Mr. Hemphill, Mr. Phillips are right on the money

[Anonymous]

It's time for the management of todays' railroads to pull their collective heads out. They've cut back on the number of people working to save money. They've cut back on all types of maintenance to save money. By doing so, they've effectively cut the income of money they so greatly hoard.

I speak from experience when I say that it's become more dangerous to the train crews to operate over much of the trackage that's left in operation. The main reason is the encroachment of the vegetation along the tracks. We can't see signals in some cases until we're right on top of them. We can't work the ground safely because of brush, tree limbs, and creeping vines. We can't have the windows open because the tree branches could easily break bones if we get hit by them. Rest assured, the Company will find that it's all the fault of the crewmen if they get hurt.

It's pretty bad when one crew runs into trouble of one kind or another, and there's not another crew available (rested) for several hours to replace them. It's even worse when it's normal that every extra crew is back out on their rest on every trip. That's like working eight hours on, eight hours off, continuously. If everything works right, you'll get one day off per week.

It all comes down to who's running the railroads and their motivations. This is what happens when the "Beancounters" and the lawyers run the show. But the greed isn't limited to them. How about the bonuses paid to the middle management types to cut costs? Like the track supervisor that could hire more people to keep the vegetation cut back, but wants the money at the end of the year. Or the trainmaster who doesn't want to open the extra board because it might mess up that annual family big-buck vacation.

Even the train crews are at some fault. The conductors gave up the brakemen, and the engineers gave up the fireman. Now the conductors, through the UTU, are trying to give up the engineers on the yard jobs. Don't believe it when they say that no jobs will be lost through the implementation of remote control. Remember the article a few months back about "No Man Trains?"

It's time for all of us to realize that the right way to run a railroad is with railroaders, not the past management of Blockbuster or some other retail business. And you've got to spend money to make money. That means maintaining the track, signals, and right-of-way for speeds that will move freight in a timely manner. It's time to make money the old-fashioned way, work for it!

[Anonymous]

I wholeheartedly agree with this article. As an engineer for CSX i see many of the things discussed here on a daily basis. When the old timers in the terminal tell you that it is worse now than with Penn Central, something is seriously ascew.

Long Live CONRAIL

[mudchicken]

One problem Ramblerman:

(Paragraph 4, sentences 4/5/6) Middle managers do NOT get to establi***heir manpower levels...They get added or deleted from upstairs by VP level people and their trusty budget department sidekicks who are in the gunsights of the next level up with their trusty Wall Street Trash sidekicks. (hint: Vicious Circles) We are just told that we have to cut X number of Trackmen, Truckdrivers, Machine Operators, etc. Those surviviving middle managers are all out there dancing as fast as they can with whatever is available to them....When those people "burn out", they get rid of them and find less experienced folks to fill the same positions and play the corporate budget version of "The Emporers New Clothes"....Only when the FRA steps in does the process even get reversed a slight bit, and then not for long.

Until Wall Street and the non railroader management consultants (McKenzie Group and the others with a BA or Finance degree and no common sense) realize that you have to spend money to make money, the circus will continue. The solution is NOT to solve the budget net income issues on the backs of middle management and below. New thought processes are urgently needed! (and for that matter, upper management that actually listens to the folks down below in the trenches outside their little "Suit" cliques)

mc

[JoeKoh]

From what I've seen and heard most of the above is very true not only in railroads but corporate america itself.
stay safe
Joe

[vsmith]

Very Unfortunate, Very True.

[Anonymous]

WOW Its that bad.........
Pretty damn sad
Mabey the President should stop commiting Genocide and find some ppl who need real help.............

[wabash1]

the engineers did not give up the firemen they are still around .. but in our case its the utu that holds that contract.

[Anonymous]

Mudchicken, I don't dispute that personnel levels are monitored and adjusted by upper management. Unfortunately, on the Class 1 I work for, middle management does have a lot of say when it comes to local staffing levels. My current status is "place," which means that I'm not assigned a job, not on the extra board, and not furloughed. I'm just kinda "out there somewhere." It saves the company from paying my unemployment. Can you say "screwed?" "Course you can!

CSX doesn't have the market cornered, jchoochoo71. How many places can you see a train-shaped hole in the vegetation? It reminds me of the hole in the wall left after the cartoon character runs through it. We've got a lot of PC, LV, EL, and even a NYC guy, and they say the same thing- it's never been this bad. Other than a candle about cheek high, the thing that really burns me is that so many of the managers and others I work with put down the shortlines for their practices. I've worked for a couple shortlines, and I can tell you that I felt a lot safer there than I do here. I guess that's because they don't have the money to pay out in injury claims, or the lawyers on staff to keep the claims from being paid. It's cheaper for the shortlines to follow FRA regulations than take an arrogant attitude.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

[Anonymous]

Mudchicken, I don't dispute that personnel levels are monitored and adjusted by upper management. Unfortunately, on the Class 1 I work for, middle management does have a lot of say when it comes to local staffing levels. My current status is "place," which means that I'm not assigned a job, not on the extra board, and not furloughed. I'm just kinda "out there somewhere." It saves the company from paying my unemployment. Can you say "screwed?" "Course you can!

CSX doesn't have the market cornered, jchoochoo71. How many places can you see a train-shaped hole in the vegetation? It reminds me of the hole in the wall left after the cartoon character runs through it. We've got a lot of PC, LV, EL, and even a NYC guy, and they say the same thing- it's never been this bad. Other than a candle about cheek high, the thing that really burns me is that so many of the managers and others I work with put down the shortlines for their practices. I've worked for a couple shortlines, and I can tell you that I felt a lot safer there than I do here. I guess that's because they don't have the money to pay out in injury claims, or the lawyers on staff to keep the claims from being paid. It's cheaper for the shortlines to follow FRA regulations than take an arrogant attitude.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.