Major freight railroads will have to maintain ... in 2013 demonstrated the benefit of having a conductor aboard the train. The conductor helped separate undamaged tank cars filled with crude ...

Two weeks ago, a BNSF freight train conductor, who asked not to be named so he could speak freely about his experience, fell asleep on duty while the train was moving.

Problem is, there is no silver bullet here. A few career lives ago, I was a railroad freight conductor. Toughed it out for two years and quit for the same reasons the unions are complaining about ...