Yep. Fire him. And begin an investigation. Because I suspect he isn't the only one.

Fire any and all transportation drivers caught reading a newspaper, texting or on their cell phone while they should be paying attention. Include Airline Pilots, Cabbies, Bus drivers, school bus drivers, train engineers, truckers, and the like.

Prosecute 10% who do this everyday and the country would have transporation issues and your county jails would be full. This is the persecution of ONE guy and it happens everyday ALL the time.......I bet the person who filmed this picks her own boogers while driving.

in Boston, the MBTA does not allow drivers to even CARRY a cell phone while driving, even if it is turned off. That is the right way.

This guy definitely deserves to be fired.

kevin

do they have a way for him to call for an emergency?

@7 2 7, if they had a car do you think they would be on a subway?

I can't believe Metro-North/MTA isn't even monitoring for this in the first place. What an outrage! All of these engineers should be monitored constantly, and for those of you who are going to whine about their civil liberties being monitored on camera, then they should at least be checked regularly by plain-clothes inspectors who are hired to check in regularly and look for this kind of activity. If not, it is up to the average citizen (like the guy who took this video) to report these egregious violations.

I'm sure somebody is going to b**ch and moan about my post and say that I'm some kind of spy gestapo out to spy on the common man. This isn't about a spy state or a nanny state or civil liberties, this is about doing your professional duty on a job with tremendous responsibility for human lives. This person should be fired, period, right now. Anything less and there will be a tragedy to pay for this reckless abandon.

Why this shocks anyone is beyond me. What's there to investigate?

The guy was distracted on the job. Either do your job, or stay home to read the paper. Simple choices, right?

NO slam on a Union but odds are he is in one and the odds against him getting fired are zip. They would need to catch him 300 times and he would have to take a paid month off to get retrained and then caught another 400 times before they would let him go. And then he would win the wrongeful discharge lawsuit since he is protected under age disrimination laws.....................

6dogs - Metro-North is a train, not a subway. Wakefield is a station on the Harlem Line, near the fork to the New Haven Line. An accident there would have been crippling for the whole system!

Here's a map: http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm

The Unions will never allow him to be fired. My question is, is he suspended with or without pay?

Screw his Union....Fire the SOB.

Fire the man. Plenty of those who would love to have the job.

I wish the guy could be fired, but because his union fully protects him he had pretty much get away with this with a slap on the wrist. Oh and he is fully aware of this and will do this again but make sure he is not caught the next time he does this.

Why would the Union not allow him to be fired? Negligence on the job is definitely grounds for termination. If the Unions protect people like this, then they are to blame as well if an accident occurs. People need to WORK. You know, the reason why you get paid. You don't get paid because you have a job, you get paid to DO THE JOB you were hired for. This guy needs to be the poster boy for the "new American workforce". From the responses of many on this report, alot of you would probably be jealous of him.

The amazing thing here is that someone is actually reading a newspaper. He was probably checking the classifieds to find someone to set up his VCR, probably a f*cking Beta as well

Have to agree. Make some examples and this will stop. This is an example of where unions are failing us all. Won't be surprised if this guy ends up somewhere else but with no change in pay. Totally unacceptable.

It is time

Jeff-Las Vegas:
NO slam on a Union but odds are he is in one and the odds against him getting fired are zip.

Since your comment isn't a slam on the union, I would really not want to see you slam the union.

Unions have arbitration rules in place for a reason. Violation of work rules will result in a write up/suspension/firing whether he files a greviance or not. Work rules violations usually are defined with different levels of "punishment" based on the work rule. Safety violation (reading while running a train) will have the highest level of punishment.

I would expect one, or more, of the following to happen whether he is a union member or not.
Suspended from his job while the incident is reviewed.
After review he may be:
Fired
Suspended for a period of time, then demoted. Possilby never allowed to work this job again.
Suspended for a period of time, only allowed to return to this job after retraining.

Even though trains are pretty much fully automatic, there is a reason there is a person there at the controls. The engineer may not be able to stop an accident from happening but; if they are paying attention, they can start braking the train to minimize the impact from something on the tracks.

Union or not, this guy is going to pay a price for his actions. Whether you agree with unions or not have nothing to do with what happens to him.

