Conductors seek phone rule changes
Unions representing locomotive engineers and conductors said Monday they were seeking changes in federal restrictions on cellphone use by train crews ordered in the wake of the September Metrolink disaster in Chatsworth.
The employee groups said they support a ban on use of personal electronic devices by crews operating trains. But they want exceptions for situations where use of mobile phones and other devices could enhance safety, the unions said in a joint announcement.
The Federal Railroad Administration sharply restricted cellphone use by train crews after investigators reported the Metrolink engineer had repeatedly sent text messages before slamming head on into a Union Pacific freight train Sept. 12. The crash killed 25 people and injured 135.
The unions want their members to be allowed to use cellphone cameras to document safety hazards along tracks when the employees are not operating a train.
In addition, off-duty employees being transported to central locations should be permitted to use personal cellphones when riding in passenger cars or spare locomotives, according to the filing.
The FRA “should seriously consider those atypical situations in which [the new restrictions] could inadvertently result in a diminution of safety,” wrote Ed Rodzwicz, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and Mike Futhey, president of the United Transportation Union.
An FRA spokesman could not be reached for comment.
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