Voice Recorders in Locomotive Cabs

[bgreen58]

Are there any railroads (Freight - Intercity Passenger - Commuter - Subway - Light Rail, etc.) in North America that have voice recorder systems within the cabs of their locomotives or power cars similar to what is found in the cockpits of airplanes of major airlines?

[Anonymous]

I don't think so. All locomotives do have black boxes like airplanes do, but not voice recorders. Some people want to have voice recorders in locomotives, but there is also alot of opposition to it. The reasn is because trains crews often talk to each other about other things not related to their job on their radios. Many wouldn't like it it there was a recording of them talking with someone all about last night's football game. At least that's what I've heard about it. There are many people who work for the railroads here on the forums, so perhaps they can shed some more light on it.

[BentnoseWillie]

Transport Canada accident reports occasionally mention that a cab voice recorder would have been useful in investigating a fatal accident, but so far nothing has come of it, not least because of privacy concerns from the crews.

The reports I've read make more of an issue of making the existing event recorders more crashworthy, as investigations can be hampered by the destruction of the lead unit's recorder.