Sen. Brown calls on CSX's Hinrichs to meet with Cleveland rail-yard workers

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is calling on CSX President and CEO Joe Hinrichs to meet with workers and reverse plans that would remove train crews from the Collinwood Rail Yard in Cleveland.

CSX has said it plans to relocate some employees from the Collinwood yard to one 80 miles away in Willard, Ohio, or 180 miles away in Buffalo, New York, according to a press release issued by Brown's office.

CSX's plan would not only disrupt Cleveland-based workers, it would negatively impact the reliability of the railroad's Ohio operations, Brown said in a letter to Hinrichs.

"When a train is disabled or delayed significantly, which happens often, a crew change is required under federal safety regulations," Brown wrote. "Because of the great distance between Buffalo and Willard, the removal of train crews from Collinwood in Cleveland will result in more trains being stalled because train crews have reached their maximum hours of service, and the length of resulting delays will increase because relief crews will travel much further to reach points in northeast Ohio."

Brown asked Hinrichs to travel to Cleveland to meet with the CSX workers.

CSX has streamlined train starts at the Collinwood Yard to reduce train delays, balance crew availability, improve terminal dwell and overall customer service, CSX officials said in a written statement issued in response to Brown's letter.

"To date, this has impacted a small number of employees who will be reassigned to a nearby yard in Willard, Ohio," the CSX statement says. "We will continue to engage with union representatives throughout this process as we assess the success of this operating change and any future adjustments."