EVERETT, Wash. — As a switching locomotive rolls slowly toward a line of railcars on the waterfront tracks here, something’s missing from the driver’s seat, according to the Everett Daily Herald.
The engineer.
Instead, the railroad worker controlling the movements of the 250,000-pound vehicle is walking alongside the tracks with a bright yellow remote control unit in his hands.
Moving locomotives without drivers is becoming a common sight in Everett’s two rail yards with the arrival of a technology that’s sweeping the rail industry and angering some union engineers.
Everett, along with Seattle, is one of more than two dozen Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail yards nationwide where remote control technology has been introduced in recent months nationwide, said railroad spokesman Gus Melonas.
“The program is designed for more efficient and safe movements and switching in these terminals,” Melonas said, adding that other major railroads in the United States also are taking part in the pilot project.
Except in special situations, all switching operations in Everett’s rail yards are now done with remote control.
The remote control unit lets a trained conductor, brakeman or other train worker run a locomotive from the ground rather than climbing into the locomotive cab. Using the device, the worker who is coupling cars together or performing switching operations can have total control over the locomotive’s movements.
The units, which send radio signals directly or via a relay transmitter to receiving units in the locomotives, also allow the remote operator to honk the train’s horn and perform other functions.
Using remote-controlled locomotives reduces the chance for miscommunication between the drivers and ground workers, according to the railroad companies.
While it is new in this country’s large rail yards, remote control has been used for more than a decade in Canada and on shortline railroads here. That established history shows the technology’s effectiveness and safety, Melonas said.
But debate over effects on labor from remote-control locomotives and their safety rages between the railroad companies and worker unions.
“It’s a can of worms,” said Chris Malm, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Division 518, which covers Western Washington.
The union’s members have been outspoken about their fears that engineers will be put out of work by the technology. The organization would like only certified train engineers running the remote control units.
Between Everett and Seattle, about 30 engineers have shifted into other duties since the introduction of the remote-control units for switching locomotives, according to the union.
Melonas said, however, that the technology hasn’t caused any layoffs.
“At Everett, no employees have been left out on the streets. There are other jobs for them to fill,” he said.
However, Malm said many fully certified engineers who have moved up the ranks don’t like taking rail yard duties. He also wonders whether layoffs can be avoided when slower times hit the railroad in the winter.
Mark Ricci, chairman of the union’s Washington State Legislative Board, cites safety concerns, especially where cars and pedestrians frequently cross railroad tracks that remote-controlled switching locomotives use.
“Up in Everett, a major concern is there are a lot of hazardous materials being handled by train,” Ricci said. “If you increase the likelihood that there will be some sort of incident, you increase the hazard of a major spill.”
The railroad companies point to a study of Canadian operations using remote control that showed a dramatic cut in the accident rates after the technology’s introduction.
According to Federal Railroad Administration figures, there have been six accidents in 2001 and this year involving, but not attributable to, remote-control locomotives in the United States. Those accidents resulted in one injury, said Warren Flatau, public affairs specialist with the agency.
Because remote-controlled locomotives are new to this country’s big railroads, the FRA has implemented stricter-than-normal requirements on the reporting of accidents involving locomotives under remote control, he added.
Melonas said Burlington Northern Santa Fe has had no “significant incidents” with remote-controlled locomotives in the Puget Sound area.
In contrast to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the United Transportation Union workers negotiated with the railroad companies over the introduction of remote-control locomotives. That has made transportation union members, which include switchmen and brakemen, the primary operators of the remote control units in many rail yards, including Everett.
Gary Johnson of Marysville, chairman of United Transportation Union Local 1713, said he has mixed feelings about the remote-control units, which he regularly uses in the Everett rail facilities.
“They’re OK, but I’d hate to see any engineer lose a job,” he said.
Workers controlling the trains from the ground can see further down the tracks than engineers in the locomotives, Johnson said, and he agrees there’s less chance for human error. But he’s not convinced the remote-controlled operations are safer than having an engineer in the locomotive cab and a rail worker on the ground.
Both he and Malm said they think remote control actually slows down switching operations, though that could change as workers become more comfortable using the units.
“I just hope the railroads are open enough to realize it may not be useful in all situations,” Malm said.
Because the technology can save money for the railroad companies and has spread quickly, Johnson predicts it is here to stay.
“I think this is the future.”