(The Des Moines Register posted the following article by Jason Clayworth on its website on April 5.)
DES MOINES, Iowa — A labor union is questioning the safety of remote-control trains at two Union Pacific rail yards in Des Moines.
Charles Hintz, a spokesman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, has told the Des Moines City Council that the system is a disaster waiting to happen.
“I can’t even begin to tell you all the names of dangerous chemicals” carried by remote-control operated trains, Hintz said. Among the trains’ cargo are farm chemicals such as anhydrous ammonia.
Tom White, a spokesman for the Association of American Railroads, an industry group, said the issue has little to do with safety and a lot to do with a nasty spat between two labor groups.
The United Transportation Union has embraced remote-control locomotives and gobbled up many of the technical jobs, he said. Hintz’s union, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, has opposed the devices and has been involved with several lawsuits that have failed to end their use.
Frank Wilner, a national spokesman for United Transportation Union, said the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers uses scare tactics to elicit response and gain sympathy.
“This is a jobs issue, and it has absolutely nothing to do with safety,” he said.
Hintz denied that. None of Des Moines’ 18 locomotive engineers who worked in the freight yards lost their jobs when remote-control devices were put in place. The group has nothing to gain by protesting the devices, he said.
“There have already been two what I would call major collisions and numerous smaller collisions, sideswipes and derailments” in Des Moines, Hintz said. “My concern is that one of these accidents will cause evacuations, injuries or deaths.”
Hintz asked the City Council to pass an ordinance banning the railroad’s use of remote controls in the city. At least 10 other cities have taken similar action, he said.
The Des Moines City Council has asked the city legal department to look at the issues involved.
Union Pacific says the system is safe and actually reduces accidents.
Train operators carry remote-control devices on their waists and may be more than half a mile away from the engine when they flip control switches. The system is used to connect and disconnect rail cars in the freight yards.
Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said there have been two accidents in Des Moines, but there were no injuries in either case. Both were caused by human error, not the remote controls, he said.
Union Pacific officials believe the remote controls increase productivity and have documented 50 percent fewer accident reports under their use during the first half of 2002, Davis said.
The railroad plans to add remote controls in all 124 Union Pacific freight yards, Davis said. Des Moines was the first site in Iowa. Yards in Council Bluffs, Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Mason City and Sioux City will have the technology within the next year.
Remote-control locomotives have been used by Canadian rail officials for about a decade. U.S. railway companies began using them a couple years ago, said Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.
All accidents involving remote-control locomotives must be reported to the federal agency. So far, about 40 accidents have been reported nationwide. One involved the death of a 36-year-old man who was struck Feb. 16 by a moving railroad car near Syracuse, N.Y.
Federal officials do not have enough information to officially endorse or prohibit the devices, Flatau said.
“There are a lot of outrageous claims out there,” Flatau said.
Boston and Detroit are among the cities to request that railroads stop using remote-control locomotives in their city limits.
Des Moines City Attorney Bruce Bergman said a resolution from the City Council likely would have little meaning because railroads are largely regulated by federal authorities. He will report to the council within the next two weeks.