Cut the guy some slack, he was reading a newspaper while operating a subway train. what else is he going to do? It's not like he is watching for oncoming traffic or a red light. He set the speed and he stopped when needed. It's not like he was going to miss the next exit or turn. I see no harm in this whatsoever. Nobody was put at risk.

Agreed. Terminate his employment. Warning to all - Big brotherf^@ker is watching.

I agree with whiskeyfire. All the guy was doing is reading a newspaper. People are saying what if something happens on the tracks, but guess what? By the time the conductor is able to see IF he was paying attention, a train that size going that fast would not be able to stop in time to avoid whatever it is. And terrorists? Just what, exactly, is an unarmed conductor going to do against an artmed terrorist that wants in the control room? Shake in fear at him? Get a clue, people. This guy wasdoing nothing heinous or horrendous.

Fire him for reading a paper at work says all the people reading on the internet at work! lmfao

Voice - I can see your point to and realistically you are exactly right, 99% of the time that is the case, can't argue with that, however he is there to do a job and reading magazines, texting, ect. is not part of that job. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love to have his job and could do it without doing anything of the things I listed. Regardless of the circumstance this is unacceptable, sets bad precedence, and a slap in the fact to the transit authority.

Comeonppl - most of us aren't driving (monitoring) a train full of people. Perspective please.

@NYC_TEXAN-4146170, not that is his, but think about it, he is driving a bus in a major city. Do you think he can't get access to a phone one way or another in case of an emergency? ...like from a passenger?

If he can't, he is probably too stupid to drive.

As far as I am concerned, the chance of not finding a phone during an emergency is a lot less likely than the possibility of a driver crashing because the driver is reading, or playing with his phone.

The only thing a Union does is make sure management follows the protocol that they both agreed too. Yep that’s right there are two sides that agree on how things will be handled.

Those are some cush jobs being a commuter train Engineer,let's face it he aint shovelling coal into a boiler! Good pay,great pension, but Stupified is right. The Engineer is in a gov Union, he'll be demoted to conductor,another cush job. If he was in a private sector union,his a$$ would out the door,end of story.

You all think this is a problem? Put cameras in the cockpits of airliners. You would all love to see what is going on on the front while you all chit chat in the back, at 550MPH..........

I see my standard reply to such stories is catching on - if my last business class is any indication; 90% of you go on-line/cell phone when you are supposed to be doing something else.

If he is in a Union, he will have to do a bunch of goofy classes in order to keep his job - there are entire industries who profit off of work place screw ups. When you screw up and lose your job is when you don't go to the classes. Look at places like Health South - a mega company that primarily is funded by doing urine testing. Unions keep thousands of private businesses afloat, get fire happy and all of those private businesses go bye-bye.

Simple solution; put one way glass in the window so riders can't peek in - what if this guy had a gun, he had a decent shot at the conductor????

@ NYC: Of course they do! Are you that stupid? There was a time without cell phones, and people were able to OMG survive and call with an emergency by other means of electronic communication.

j burk - at least there is more than one pilot and we have seen issues like this cause problems already.

drain - to the shooting part, wonder if these trains have those buttons you have to push every so often like the big freight trains do (I'm guessing no based on what happened and the shorter distances) so if the engineer is incapacitated (for whatever reason) the train would apply emergency brakes automatically?

In response to seven2seven (#1.2):

You think that it is responsible to pick-up a radio handset and communicate with ATC when you are flying a plane? Yes, of course, that is required when flying all but small puddle-jumpers outside of controlled airspace. But just yesterday the NTSB recommended that all cellphone usage be banned in vehicles that are moving, even in those newer vehicles with the Bluetooth built into the car radio. After all, in order to answer the phone you have to push a button or touch the right box on the touchscreen. How about truckers, ship captains, or railroad engineers communicating by radio or by Bluetooth while moving, which is often required of the job too? Should our police or firemen be able to make official communication by voice while driving or is that too dangerous too?

Frankly, in my 30-year career driving semis, the worst violators of operating a vehicle in motion of any kind while distracted for any number of non-essential reasons are car drivers followed by recreational vehicle drivers. Just about every day over my 30-year career I have seen people driving in rush hour traffic while reading newspapers or books, I have seen women doing their makeup in the sun visor mirror while driving at 60 mph in urban freeway traffic, I have seen businessmen driving with one hand or their knee juggling reports in their briefcase while talking on the cellphone and while trying to write on their windshield pad or enter text into their Blackberry at the same time that they are weaving across multiple lanes of heavy traffic at 10 or 15 over the speed limit, I have seen people changing their clothes while driving, and I have even seen plenty of people watching a TV that is sitting on the dash or on the seat beside them while driving at speed, even in motorhomes, buses, and semis too.

