Mr. Conklin. My name is Peggy Shrum. I am the founder of a growing organization called RRESQ (railroad employee safety and quality). I would like to respond to your email to an engineer in San Antonio which is reprinted below.
First of all in light of your experience as a locomotive engineer you must be aware of the dangers of working around any railroad equipment (1) ALONE and (2) from the GROUND. The public outcry against this technology, and the testimony of the workers themselves must be entered into the record. The fact that this young man was forced to work alone is nothing short of irresponsible. The FRA must conclude with this finding.
Second. Manpower shortages. Just how much mileage do you and Union Pacific plan to get out of attributing their chronic manpower shortages to their inability to correctly account for the change in the retirement age? This bill was signed into law in 2001 as UP was well aware of in advance. It's the end of 2003, and UP's manpower shortages have existed since 1997. GET A NEW LINE.
And finally fatigue. How dare you say that this is a no-win issue. This is the biggest issue on the railroad...and we are counting on individuals like yourself to determine the solution. Of course you can't please all the people all the time...but you don't wring your hands and say "there is no answer". The money and time invested in assuring that this issue is NEVER solved amounts to simple negligence on the part of all participants.
Mr. Conklin...Don't turn your back on 30 years of locomotive engineering and your former comrades just because you have moved into a nice job with the FRA. You know what these individuals are up against day in and day out... and the standard FRA and corporate line simply does don't fly with them. We expect more from the FRA.
You say you are Not out of touch....Your answers to this engineer are soft and laced with corporate rhetoric. I'm not sure how you sleep at night.
Peggy Shrum
Mr. Conklins email to a Locomotive Engineer in San Antonio:
My name is John Conklin. I manage the engineer certification regulation and I am also point person for RCL issues in FRA. I am also a locomotive engineer of 30+ years and can identify with your concerns. Concerning the fatality at San Antonio, UP called me at my home on Sunday morning to report the incident to me because it involved RCL equipment. This incident is currently under FRA investigation. Preliminary reports indicate the remote control operator was struck by the two light locomotives he was operating. As it appears right now, he evidently walked into the path of the locomotives, believing they were moving on an adjacent track. If this is true, he had his back to the movement.
Concerning manpower shortages, it appears UP failed to calculate the number of employees that would retire under the new 30/60 provision in railroad retirement. UP is currently implementing a hiring campaign to fill these vacancies. This issue is not new. I can remember working on the extra list and crying to add more engineers to the list so I could have a day off. Of course as soon as the engineers were added, work would slow up and everyone would be crying to "cut the board."
Concerning fatigue, FRA has always been hopeful that the unions and railroads would work together to develop fatigue counter measures. This has always been a collective bargaining issue. In my experience this is also a no-win situation. If you tell people that they will have two days off per week, many will accuse you of depriving them of income. As you know, typical railroaders want to work 7-8 days a week and have Saturday and Sunday off! It is my opinion that eventually Congress will act on this problem and issue laws that will limit the number of hours train crews can work within a certain time period.
I can understand your feelings, but I can assure you that FRA is not out of touch with you or the rail industry. Feel free to contact me any time. Be safe!
John L. Conklin 3rd
Engineer Certification Program Manager
& Contact for RCL Operations
Federal Railroad Administration
Office of Safety
1120 Vermont Avenue, NW
6th Floor, Room 6051
Washington, DC 20005
telephone: 202-493-6318
