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Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers plans March 5 to hold an informational locomotive remote-control (LRC) picket in New Orleans to coincide with CSX Transportation's board meeting, to be held on a special train traveling overnight from New Orleans to Nashville.
BLE officials aim "to remind [CSXT] corporate officers that locomotive engineers are the rail industry's most highly trained and productive workers … who the railroad should be relying upon to operate cutting-edge remote-control technology that it introduced earlier this year," according to a prepared statement.
CSXT and other Class Is earlier this year began implementing LRCs on a limited basis. CSXT in December ordered 100 LRC units from Cattron-Theimeg Inc.; Kansas City Southern in January ordered 50 BELTPACK® LRC units from CANAC Inc.
BLE officials believe, among other issues, that public safety and interest will demand that federally qualified and certified locomotive engineers control LRC-operated trains.
CSXT's locomotive engineers coordinated the informational picketing — which will feature several large banners with safety-related slogans designed for board members to read as the train passes — with other BLE members from Union Pacific Railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and KCS.