Yes, I will agree that this engineer might face a suspension, and perhaps worse if his conduct caused injury or death. I will also heartily agree that no driver, operator, or pilot, commercial or otherwise, should be engaged in any non-essential conduct that distracts them even for a moment away from the most-immediate task at hand, which is the responsible safe operation of their vehicle, aircraft, train, or vessel. I am quite surprised that the NTSB would come out so strongly against any cellphone or even Bluetooth use in cars and yet continue to endorse the use of GPS while in motion too, since setting-up a GPS unit or even asking it for route changes or for the location of services while in motion is every bit as distracting as texting while driving too.

Also just yesterday some luckless kid in Massachusetts was made the poster boy for all official and insurance company anger against texting drivers, even though half of all young people admit to texting while driving regularly, and as many of 25% of adult motorists regularly text while driving too. My own feeling is that there should be plenty of better candidates to be the focus of State anger at those who insist on driving irresponsibly while texting than some luckless kid who lacks the maturity and experience necessary to properly evaluate possibilities that they haven't even dreamed of yet, as being made an example of by the State will obviously do this kid no long-term good, nor will it prevent many other teens or adults from continuing to use their phones and/or text while driving either.

I also feel strongly that perhaps cell phone manufacturers should bear the lion's share of the cost of this accident and other fatalities and injuries caused by manufacturing a defective product that can be used in an irresponsible manner by kids or by anyone for that matter. It would be very easy to prevent cellphone or text usage while in motion, but that would discriminate against passengers. If Johns Manville could be bankrupted for producing a cancer-causing form of insulation, you bet that cell phone companies could be found financially responsible for manufacturing an unsafe product too. The Firestone 500 was a safe tire just as long as you didn't drive way over the speed limit on a hot day too.

Yes, engineers operating trains weighing more than several 747 aircraft, carrying over 1000 passengers in rush-hour operating conditions, should not be operating the train distracted by newspapers or by any other non-essential distraction either. However, since there were no injuries or fatalities involved, my own feeling is that maybe a 5-day unpaid suspension and a permanent injunction against operating while voluntarily distracted again would suffice, as I am one American who does not believe in making examples out of anyone in the hope that others might notice, since that goes hard against our long-standing policy of fairness and equality for all.

Fluff crap....I've sat in a small commuter plane and watched a pilot set up the equipment, take off and then spend three hours reading a trash novel. Occassionally he would look up to check the bearing. All of the equipment in planes, trains and the like is automated. This is just another attempt to put more cameras in more places.

Does the engineer actually operate the train or is it computer controlled? Just wondering.

Union will protect this SLACKER just like they do all other lazy a$$ workers. And I worked in a Union Job once in my working career = but I worked and was not in the majority of the over 90% who do absolutely the bare minimum on the job and take turns screwing off with look outs, etc. I was also an upper level manager with other companies, and know what I am talking about. The majority of the Union Workers were the worse in these companies = totally worthless screw offs and screw ups.

Unions in the USA were created back in the 1870s but was highest in numbers in the 1950s to provide jobs for the laziest, dregs of society. In 1954, almost 35% of all jobs in the USA were Union Jobs. Now, Thank God, as of 2010 only about 11.4% jobs in the USA are Union Jobs. But there are millions of Union Workers in those 11.4% of jobs and that is the worse part.

I hated working in the Union jobs because the majority of Union Workers are the biggest screw offs, slackers, uneducated, dregs of society in these jobs.

When I was hired, the job was a professional technician position and NOT a union job. When our contract was awarded to another company, that company was going to cut the number of union positions. So the union ran an expensive campaign to include all non-engineering jobs with this company as union jobs. I voted against it; but my position - along with all secretarial and all other non- engineering positions, etc. with the company was voted in to the union. I voted against the position going union but more people wanted their jobs to be union than not so the votes won, which is the way it should be. People stopped working like they had once their jobs became union and within six (6) months, the company had to hire a third more workers to get the jobs done as well as it was when it was non-union jobs.

