SMART Transportation Division Alternate Vice President J. Scott Chelette, general chairperson of GO 927, was featured in a television news report about the rail industry’s intention to eliminate the conductor from the cab of freight trains in the wake of Class I freight carriers implementing Positive Train Control (PTC).
Chelette was featured alongside West, Texas, Police Chief Darryl Barton on the report, broadcast Jan. 30 on KWTX-TV in Waco, Texas.
“The industry wants to take it a step further and thinks that because they have Positive Train Control that we don’t need a conductor on the locomotive anymore. That’s not the case,” Chelette said. “It’s just a failsafe. It’s just like your vehicle having an alert system.”
Our members know that PTC is not a cure-all and that its operational performance has been sporadic. If technology such as PTC impedes your ability to operate a train, then a Technology Event Report should be filed with SMART-TD.
Video of Chelette’s appearance is available above. The entire article from KWTX can be read on the station’s website.
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