Last week, on February 16, a woman was struck and killed by a remote controlled locomotive (RCL) in CSX Transportation’s Frontier Yard in Buffalo, New York. This is at least the second time in the past year that a CSX RCL has been involved with hitting a local resident in a neighborhood bisected by CSX tracks in Buffalo. Last June, an 8-year-old child lost his leg to an RCL at almost the same spot. The Frontier Yard, like many rail yards, is not completely closed to the public. Whenever RCLs are used in uncontrolled environments they pose a significant public safety risk. BLET has been outspoken on this issue. BLET National President Eddie Hall in a guest editorial in the Houston Chronicle raised questions about the safety of RCLs and said their use, especially outside of rail yards, should be ended.Photo courtesy: Cory Rusch, BLET Division 659
Woman killed by remote controlled locomotive in Buffalo, renews questions about trains operated without engineers in control
