Federal government limits remote-control trains to flat land - By Dean Brickey, EastOregonian.info
'My understanding is that these (remote-control) jobs are going to be handled by UTU members, rather than BLE,' Flatau said, referring to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the union that represents the engineers who normally operate locomotives.
The UTU represents various crafts, he said, including brakemen-conductors.
'It is not our intention to see RCOs (remote-control operations) expand well beyond yard limits,' Flatau said. 'The FRA wants to be satisfied that the operators not only have sufficient training, but that we feel that it is, in fact, adequate.'
He said the agency will approach expanding remote-control operations cautiously, but there is 'no legitimate or objective basis for us to ban them.'