"Workers/Human" and Amtrak's Winter Headaches

[illinoisandy]

The challenges faced with adverse weather, although present every winter, it is always unique and challenging.

To the maintenance crews unfreezing and removing snow from switches, fixing broken rails, equipment crews working to get traction motors working, etc., train and on board crews dealing with train equipment, platforms, and passengers issues, Station staff also dealing with platforms, buildings, passenger complaints and connections, the customer service staff fielding questions and complaints from customers who just have unrealistic expectations (Not AUers), the dispatchers and crew callers who have to make trains run against all the issues (trains, tracks, signals, and hours of service).

Yes, they know what the job is and are paid for their efforts but the cold, snow, customers, hours working and time away from family are worth giving acknowledgement to them.

THANKS

As someone who is employed in the transportation industry in Chicago it is rough work this time of year.

 

[user 6862]

Well said

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Sorry it's called winter and it happens ever year.

Nothing unique about it. The challenging part is the timing of events may change, but the issues are the same ever winter.

Personal the worse part of winter is the salt stains, I just can not keep my work space clean.

 

[oldtimer]

Sorry it's called winter and i

t happens ever year.

Nothing unique about it. The challenging part is the timing of events may change, but the issues are the same ever winter.

Personal the worse part of winter is the salt stains, I just can not keep my work space clean.

Yes, Winter happens every year and the timings due change for the worse. Late trains mean quicker turnaround times, the service facilities are crowded when trains must share any deicing equipment and the area to deice. Issues are different as the cars and locomotives are a year older with hundred of thousands more miles on them. Management drive for more efficiency, in their minds a reason for fewer jobs, as the baby boomers retire their jobs go with them. The parts in inventory are reduced to keep cost down so many more cars cannot be repaired properly. Yes, winter happens, I've spent 50 years in the transportation industry. Rail yards and airports are cold in Chicago winters and thank God that I am now retired. My friends that are still on the job are looking to getting out, be it retirement and another job that may be indoors.

 

[andersone]

As a young man I pumped gas for 12 hour shifts and below zero weather, in the day when you washed the glass and checked the oil for everyone. Luckily we could run inside when there were no customers, and the old timer that taught me to keep my head covered, my hands warm and my feet dry provided sage advise. I also spent long nights in the Township truck plowing snow and relished the thermos full of coffee and the nights when the truck needed nothing more than fuel.

I respect folks who have to work outdoors to make a living. I can accept it slows things down and delays the progress of civilization for a smidgen or more. I just hope they don't get hurt and appreciate their efforts.

 

[KmH]

Welcome to planet Earth.

On Uranus winter is 42 Earth years long.

It may be comforting to that south of the equator (Earth's equator) it's summer.

For us here in the north it's 67 days until spring.

 

[neroden]

Management drive for more efficiency, in their minds a reason for fewer jobs, as the baby boomers retire their jobs go with them. The parts in inventory are reduced to keep cost down so many more cars cannot be repaired properly.

These may be the real problems. "Penny wise pound foolish", I say. Make every switch electrically heated, provide ground power for every parked consist, keep spare parts stocked properly, hire enough workers... why not do it right? It saves money in the long run.

 

[Bus Nut]

Management drive for more efficiency, in their minds a reason for fewer jobs, as the baby boomers retire their jobs go with them. The parts in inventory are reduced to keep cost down so many more cars cannot be repaired properly.

These may be the real problems. "Penny wise pound foolish", I say. Make every switch electrically heated, provide ground power for every parked consist, keep spare parts stocked properly, hire enough workers... why not do it right? It saves money in the long run.

It's the MBA mentality at work, and the worst thing is these people bounce from job to job and even industry to industry so they never have to deal with the real costs of their cost-cutting and geenius plans.

 

[oldtimer]

Here is the opening paragraph of Amtrak's Human Resources Capital newsletter:

At the Heart of our Mission are Amtrak EmployeesAmtrak is earning industry awards for its business transformation that has reduced costs, restructured performance management and differentiated pay, strengthened career growth and development opportunities, implemented best-in-class recruitment and retention strategies, and created a Total Rewards compensation and benefits structure.

As you can see the number one mention is reduced costs, management performance is based on reduced costs. The differentiated pay is a bonus for reducing cost.

Millions of dollars were spent in the Chicago yards to make each switch a power switch, thus no switchman to get off the engine to throw it and reline it quickly after a move if by chance another switch job needs to make a "quick" move, that is if there is another crew working in the yard that shift. The objective was to eliminate a switchman on every job and even to eliminate the number of crews needed in the yard, as the road jobs are short on manpower, force the yard people to work the road. This is a great way to treat employees. One of the common sayings is that the beatings will continue until the morale improves.

 

[Guest]

As someone who is employed in the transportation industry outside of Chicago I might have been able to find some sympathy for you folks had you actually done your jobs the rest of the year.

 

[neroden]

Powering the switches and eliminating switchmen is obviously a good idea (hand-thrown switches are a *terrible* idea). As long as the yard has a proper staffing level for dispatchers (!), the switches are heated, and the track circuits are installed and working, there should be no trouble having the dispatchers throw the switches. Not sure whether Amtrak is actually doing those things, of course.

 

[Steve4031]

They also need additional facilities for "deicing" the trains. Or more employees to work in the current building. From what I have read the process for cleaning a train like the lsl after the run through snow and ice from NYC is labor intensive.

 

[neroden]

The train wash should include an automated deicer -- dunno if it actually *does*. You'd still need to do some manual work, but the bulk should be automated...

 

[Steve4031]

That what I was thinking. If Amtrak upgraded/increased capacity of its train washing facilities so that they could quickly and completely remove snow and ice from the train after each trip most problems would be eliminated IMHO. The corridor trains probably could be rotated through once a day based on equipment utilization.

This is expensive but I think necessarily if Chicago and MidWest wants to have reliable train service.