Thank God, a few months later I graduated with my first engineering degree and transferred out of the Union Job to a lower paying Engineer Position just to be around people who worked hard and worked whatever hours were needed and overtime with little notice, etc.

The company I worked for performed some of the most critical work in the USA and many of their famous employees and plain ole employees were killed because of inferior work performed by the Union Workers. It was a government contractor company so all the extra workers that had to be hired and all the extra hours it took for the work to get done because of slackers, and those passed out from alcohol and drugs their entire shift, or those leaving to go to adult entertainment places for hours or to play golf, go have sex, etc. during the work day and nights, etc. = was all paid for by the USA taxpayers. Another excuse the Union workers used for not working = "who cares, the taxpayer is paying for it all and I am a taxpayer."

The Union workers had to have a minimum of four (4) hour's notice before any of them had to volunteer for overtime - and most wanted to volunteer because it paid time and one half with $42.00 per hour being the cheapest paying union job six (6) years ago. But most held out if they knew the job was to meet a deadline and no one volunteered until the Company President had to give written notice that double time would be paid so they received $56.00 per hour. Saturdays were always double time and Sundays and Holidays were always triple pay automatically per the Union Contract. And the Union Workers still screwed off.

I know there are some honest, decent people in Union Jobs who really work hard, just like I did and 2 of my co-workers = but they also know I am telling it like it is.

CAMERAS should be placed in all Union Work Areas and any and all Surveillance Groups in charge of monitoring them = should all be Professional Positions so that any and all slackers and screw offs are reported immediately.

And all Companies need to take a stronger stand against all Union Jobs when it is time for contract renewals.

The Auto Industry, Steel Industry, Textile Industries and others in the USA = are excellent examples of how the screw off bums in Union Jobs directly caused the decline and failure of these companies. Owners and Corporations were allowed to eliminate Union Jobs only when Robotic Automation and other Computer Controlled Machines, Equipment, etc. were created and brought into these companies.

MADE IN JAPAN, CHINA, ETC. = all of these products manufactured in those countries and all other foreign countries = that are sold in America =

Thank the Union Workers for getting all of these Jobs in the USA eliminated and forcing the Owners and Corporations to go offshore for manufacturing, etc. for cheaper costs.

And the Union Workers could care less and are laughing all the way to the bank with their salaries, medical benefits and pensions. Union Workers from the previous company I worked for are getting eight thousand dollars a month pension with full medical, optical and dental benefits.

And the majority of the population of the USA are still just as ignorant as they have been the last seventy (70) years.

And yes, I still regard Union Worker's the same as when I was working = as worthless, dregs of society. I have nothing to do with any of them, unless I find out otherwise that they were in the minority like I was. I do not care whether they are neighbors or belong to the same fraternal organizations, etc. that I do, I ignore them. I belong mostly to professional organizations, clubs, associations, etc. but there are some community and charity organizations who let anyone join; and guess what, the ones doing the least amount of work are union workers or past union workers. Never fails and they usually only come to the dinners or events where they can be seen or heard. Unbelievable.

what else is new ..... sounds like sour grapes and you just couldnt compete with the higher paid union workers ... go to a right to work state and take a look at the wages paid .. then tell me why with low wages and no unions.. workers cant get the job done ...productivity is the lowest and a quality product is non existent .. why arent these low wage workers makeing a quality product or takeing pride in the cheap product they provide ... the reason is simple those low wage earners were to stupid to be in a union so they allow themselves to be exploited and treated like dirt ... if you enjoy being treated like dirt dont join the union ... go on your own ..be your own man .. but when your fired because you dont put out for the boss or you go to a different church ... dont blame the union blame yourself .. dont knock a union worker because that worker makes a living wage

Floyd - Metro North trains are not computer controlled. In fact, one of the engines on the New Haven line (a diesel) is still in operation... it appeared in the Grand Central segment of the Superman movie (1978), and wasn't new then! Even the electric engines aren't computer controlled, most of which date from the 1970s.

Folks, as I posted in post #1.10 above... THIS IS NOT A SUBWAY TRAIN. It goes through stations, over bridges, and on track alongside several highways and major roads, including I-95.

