(The following article by Dean Brickey was posted on the East Oregonian website on March 9.)
HERMISTON, Ore. — Despite the city’s efforts to ban remote- controlled trains, Union Pacific Railroad intends to extend remote operations from Hinkle.
Chris Peterson, the railroad’s director of governmental affairs, however, invited city officials to participate in a demonstration of remote-control-locomotive (RCL) technology early next month.
Neither Mayor Bob Severson, to whom Peterson’s letter was addressed, nor City Manager Ed Brookshier were amused.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going to be very successful,” Severson said. “I’m not happy with it, but it looks like that’s what they’re going to do.”
Brookshier said it doesn’t appear there’s much the city can do because the Federal Railroad Administration has said Union Pacific is within its rights.
“Since FRA is the final regulatory word, there’s not a lot we can do,” he said.
In his letter, Peterson said Union Pacific has used RCL technology safely across its network – inside and outside yards and terminals – for some time.
“For instance, RCL technology is used every day in Hinkle Yard, and current RCL operations there include movements across public crossings,” Peterson wrote.
Among the things railroad and city officials discussed at a meeting in December was where the train’s controller would be during train movements.
“… Once the RCL technology is implemented there will be two crew members in the cab of the locomotive as the train moves through Hermiston,” Peterson wrote.
Stressing that remote operations across public crossings is common, he enclosed a chart summarizing RCL operations in a number of cities. In the Northwest, it showed crossings at Hinkle, Eugene, Portland and Seattle-Tacoma. Union Pacific RCL trains go over four roads near Hinkle 10 times every 24 hours, the chart showed. It also showed 12 crossings of four streets daily in Eugene, 73 crossings of 26 streets in Portland and 233 crossings of 78 streets in the Seattle area.
The greatest number on the list was 950 crossings of 75 streets in the vicinity of a Los Angeles train yard.
Peterson said city officials asked for information on stopping distances for a typical train that would travel through Hermiston. A chart he included showed stopping distances would vary from 365 feet to 750 feet for a 20-car, 3,000-ton train powered by one locomotive traveling 10 miles per hour. The distance would vary depending upon the grade, ranging from minus three-tenths of a percent to minus 1 percent.
Union Pacific has continued evaluating the Umatilla job, Peterson said, and is developing an employee training plan that would be implemented before the railroad starts RCL operations.
“This plan must be approved by the Federal Railroad Administration prior to implementation,” he wrote.
As a result of Peterson’s letter, dated Feb. 27, the city will be unable to enforce the resolution it adopted in November to ban RCL operations in the name of safety.
“I don’t know how we can enforce it,” Severson said. “It seems like they have a right.”