Unions have also disputed how railroads used new Congress-mandated automated emergency braking systems to justify plans to remove conductors from trains, leaving the engineer the only human responsible for up to 3 miles of train cars moving on up to 70 miles a year. hour. While the new braking system will automatically stop a train if it blows through a signal, railroad unions argue it’s no substitute for a second pair of hands and eyes on a long vehicle that sometimes carries dangerous material.
Unions often point to a 2013 Quebec train crash where a lone engineer failed to properly secure a train before disembarking, and it rolled down a hill, killing 47 people and destroying most of a downtown area. Then the Canadian government passed a law mandating two-person crews; last month, the US Federal Railroad Administration proposed creating its own rule to do the same, which the railroad association opposes.
The unpredictable schedules demanded by railroad companies often lead to sleep deprivation and ill health, making solo services dangerous, said Jordan Boone, a conductor for BNSF and a legislative representative for the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD). “It’s not a sustainable lifestyle to be alone on those trains,” he says. In addition, “If something happens, it can take hours for someone to get to you because we work in very remote locations.”
Greener option
Trade associations, including those for the grain and chemical industries, say one of the root causes of the rail crisis is a lack of competition. The number of major freight railways has declined over the years and in some areas customers are tied to a single line. In Congress, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is considering a bill that would create incentives for better services. The Railways Association is against the bill. The STB is also considering rule changes that would increase competition.
Greg Regan, of the TTD transport union coalition, says railroads earn better for more than just business reasons, because they are more environmentally friendly and cost-efficient than alternatives such as trucks. “Railroads should be a growing industry,” he says. “That’s not happening now, in part because the only focus from the corporate side is on quarterly returns for shareholders, not on long-term growth and what’s ultimately better for our country.”
Sloan of the American Chemistry Council says rail freight problems could also hinder efforts to boost semiconductor production in the US. The CHIPS Act, a financing package passed last month, is expected to generate new business for chemical companies producing chip components. “If you want to make more things in America, like semiconductors,” Sloan says, “you have to be able to move them.” The recently signed U.S. climate bill links tax credits on electric vehicles with a requirement to process battery materials domestically, reforming supply chains that may also rely on trains.
Unions and railway companies now have two weeks to consider the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board and reach an agreement for a possible strike. The board essentially split both parties’ proposal in half, proposing a series of increases equal to 24 percent over five years, and asking employees to pay more for health insurance. The railway association said it was willing to accept the recommendations, but union groups have expressed disappointment, with some saying the council’s recommendations did not go far enough, in part because they failed to take into account intense work schedules.
After two years of supply chain woes, businesses and consumers may be on the cusp of another demonstration of what happens when a transportation network usually taken for granted comes to a standstill. Transport advisor Larry Gross says the pandemic delays and the ongoing crisis in rail freight are a reminder that an increasingly disaster-prone world calls for stronger transport networks. “These types of mega failures are much more common than they used to be,” he says. “The system needs to change to become a little more resilient and a little more flexible than it used to be.”
