“As trains — many carrying hazardous material — have grown longer, crews should not be getting smaller,” said Eddie Hall, the president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union. He praised the FRA for taking the step President Joe Biden promised. Hall said keeping two people in the cab of a locomotive is crucial now that railroads rely on longer trains that routinely stretch for miles.
Sounds like it could have been avoided either with better logic in how braking was applied and how the dead man’s switch was disabled (because if a locomotive is configured to move, I don’t think it should ever be disabled), or by keeping one person in the cab any time the engine is running.
I don’t think the problem is so bad that we need to babysit the locomotive at all times.