[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Alot of those employees are near retirement , New Employees are capped on all public railroads. Hence why many new employees are moving to Freight , its the same with Buses. To rack up that much overtime these guys work between 80 and 100 hrs which is very common in the Transportation industry. You often hear of bus accidents or plane accidents caused by lack of sleep.... These people are dedicated to their jobs , there not the ones slacking off...they just need to have there hrs reduced to reasonable times. In some causes its the agency or company thats not hiring enough man power so they encourage there employees to overwork...

Its not like they live in Mansions or flash there money...most live in small apartments , most are single or in a relationship with no kids.. Do you actually know any Transportation employees?

Yes, I am sure they are all spending the few hours they're not working feeding the hungry and preaching the word as well...

On a tragic day, I'd rather not argue causation-- however-- regardless of how small their apartment is, $150K is a lot of money for a conductor or track worker. If they were paid more reasonable wages-- and more of them were hired so less overtime were available-- we would have more money to spend on maintenance, safety, etc.

One derailment I can chalk up to an accident (even though it's been since proven that maintenance was at fault)... Two are not excusable and the railroad needs to be audited from top to bottom in hopes of preventing loss of life and injury in the future. That includes how the funds are allocated.

[Cambium]

Closer look. I'm not a train expert so cant comment here but looks like one rail is up in the air. But that might have been from the train lifting it up as it tipped.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

Yes, I am sure they are all spending the few hours they're not working feeding the hungry and preaching the word as well...

On a tragic day, I'd rather not argue causation-- however-- regardless of how small their apartment is, $150K is a lot of money for a conductor or track worker. If they were paid more reasonable wages-- and more of them were hired so less overtime were available-- we would have more money to spend on maintenance, safety, etc.

One derailment I can chalk up to an accident (even though it's been since proven that maintenance was at fault)... Two are not excusable and the railroad needs to be audited from top to bottom in hopes of preventing loss of life and injury in the future. That includes how the funds are allocated.

While a conductor might not deserve 150k , track works deal with death every day...a train can hit you , you can be electrocuted , a piece of equipment can fall on you. Most New Employees are paided reasonable wages and the overtime while its a large amount is earned. 80 to 100hrs is almost the entire week...they do have the money its just not being spent right as directed by the higher ups.... The MTA budget is around 20-30 billion , Salaries is about 700 million... Most of these big earners are about to retire over the next decade , hence the higher boom.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

Yes, I am sure they are all spending the few hours they're not working feeding the hungry and preaching the word as well...

On a tragic day, I'd rather not argue causation-- however-- regardless of how small their apartment is, $150K is a lot of money for a conductor or track worker. If they were paid more reasonable wages-- and more of them were hired so less overtime were available-- we would have more money to spend on maintenance, safety, etc.

One derailment I can chalk up to an accident (even though it's been since proven that maintenance was at fault)... Two are not excusable and the railroad needs to be audited from top to bottom in hopes of preventing loss of life and injury in the future. That includes how the funds are allocated.

Well that gets into the whole "if we hire more employees we have to pay out in health insurance" argument, etc. Another reason why health insurance should be decoupled from business.

More to the issue at hand.....the authorities seem to think speed is what caused this tragic crash, really hope that it doesn't turn out to be sabotage or terrorism. Also, in the summer a freight train derailed in virtually the same spot.

Amtrak is knocked out from NYC to Albany as a result which probably is a big deal today being the last day of the holiday weekend.

Not sure how or if this affects commuting in Connecticut though, I'm sure this line will be down for awhile, but the New Haven Line is way to the east and even the parts of the Harlem Line near this line are not the parts near CT (like those Ridgefield and Danbury commuters who might get on in Brewster or Katonah). I guess where I could see it affecting CT commuters is people driving to work who normally don't because either they are nervous about taking a train right now or they fear their train will be overcrowded with Hudson Line commuters who do choose to take the other lines as an alternate.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

It's very expensive to run a railroad. Especially when your conductors and engineers make more then pubilc school teachers and nurses.

I think you've made your disdain for MNR employees pretty clear throughout this 24 page thread. It's strange(to me, at least) that you, who seems to profess a desire for "working people" to earn livable wages, continue to rail against these employees. Perhaps some job candidate turned down an offer of employment extended by you and cited MNR as paying a better wage than you were offering?

[BlakeJones]

The train operator is saying the brakes failed

[Man About Town]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

The NY and NJ sides are heavily invested in...

Nothing against the Garden State, but what exactly do NJ and its govt employees have to do with this topic? No commuter train service west of the Hudson will be affected by this derailment.

[Man About Town]

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

Well that gets into the whole "if we hire more employees we have to pay out in health insurance" argument, etc. Another reason why health insurance should be decoupled from business.

More to the issue at hand.....the authorities seem to think speed is what caused this tragic crash, really hope that it doesn't turn out to be sabotage or terrorism. Also, in the summer a freight train derailed in virtually the same spot.

Amtrak is knocked out from NYC to Albany as a result which probably is a big deal today being the last day of the holiday weekend.

Not sure how or if this affects commuting in Connecticut though, I'm sure this line will be down for awhile, but the New Haven Line is way to the east and even the parts of the Harlem Line near this line are not the parts near CT (like those Ridgefield and Danbury commuters who might get on in Brewster or Katonah). I guess where I could see it affecting CT commuters is people driving to work who normally don't because either they are nervous about taking a train right now or they fear their train will be overcrowded with Hudson Line commuters who do choose to take the other lines as an alternate.

Amtrak Empire Service and the Hudson Line will definitely be messed up for days following this awful tragedy. But the Harlem and New Haven lines are far from the Hudson River, so I don't think either line will get slammed by throngs of displaced Hudson Line commuters. For most of them, driving miles out of tbe way to the nearest Harlem line station won't be worth doing.

[BlakeJones]

Originally Posted by Man About Town

Amtrak Empire Service and the Hudson Line will definitely be messed up for days following this awful tragedy. But the Harlem and New Haven lines are far from the Hudson River, so I don't think either line will get slammed by throngs of displaced Hudson Line commuters. For most of them, driving miles out of tbe way to the nearest Harlem line station won't be worth doing.

What makes you say that? People will gladly drive the 20-30 miles to the other line as opposed to the 60 miles to manhattan & deal with that traffic and parking

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by Man About Town

Nothing against the Garden State, but what exactly do NJ and its govt employees have to do with this topic? No commuter train service west of the Hudson will be affected by this derailment.

Metro North operates in 3 states , NJ and NY are heavily invested in...while CT is not.