FELA Lawsuit

Union Pacific and BNSF railroads have begun using remote control technology on locomotives to move trains and freight. Using a radio control box that transmits a signal up to a mile and a half, trains may be moved along the tracks without an engineer. The practice reduces the number of railroad workers and cuts costs for the railroad companies, but may pose a significant safety hazard to railroad employees on the ground and to the general public.

Over 200 accidents nationwide have been attributed to the remote control equipment, including one fatality and several amputations. In Colorado, a remotely controlled train carrying liquefied gas went off the tracks. Another derailment involving a remotely controlled train shut down local highways in Louisiana for four hours. In New York, a man was killed when hit by a train operated by this new technology.

Representatives of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers have expressed concern over the new technology, stating that the savings to the railroads may not be worth the costs to public safety.