Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
I wonder - instead of changing the system - it may be possible to tailor the system to make more humane and more efficent also. I envision it this way: Each crew is composed of 3 people - each of them can perform engineer and conductor duties. They all work in a cycle: 8 hrs sleep -> 8 hrs driving -> 8 hrs conductor -> 8 hrs sleep... during the conductor duties one can call home, watch tv, do mundane paperwork, prepare food and poke engineer with a cattle rod ;) etc. The cycle would be (let us say) max 10 days - with 10 free days afterward. Overall the employee would be on duty for 16 hours daily - and would do 8 hour shifts but the crew would be avalible for 10 days straight. It would be probable to take a train coast-to-coast with just two crews thus less time would be wasted on changing crews. The one "behind the wheel" would be always fresh - thus less probability of something fatal happening. Also - rested employees are less likely to call in sick (sleep depravation does weird things to humans) or retire early due to health problems. If one has a slave runner mentality then 10 day duty cycle could be trailed by 4 day recuperation cycle - thus getting 11,4 hours per day of each employee (160 hours of work per 14 days) . Union agreement I guess. or maybe 9/5 with 10,28 work hours per day. So - there is a schedule for the crews (show up at the home terminal each x days - 10 days duty/4-5-10 free) and there is the irregular nature of the railroads (each crew is avalible for 10 days). One could probably pull this stunt with 2 people (12 hrs sleep -> 12 hrs drive) but the extra benefit of another human close (increased safety and someone to talk to) is lost.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag