Ryanair CEO questions the need for the co-pilot - wants to replace them with flight attendants

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Insane idea. The freight railroads have gotten rid of their train crews down to two persons. Both of them are on the lead locomotive now. Both are "qualified" engineers. And both are "qualified" conductors. Great idea, "part-time" engineer and "part-time" conductor. Under Amtrak and Federal rules, a passenger service engineer, can operate the passenger train with just one (1) person, as engineer in the locomotive cab, for four (4) hours, without second (Fireman position) engineer. The result is, only one (1) person operating/controlling locomotive and passenger train. And is alone in cab, for four (4) hours.

9-07-2010 @ 2:06PM

Imwithst UP id said...

I'm not sure where you've gotten your information about the major class 1 railroads. There are still 2 crewmembers in the controlling locomotive. One is a licensed class 1 Engineer and the other is a Qualified Conductor (currently there is not a Conductor certification inplace. Maybe 2011/12). Not all engineers have a Conductors qualification either. There maybe instances where both crewmembers are class 1 Engineers, but there are no allowences for "part-time" responsibilities.
While only 10% of the nations hazardous chemicals are transported by rail, that accounts for 80% of the total volume. Do you seriously want a "Robo" controller hundreds of miles away making realtime situational decisions? Think about that when you entertain the cost reduction motivation of the rail carriers.....Safety is NOT their primary concern....

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