Seriously dude, this guy needs to be fired. sorry your senority in you union job didnt give you that high paying weekend over time. but get over it, this is an aritical about folks who put all of us at risk. I am a rail union employee, I dont want this guy on the same track as me. too may things to do, it takes a two man crew. this guy was left alone with out an second set of eyes from the other crew member to not only protect you as a passanger and as a passerby to save some money. read about the press for one man crews, research the cost to ship one loaded grain car, mulityply that by 130 cars per train, then find out how many grain trains run daily, multiply all that then figure in all the other kind of rail shipments, throw in passenger service. then take that and ask if having a second set of eyes will set any carrier into the begings of bank ruptcey.

as you do all that, make sure no one you know is texting, talking on a cell, putting on make up, eating, arguing with their spouse, kids and dogs are properly seated, no one is speeding, failing to obey the rules of the road the list goes on. but most of all make sure they dont endanger anyone around them, god only knows what would happen if they chose to speed up around a crossing gate and the loaded chloride train tipped over in New Orleans. Whos fault would that be. But, ..... but dont tell me you have all under controll and I am infringing on your liberitys to violate the law that end up poisoning 50,000 people people to death when i ask you to stow you phone. yea the guy will be fired, but so should you as a private citizen who violates the law.

Old time, I respect what you say, but I believe the driver should bear the responsible and not the cell phone company. He knew he should not use it while driving, the the phone did not force him. Therefore, I cannot feel sorry for him at all for going to jail.

What's the BFD?!?!? So he was checking the sports page - so what. The damn train is basically on auto-driver (I'd say pilot, but it's a train not a plane - it may be hard for some of the dumba$$ bloggers to figure that out). He's been at it since 1988 and driving since 2001. What's his safety record?? Try asking some intelligent questions! What do yo think the airline pilot does when at 30,000 feet and the plane is on auto-pilot??

So your telling me that this John Bingham dolt guy watched the driver read the Newsday or the Post orthe Daily News "cover to cover" and just stood there shaking in his boots and wondering how much money he was going to make out of this deal. Give me a fu*king break. It's not like the train derails everyday. Besides, those that ride the train can use a little excitement in their boring pitiful lives.

What else is new x, you are lying. You obviously have an axe to grind with unions and it has nothing to do with work practices. Your rant has so much bs I don't know where to start and don't feel like addressing every point you bring up. None of the stuff you're saying about union workers you worked with has any truth to it.

Union workers built this country and continue to keep it running. The US ranks in the top three countries in worker productivity. Union workers do all of the dangerous and dirty jobs that wusses like you are afraid to do. They work in the coal mines and steel mills. They are policemen, firemen, EMT's and nurses. They run the utilities that keep your electric, natural gas, phone lines and cable TV running. They build buildings, including skyscrapers, bridges and other structures. They operate the buildings you work in. They work on ships that bring goods into and out of this country. They drive the trucks that bring goods to the stores. They drill for oil, refine it and deliver it to gas stations. They fly, build and maintain airplanes.

If all the union workers took a week off from their jobs, this country would come to a complete standstill and people would die because of it.

You are a wuss who doesn't have the backbone or work ethic to do the jobs I listed. And all the union workers ask for is fair wages and benefits.

I worked both sides, union and management, in a large company that's essential to everyday life. Management hired a company to do a work study, where observers went around with union workers and lower/middle management for one year. They paid $6 million for this study. That's all we heard from management is "You guys are in trouble now. We're going to get rid of a bunch of you and the rest will have to start working hard." The results of the study came out and management didn't want to release the results. They finally gave in and let the union officials see the results. The report said that although there are things that could be done to improve productivity, overall, the union workers and doing a very good job. On the other hand, there are way too many management people who just shuffle work from one person to another and to another. They said the company could be run with half the management workers. Of course, management threw the results out and did nothing about it.

I can give other examples too, of plants that were sold and the union workers transferred over to the new company. For 6 months, there were barely any management people there. It took that long to get things in place for them. The plants ran at 100% capacity and there were no problems with any work getting done including repairs and maintenance. Once management was in place, with the usual excess of them, is when the problems started. Most of it was because of the constant harassment of the union workers by management.

I'd be willing to bet most large companies are the same. The people that I know who slam the unions the most are people who have no work ethic and they're trying to deflect attention away from their selves. That, and people who are jealous of the pay and benefits union workers earn.

