The Amtrak crash that killed eight people this month raised questions of the safety of one-engineer trains, thwarting the idea of reducing freight crews for now, Union Pacific Corp. Chief Executive Officer Lance Fritz said.
While cargo operators would save money with a single person in the cab instead of two people, that argument will be a tough sell to railroad workers and union leaders after the May 12 accident in Philadelphia, Fritz said. Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor have used solo engineers since 1983, according to a union statement.
“It makes the conversation more difficult today,” Fritz said in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York Wednesday. “That’s because it becomes a more emotional conversation as opposed to a conversation grounded in fact and the capability of technology.”
Read more from Bloomberg Business.
Related News
- SMART-TD, FRA announce federal regulation requiring two-person freight crews
- N.Y. special election — a chance to support Tom Suozzi, who supports our members
- ERMA lifetime maximum benefit to increase in 2024
- Rail labor collectively urges representatives to oppose House THUD bill
- SMART News episode 10 features Local 19 member on Biden endorsement, coverage of railroad victories, GP Coleman’s visit to Tenn. megaproject and more
- Veto means Nevada governor picked politics over safety
- Members of GO-953 ratify historic tentative agreement with Union Pacific
- Watch: Local sheet metal unions win back pay for wage theft and worker misclassification
- ProPublica reports: “As Rail Profits Soar, Blocked Crossings Force Kids to Crawl Under Trains to Get to School”
- Defense of our bus operators is needed