(The following article by George Lauby was published in the North Platte Telegraph on March 16.)
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — They want safe trains, and the want them now.
About 60 people carried placards and rallied Saturday outside the Lincoln County Courthouse against the hazards of remote-controlled switch engines.
The demonstrators lined the sidewalks at 4th and Dewey, listened to speakers, and then marched the square block around the courthouse shouting – “What do we want? Safe Trains.”
The source of the irritation is the use of remote-controlled switch engines in Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard, the world’s largest train yard.
In late January, UP began training on the use of remote-controlled engines. The change will eventually eliminate about 55 Bailey Yard engineer positions.
“It is not a jobs-related issue,” said Randy Meek of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. “It’s a safety-related issue.”
The goal of the demonstrators is to raise awareness among the public and persuade the city to sign a resolution against remote-controlled engines, Meek said.
“Bailey Yard is the largest yard in the world,” he said. “It has the highest content of hazardous materials passing through of anywhere in the United States.”
Meek or other union representatives will be among those who lay out the union’s case before the North Platte City Council Tuesday night.
Union Pacific officials from its Omaha headquarters will then present management’s side of the issue to the council.
UP is already using the remote controls in Kansas City, Little Rock, Ark., Ft. Worth, Texas as well as yards in Iowa, Wyoming and Oregon, Bailey Yard superintendent Rich Jensen said when he announced the program in late January.
The changeover to remote controls is eliminating one person from the three-person crews that handle engines and trains inside the yard.
Those engineers are moving to other jobs. The resulting job bumps will continue down the line, officials say, ultimately laying off recently hired workers, who will be furloughed, with pay, for up to six years.
“It is not a jobs-related issue,” said Randy Meek of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. “It’s a safety-related issue.”
Meek said the experience of the train engineers is vital.
Engineers are the most highly trained of all railroad employees, undergoing more than 12 months of training to get certified, said Bill Walpert of the BLE’s union headquarters in Cleveland. Remote control operators only take 80 hours of training, he said.
And, the United States Federal Railroad Agency has not issued sufficient regulations overseeing remote-control operations, he said.
Two and a half years ago, as union and company officials negotiated the change to remote controls, the BLE requested more regulations from the FRA. They were ignored, Walpert said. Recently, the BLE filed suit against the FRA, alleging the government-regulating agency has failed its duty to write more rules.
“The FRA won’t discuss it,” Walpert said.
Meek said some think the FRA has not acted because of political pressure.
In a brief talk to the crowd, city councilwoman Rita Hernandez said she is concerned about the safety of the community and shares concern about safe passage of hazardous materials through the yard.
Ten counties and two cities have signed resolutions against the use of the remote-controlled engines, Meek said.
As many as 30 remote-controlled trains have been wrecked in railroad yards and grain elevators around the nation, but exact numbers have been hard to come by, since Union Pacific management keeps yard accident records, Meek said
In early February, the maiden voyage of a remote-controlled engine at Bailey Yard ended with a wreck.
Bailey Yard supervisor Terry Hennessey said at the time there was a problem with a track.
However, an employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said the remote controller failed to allow a switch engine to move to help absorb the slack when the train stopped. That allowed the jarring cars to jump the track at a bend.
So far, the use of remote controls is confined to the switchyards, but Walpert said the union is concerned that the definition of a yard will begin to extend a few miles in either direction, and possibly even farther.
The ultimate goal is to put national political pressure on the FRA, he said.