What is new X, you have an exaggerated account of union workers. I have been a laborer out of the Laborers Union since 1983. Yes, we have great benefits and yes, their are some slackers as within ANY job. Your testimony of PAY SCHEDULE is delirious for what our pay is. But I can go 60 miles north of where I live and make an extra $3.00 per hour. (but i could never understand this with gas prices being what they are, but if no work is available in our area, it would be worth the time and money)

After all these years of laborers work, I now have a destroyed back and can barely walk most days. But continued working through the pain until it became unsafe and physically too much to bear. I am only 48 yrs. old, couldn't make it to retirement. So now I work part-time doing something I love for minimum wage. And yes, I have filed for disability/pension. One of the perks of abusing your body all those years working hard. But, I would probably still be working (in much pain as the last few years) if I didn't have issues from my MS creeping ever more into my physical being.

Slackers come with any profession, your numbers are extreme however.

My Laborers Union does have uneducated employees, but that doesn't make them any less valuable to the employer and most are very good and knowledgeable about the equipment/tools/PPE/mathematics needed etc. to do their job efficiently and safely.

In some cases, second chances are allowed with proper training and/or counseling. I was NEVER fired from a job or released due to any reason other than the "lack of work" of the job being completed. So please don't "bundle" union employees together, The Laborers Union of North America has many great workers and DESERVE the benefits they receive.

You said that with with tongue in cheek, I hope. Otherwise, you are not thinking clearly.

Seven2Seven, apparently you don't care if someone takes their job and associated responsibilities serious. Well, most of us do. Your attitude is dangerous and potentially disastrous in a critical situation and I hope your response was, as Robin said, tongue in cheek.

Otherwise, let's get rid of you from the gene pool in the nick of time after the bell rings.

Yes to both but I do think he is being singled out by a hag wanting to report something if not just this. Look around at all of them in traffic going home today assuming Subliminal has a job........

Hey Seven2Seven, Lets just fire all of these guys because if we can make a computer sound a bell when a crash is imminent we can also have it activate the breaks. Then he will never have to worry about being distracted while driving A TRAIN FULL OF PEOPLE again!

Wow 7to7 you were serious.

He is NOT being paid to read the newspaper while on the job.

Nuff said...

Seven2Seven, If the train drive themselve why do we need a conductor? Their is a reason for a conductor. It is for the safety of the riders on the train. He should not be doing anything else but the job he is getting payed to do. I think they should fire him. he will have all the time in the world to read the newspaper at home.

The only reason Seven2seven defend the conductor is because he does not ride the train and his life is not on the line. I bet his comment would be different if he did.

Maybe he was reading the Operator's Manual...

You can bet that like another poster here, the Engineer will go on disciplinary leave and be back on the job within 2-3 months (Union). And you can also bet like the airlines, that the transit company will in the near future either install one way 'blackened' windows or solid doors and be locked. Better for a terrosit strike on the train. I often wondered what the airline pilots do while on autopilot, probably read the paper, play video games etc. Nothing really new here, just got caught.

Your right, give him a break. There are tens of thousands of everyday motorists out there everyday doing stupid crap like reading the paper, putting on lipstick and texting. Those people are the real hazard.

727.....you sound like one of those fat, stupid NYC train driver types.

It seems to me the reason 727 is remarking as he is, is because he (it?) is too ignorant to understand what the article is actually saying. The article clearly states several times that the person who reported the engineer is a man. 727 repeatedly refers to him as "she" or "her". If he can't even get the context of the story right you shouldn't expect him (it?) to have an informed opinion. Obviously a mouth breathing,knuckle dragging troglodyte.

Seven2Seven: Hope you are kidding, but if so not funny at all. Yes, most passenger trains can operate without the engineer and have many "fail safes" to protect the passengers. Trains have "Dead Man" peddles and most modern locomotives have a system which every so often beeps to the engineer who MUST respond within seconds or the air brakes automaticly lock up and the train stops. Many other "fail safes" are in place also. But, as with most modern air planes, the engineer or pilot is aboard to oversee the automatic systems and to take over if or when they fail or the machine is not programed to handle the problem: IE... landing in the Hudson.

We passengers trust the guy or gal up front with our lives. Cell phone or texters or pot smokers or drunks MUST be eliminated without mercy. If I see a flight officer walking out the bar at the airport, I sure as hell am not getting on an airplane they are going to fly, and neither should anyone else. No second chances, no re-training or REHAB.

