplete.
The company has been using remote-controlled engines for switching operations since January 2002 and Bishop was engaged in such an operation Dec. 16 when part of his right leg was crushed, forcing amputation below the knee.
Railroad officials have said Bishop was riding on one of the cars involved in the switch, and apparently lost his footing, but they admit the exact details of what happened are still sketchy.
Still, CSX spokesman Jim Adams asserted Tuesday that the remote control unit in use at the time of the accident was tested and was found to be working properly.
“I can tell you there was no failure in the remote control technology,” he said.
CSX officials have claimed remotes were introduced to cut down on rail yard accidents and Adams said such accidents have decreased by 60 percent since the technology has been in use.
But a host of local engineers at Tuesday’s meeting, along with County Attorney Mike Wilson, alleged the company is not reporting every mishap at the Russell yard involving remotes.
“These reports are not generated by employees, they are generated by CSX,” said Wilson, who has openly opposed the use of remote controls in Greenup County.
“If there are a large number of unreported incidents, that would skew your safety numbers,” Wilson said.
Tommy Mayne, legislative chairman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said he believes there is still a significant safety risk where remotes are involved, despite CSX’s numbers.
“We’re not against CSX, they are our livelihood,” he said. “We’re not against technology. … But we are against unsafe acts.”
Adams said he would provide the fiscal court with documentation listing all reported incidents at the rail yard where remote controls were in use.
The company has remotes in use at 60 locations, including the Russell yard, which has 36 certified operators working five separate remote-control switching operations. CSX plans to add three new switching jobs at the rail yard in the coming months.
The fiscal court adopted a resolution drafted by Commissioner Nelson Allen to pursue legal action to bar the use of remotes should it be discovered that the technology presents serious safety concerns.
Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter also requested CSX stop using remotes to switch cars containing hazardous materials in an area of the rail yard that sits near Worthington Intermediate School. The company has already ceased remote operations in a lot near other Raceland-Worthington district schools on the fiscal court’s behalf.
Adams said CSX will honor Carpenter’s latest request, though he clarified hazardous materials will still be involved in switching operations near Worthington Intermediate.
“Just so you understand, the materials won’t change, just the method of the switching operation,” he said.
Carpenter said the fiscal court will continue to closely monitor the use of remote controls in the county.