Letter to the editor: Bring back the caboose

The Railway Safety Act of 2023 will be introduced in the Senate. It has a provision requiring two “well-trained, two-person crews aboard every train.” The “hot box technology” used every 20 miles on a railroad track is insufficient because it cannot distinguish whether the temperature of a wheel bearing is too hot. The railroad can manipulate the recorded temperature of the boxes as an entry point of danger, and that is unacceptable.

The problem with these resolutions is that the crew is placed in the wrong position on the train. Nothing can be a replacement for the sight and smell of a crew who should be in a caboose to watch the railcars.

Federal regulators have concluded that the disappearance of the caboose does not compromise safety and believe that the matter should be resolved through labor negotiations. “We’ve never considered it a safety issue,” said William Loftus, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.

The caboose was eliminated as a cost-saving measure, and time has shown that eliminating the caboose is a safety issue. It’s time to stop transporting hazardous railcars 200 cars long. Reduce the hazardous freight cars to 100 cars long and return the caboose with a two-man crew where they belong, in a caboose at the rear of the trains hauling hazardous materials. This shouldn’t be a contract issue!

Raymond Anthony

Fawn