Things DO happen on trains that the engineer CAN help to control or avoid: signal lights do fail (very rarely), switches fail to move to the correct position, signal transponders do fail to work when they should (extreamly rare), farm machines crossing the tracks get stuck blocking the tracks, etc. The people up front are there to protect us as the last level of "fail safe".

As they tought us when learning to fly " Remember, you are going to be the first one to die if you make a mistake."

"apparently you don't care if someone takes their job and associated responsibilities serious. Well, most of us do."

LMFAO...no...no they dont. No one take their responsibilities on the job seriously anymore cause they think they should be paid more. Ive heard it over and over again from people..."why should I do this or that, they dont pay me enough to care".

Keep living in that dream world you got going on.

Just a hunch but everyone slamming this guy for reading the paper when he is supposed to be working is different from all of you on here reading this article and entering a comment during normal business hours is different because....?

Well being an ex-Navy airdale I'll ask something that maybe many of you (and especially Mr. John Bingham and the writer of this article, Katherine Creag) are not aware of nor able to figure out. How would you like to walk into the cockpit of a large aircraft when underway and find the pilot reading his magazines and the co-pilot taking a nap? So what?! [Perhaps not the FE (flight engineer).] So what?! No human can operate vehicles like these we are talking about. Computers linked to complex arrays of servo-motors and hydraulic components and radar systems, and that are talking to ground computers, are really flying those aircraft and even driving those trains. A human has to be there to make a judgement for the computer when a situation comes up that the original programmers and builders were not able to forsee.

Now how's about let's fire all of you mad war dogs on the streets and highways who aren't able to pass an intelligence test with a high enough score to deserve a drivers license?! (About 99% in this country; I don't know about other countries.)

The engineer drives the train. The conductor takes your ticket and makes sure you paid, and that nobody is hanging out of the door when the train is moving.

Bingham is a busy-body. The train didn't crash, so there is no reason to crucify this guy. Most of the people on here yelling for his termination are reading this article while they are surfing the net at work.

Look to the log in your own eyes.

@Dudefedup

I enjoy my job. It is challenging and ever changing. I move around from department to department so it isn't repetitive or boring. I travel outside the state from time to time as well. My crew are professionals. But they are also my friends. We go fishing, go out to eat and have great times at company parties. I feel a great sense of accomplishment when we finish a project and we get to see the new modifications or equipment in action.

The guys on my crew; as well as the people who operate the machinery we redesign, put their lives at risk when they engage the start button. From the initial phases to completion and then put into production. Miscalculations or misjudgement can end someone's life and mine in an instant. Coworkers depend on me to do my job right because their life is on the line if I don't. Don't presume people don't take their efforts seriously. Not everyone is you.

I love how so many of you are saying he is not paid to read a newspaper. Are you being paid to post on the internet? Or do none of you have jobs? Hypocrites.

Oaky... because my desk doesn't weigh 500,000 tons and doesn't move at 50 miles per hour... and it totally will NOT derail. Good enough?

Whiskeyfire - have a job - not lucky enough to have mon - fri job. Town has pop. 3000.

Sprintcarpilot, yep, that says it all, round and round in a glorifed go-cart turning left?? At least the redneck perspective is out there although you have never been on a modern train. This guy DOES NOT drive the frickin train, it is all computerized like auto pilot. He is there in case a bad bell goes off.

The comments are so funny I think you believe he actually shovel coal !! LOL......

You know, these trains do drive themselves..I have also heard the same thing about planes too. The pilots and drivers are pretty much only there in case of an emergency.

Not sure if you need to fire the guy...you could demote him from being an engineer though. People make mistakes..but people also learn from mistakes. If a nurse makes a mistake that may cause a lot of harm, they used to fire them out right...but some hospitals kept the nurses on, and they never made the same mistake again. In essence, they became better nurses.

Lemme ask y'all something. Let's say you had a job that required you to sit in a box no bigger than a broom closet everyday for 15 years. No one to talk to. All the "things" that control your "office" are totally automated. Everyday, for 15 years, you see the same set of tracks, the same tunnel and your traveling at the same speed. The only reason you're there is to make sure the car slows to a stop at each station (a bell lets you know when its coming up)... open the doors... make sure the car slowly leaves the station. That's it.

