Railroad companies have penalized workers for taking the time to make needed repairs and created a culture in which supervisors threaten and fire the very people hired to keep trains running safely. Regulators say they can’t stop this intimidation.
Many passenger trains around the world run fully automated.
the big issue is without someone on board there is nobody to see someone on the tracks and hit the emergency brake. My counter to that is it doesn’t matter as the train won’t stop until long after whoever was on the track is hit and dead.
Passenger trains have better maintained tracks and so are not likely to derail. They are also less likely to hit things because they are grade separated - fenced, elevated tracks, in tunnels. These are more cost, but they are things society wants (not the same as rail executives) Trams which run on the street are much slower and do have drivers.
Many passenger trains around the world run fully automated.
the big issue is without someone on board there is nobody to see someone on the tracks and hit the emergency brake. My counter to that is it doesn’t matter as the train won’t stop until long after whoever was on the track is hit and dead.
They’re not there to hit the brakes, they’re there to report it.
Passenger trains generally don’t go that fast in areas where they’re likely to hit something or derail. Which is not what rail executives want.
Passenger trains have better maintained tracks and so are not likely to derail. They are also less likely to hit things because they are grade separated - fenced, elevated tracks, in tunnels. These are more cost, but they are things society wants (not the same as rail executives) Trams which run on the street are much slower and do have drivers.