A Union Pacific locomotive, run by remote control, got out of control Monday morning near Salt Lake City, a local TV station reported. The accident raises more concerns among rail workers about the use of the remote devices.
The locomotive didn't stop until it pushed rail cars onto the main line and in the way of trains hauling hazardous materials, KSL-TV reported.
Union Pacific says the engineer miscalculated the distance it would take to stop the locomotive.
"They are training these guys to run these engines in 11 days and they are not on the engine," Mac Hunt of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, told the station. "They are on the ground like a remote car that kids play with.
"Down here in South Salt Lake where Roper Yard is or North Salt Lake that could spread really fast and cause a lot of damage to people," Hunt said.
View the TV station report on the accident
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A Union Pacific locomotive, run by remote control, got out of control Monday morning near Salt Lake City, a local TV station reported. The accident raises more concerns among rail workers about the use of the remote devices.
The locomotive didn’t stop until it pushed rail cars onto the main line and in the way of trains hauling hazardous materials, KSL-TV reported.
Union Pacific says the engineer miscalculated the distance it would take to stop the locomotive.
“They are training these guys to run these engines in 11 days and they are not on the engine,” Mac Hunt of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, told the station. “They are on the ground like a remote car that kids play with.
“Down here in South Salt Lake where Roper Yard is or North Salt Lake that could spread really fast and cause a lot of damage to people,” Hunt said.
View the TV station report on the accident
Related articles
Unions urge emergency order to stop railroad remote controls
Remote-controlled trains pose threats, workers say