Train crews and shuttles around local rail yard.

When I worked for NS as conductor they (NS) had outsourced the transfer of crews to an outside jitney company.  They used vans to shuttle crews around.  Sometimes from yard to yard.  Other times just around the same yard from yard office out to the engine/train or to assist the yard crew with switching duty.  Could be from yard to a remote location to pick up a train and bring back an outlawed crew.  Once in awhile we took these jitneys from Shire Oaks yard to Altoona to pick up a returning train back to Shire Oaks yard or from Shire Oaks yard to Conway yard.

Riding in one of these jitneys was the scariest part of working for the RR.  I hate to say anything bad about anyone but most of the jitney drivers had VERY poor driving experience and/or driving records.  Most had little or no sleep when on duty.  They would shuttle crews to Harrisburg from Pittsburgh several times a shift then make a run to Altoona.  Putting a lot of hours under their belt with little or no sleep.

Don't know about the bars around the van. 

Rick

Thanks Rick.

Your assessment of the jitney driver was always my thought too. I'd be driving home from working late - like 2 am - with no one else on the streets and I'd be behind them turning on to the highway figuring they had a long drive to go and was glad is wasn't me riding.

do a search on" railcrew transportation,and you will get a good idea what its about. the industry does not attract the best people in the workforce,due to the pay being barely above min. wage.=jim

Frisco Tim, like I said I do not like to bad mouth anyone but most, not all, of the jitney drivers we had were not the cream of the crop.  That combined with long drives and long hours made for a pretty bad combo.  One driver fell asleep twice while taking my crew from Shire Oaks yard (just south of Pittsburgh) to Altoona.  Later we found out he also made 2 trips from Conway yard (west of Pittsburgh) to Harrisburg and back that same day then got called for our trip to Altoona.   But, on the other hand there were a few that were ok.

Rick

In Utah was was some proposed legislation, about rail crew drivers. Basically said they are terrible and something needed to be done to ensure crew safety.

Around here they mostly seem to be swapping crews, taking the timed out crew and dropping off the new one. I assume they take the timed out crew to the local motel or yard if they are home

I found the bill for Utah, it passed the Senate, but the House, that never met a worker safety bill that it would pass, shot this one down

Bill to regulate vans and shuttles for railroad crews draws fans and foes

http://le.utah.gov/~2015/bills/static/SB0127.html

From the article
"Danny Brewer, a locomotive engineer from Ogden, shared a recent incident where the driver of his van stepped out for a moment and passed out from diabetic shock"

Yes .  Especially dead-heading  crews north out of the city  (Toronto) in the winter, Down right scary??

Here in Southern California, BNSF and UP use the same company for transportation of train crews. For the most part, the drivers are..... well, pretty bad to say it nicely. In their defense, working conditions are not great, pay is minimum wage or barely above, and most little to no benefits. So how can we really expect much more? Would you be on call 24/7, drive hundreds of miles for minimum wage with minimal benefits?

The "roll cage" became a requirement several years ago for all vans working inside the intermodal yards. Added protection they say, for hitting hostler trucks, chassis, or trailers parked around the yard. Do they help? NO. Road vans do NOT require those bars, or vans working in a freight yard other than intermodal.

Our vans take crews pretty anywhere, but home. From the terminal to the train, motel, back to the terminal, another yard, relieve crews that time expired on hours of service. We rely on them to take us anywhere we need to go while on duty. Even as a yard job building an outbound train for a road crew, they assist us in doubling tracks over, working the brakes, getting an ETD to the rear of the train etc etc etc.

They have their own regulations, similar to train crews, as far as hours they can work, being rested, etc etc etc. It's not quite as bad for us as it has been in years past, but on many occasions we would say, hey dude, pull over, I'll drive. Can't do that any more with on board cameras now, and liability that everyone tries to pass the buck on. But when you wake up at 3am to see your driver coming down Cajon Pass at 70 mph, IN THE FOG, with about 10' of visibility......enough is enough. You do what you need to do   

Oh and yes, we have had a few drivers with the ankle bracelet. Drug testing, just like with any employer, has eliminated most of that these days. Don't get me wrong, we do have some good drivers, and nice people that drive us around. It's not a job that I would recommend to anyone.