(The following article by Cynthia M. Ellis was posted on the Alton, Ill. Telegraph’s website on July 6.)
ALTON, Ill. — The next time a big train is seen rolling down the tracks, something could be missing — the engineer.
Moving trains without drivers are becoming a common sight nationwide in the rail industry, and the more frequent use of remote-controlled locomotives has some Telegraph area officials concerned. Many don’t want to see unmanned trains going through their town.
“It’s dangerous,” Hartford Village Trustee Don Jacoby said.
In June, Hartford officials concerned about the safety of the community passed a resolution opposing the use of remote-controlled locomotives within village limits.
Jacoby said he feels it is a serious issue for the village, although an ordinance cannot be passed, because federal regulations governing railroads supersede any law created by local municipalities. However, in the interest of safety for its citizens, Hartford wants the Federal Railroad Administration to restrict and prohibit the use of remote-controlled locomotives.
“We are the first in the area to create a resolution like this,” Jacoby said. We have to think about the safety of our community.”
Through the use of a radio transmitter and receiver system, the remote-controlled locomotive can be operated by a person not physically located at the controls within the confines of the cab. A trained rail yard operator sends digital signals to its onboard computer.
Before remote control, rail yard operators and engineers communicated by radio or through a series of hand signals. Railroads began using remote-controlled locomotives in rail yards to cut down potentially dangerous miscommunication between switch workers and engineers.
Last month, remote control technology became a very contested issue between the Brotherhood of Locomotives Engineers and the United Transportation Union, which represents other rail industry employees.
The Federal Railroad Administration rejected calls from the engineers union to ban remote control locomotive technology on safety grounds.
“Based on safety data gathered to date, there is nothing to indicate that remote control operations should be banned from use,” Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter said. “In fact, in cases where the FRA has identified potential problems associated with remote control operations, railroads have been extremely responsive in addressing such issues.”
Rutter noted that since first issuing guidelines on the use of remote control in February 2001, the FRA has closely monitored the use of the technology industry-wide.
“Our commitment remains to proceed cautiously, closely monitoring the use of remote control technology,” Rutter said. “If we identify safety problems associated with this technology, we will move quickly to mitigate those safety risks, using the full range of enforcement and regulatory measures at our disposal.”
The engineers union does not object to using the technology on railroads where its members control it. It was only after the nation s largest railroads signed an agreement with the United Transportation Union giving its members control over the technology that the engineers union began arguing it should be banned on safety grounds.
Many engineers are strongly opposed to remote control technology because they believe it can virtually replace them at the controls. Engineers are banned from going anywhere near a remote-controlled locomotive, because railroad officials say they fear the engineers may try to sabotage the more-than-100-ton engine.
Local rail union members said that a growing number of locomotives are being operated by remote in The Telegraph area, including one along Landmarks Boulevard in Alton. Large yellow fluorescent signs were placed at the crossings on Henry and Ridge streets earlier this week by Union Pacific Railroad.
Remote technology wasn t widely used until the past year. Before that, railroad companies used it primarily for track-switching operations.
Railroad officials said the change in technology has reduced accidents and actually allows quicker response to dangerous situations than when a locomotive is operated by an engineer. The Federal Railroad Administration reported train accidents involving damages of $6,700 or more were reduced by 60 percent in remote control operations in 2002. Also, human factor-caused accidents were reduced 30 percent when comparing remote control with conventional operations.
Since implementation began early in 2002, more than 1,300 employees have been trained and certified as portable locomotive control operators. The technology is now in place in more than 60 locations across Union Pacific s 23-state network.
The technology features include a fail-safe design that stops a train automatically if communication between an operator and the locomotive is interrupted. If an operator falls or otherwise tilts the remote control unit more than 45 degrees from the vertical position, an alarm sounds. If the unit doesn t return to an upright position quickly, the locomotive stops and a “man down” alert is broadcast over yard radio frequencies.
Federal Railroad Administration officials studied the technology for nearly a decade, holding a series of public meetings to examine its safety. Training to learn to operate the portable locomotive control is an 80-hour program, and many engineers complain that those being trained are inexperienced in the locomotive industry.
“Many of those getting trained haven t been on the job all that long,” one local union member said. “They re on the job just long enough to join the union.”
He said union members have been prevented from talking publicly about the issue because of the ongoing conflict with the union and the railroad companies.
“An engineer has to go to school for about nine months,” the union member said. “To think someone is more qualified after 80 hours of class is ludicrous.”
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, the 80-hour program meets all safety standards and regulations.
“To date, we have not had any significant concerns with remote control implementation,” Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flatau said.
Operation certification training programs and operating rules are filed with the railroad administration.
Jacoby said that until the Federal Railroad Administration develops more comprehensive regulations for the use of remote-controlled locomotives, the village of Hartford does not want such devices present in the town.
“We don t want to jeopardize the safety of any citizens,” Jacoby said.