BLET President Testifies For Two-Person Crews, PTC At Congressional Hearing

CLEVELAND, June 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dennis Pierce, National President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and President of the Teamsters Rail Conference, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives today and urged the timely implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC), coupled with a minimum two-person operating crew to ensure safety along the nation's railroads.

Testifying before the House's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee at the hearing titled "Oversight of the Amtrak Accident in Philadelphia," President Pierce's testimony covered several core elements of federal oversight of the railroad industry, stressing that two-person train crews backed by PTC would go a long way toward preventing future accidents.

While PTC would help mitigate accidents, he said, it should not be used to replace crew members who work inside the cab of America's locomotives.

"PTC is no silver bullet," he said. "It's not designed to prevent every accident and any claim that PTC renders the second crew member unnecessary is a just not true. PTC can't replace the second crewmember. It doesn't provide a second set of eyes and ears trained on the road ahead or monitor the 'left' side of the train for defects like hot wheels, stuck brakes or shifted lading, or observe the 'left' side of highway-rail grade crossings for drivers who fail to stop, or separate stopped trains that block crossings to allow first responders to cross the tracks."

In support of two-person train operations, President Pierce urged members of the T&I Committee to take up and support Congressman Don Young's Safe Freight Act — H.R. 1763 —that would require two crew members inside the locomotive cabs of freight trains and light engines used in connection with the movement of freight. He also asked the Committee to reconsider the Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981 (NERSA), a federal law that eliminated the second crewmember on Northeast Corridor passenger locomotives.

In addition, President Pierce addressed crew member fatigue, blaming inaccurate crew line-ups and unpredictable work schedules for causing "systemic fatigue" throughout the industry.

He also downplayed the notion of inward-facing cameras as an accident prevention measure. "Cameras can be an accident investigation tool but they create a false sense of security if more than that is expected," he said. "Cameras don't slow or stop trains, PTC does."

"The truth is that some railroads have shown much more interest in using the camera data to punitively attack certain employees than for post-accident investigations, and that is just unacceptable," Pierce said.

President Pierce also called for Congress to increase funding for Amtrak

"We can't expect Amtrak to run a first-class railroad if it's funded at Third World levels," Pierce said. "Amtrak is a good investment … a necessary resource, and shortchanging Amtrak creates other costs elsewhere. I strongly urge you to provide the resources necessary for Amtrak to thrive and grow, and not just to limp along."

Others witnesses who also testified include: Christopher Hart, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board; Joseph H. Boardman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Amtrak and Sarah Feinberg, Acting Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration.

A copy of President Pierce's written testimony is available on the BLET website:
http://www.ble-t.org/pr/pdf/2015-06-02_T&I_Statement_Pierce.pdf

Contact: David White (202) 624-6911 [email protected]  or John Bentley (216) 241-2630 [email protected]

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SOURCE Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen/Teamsters Rail Conference