What if Godzilla attacks? What the Brooklyn-Queens Fault shifts and an earthquake strikes Manhattan? An alien invasion? Zombies? If any of the things that happen to subway cars in the movies should happen to a subway car you're in... it wouldn't matter if the guy in the little box was making out with Poopie the Chimp --- yer screwed.

The guy is suspended. He's being ripped in the media. The villagers have lit their torches and are chasing him through the Bronx. Egads!!! He wasn't doing his job!!! Should this happen to you EVERYTIME you did something on your job you shouldn't be doing. Whoa Fookin' Nellie boys and girls... if they could find a way to make hypocrisy a paid profession the unemployment problem would be solved in a heartbeat.

Bull@!$%#-the-Clown

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!! I love in the article how they tie him reading a newspaper to terrorism. As though he's going to spot that bomb next to the tracks and save the day. These systems are so automated that the idea of him sitting there and staring at the tracks all day everyday is ridiculous. There are sensors on every track all feeding into a massive, manned, control room. Every train has sensors, warning signals, etc. Don't any of you know pilots do the same exact thing? What do you think, they're sitting there holding the controls every second of your flight? They read, eat dinner, keep an eye out and flirt with the flight attendants.

This is a culture of rats and pu^sies

Just because others do the same thing does not justify it. There are rules and regulations specifically written to prevent this. People kill people everyday. Does that make it o.k. for everyone else? The regulations are there for a good reason. I'll admit that regulations sometimes cause delays and are annoying. But the standard they set IS justified. If you are not in agreement with the job specifics or it is too mundane or tasking for your full attention, then find another job.

From my personal experience, people have become dependant on computers and machines to maintain an exact course of action. They do not tire, get bored or get sick. But they do fail none the less. Pilots following the same disregard or any other degree of voluntary distraction should also be scrutinized the same. And btw, when the captain is eating, there is a copilot and flight engineer monitoring the systems.

Yeah but their smart enough not to get busted!

FN... planes have auto pilots. The "human" is there in the event the computer fails.

Pilots are not in a fishbowl environment to be observed by all. Doesn't make it okay though. This reminds me of all the managers who play solitaire in their locked offices while receiving top dollar for their "skills". How many police, fire. utility crews and truckers etc. are required to operate a computer while operating their vehicles? Thank God we live in a time when most people have the means to document this going on.

Trains also have computer-operated failsafes.....much like jets have autopilots.

Didi-376564...

And "failsafes" never fail? Tell that to the families of the people that died on the DC Metro that passed a green light that should have been red and plowed into the train stopped ahead of them. It COULD have been worse, but the engineer put the train into full emergency stop and slowed HIS train, even though it was futile, he at least might have been responsible for a couple of less fatalities and injuries. But he WAS paying attention.

Grandpa,
you are sure that his union will back him. probably not, see his behavior not
only endangers the passengers it also endangers other rail workers on the
track, say other passing trains, passenger and freight, maintenance people who
are on the tracks working every day, track inspectors, trespassers (meaning
people like you who cross the tracks anywhere you want to at any time without
any hesitation) suicides, uncontrolled kids and the list goes on. What you don’t
know grandpa in all your years of wisdom is that corporations were able to
reduce manpower by removing the second set of eyes from the cab. These eyes and
ears of the second employee are the fail safe from the above mentioned and
these eyes and ears would keep the peer pressure on the employees who fail to
follow the rules. But you being so happy to have the corporations remove union
labor are quick to complain when your chosen path of labor reduction fails.
Gramps I will bet my mortgage this guy does not come back at all. So tell your
congressman you don’t support one man crews on any train at any time anywhere.
As for automation fool boy, I being a rail worker and the second set of eyes
have used human interaction to deal with issues of suicide, derailments of hazardous
material in urban areas, broken trains, stuck brakes, illegal riders, crossing
malfunctions, speed restrictions, wash outs, wind storms and my list goes on. And
these issues happen on 500 passenger commuters as well as 18000 ton yes
eighteen thousand ton unit trains. And your number 3 you can bet another bundle
this isn’t the first time you spoke with absolutely no damn working knowledge
of what the hell is going on, you just needed to run your angry suck. Maybe the
next time you run thru the crossing gates at a crossing an unmanned taconite
train will broad sides you and shoves you down the tracks till your car disintegrates
to nothing, in you last micro seconds of life you will wish there would have
been a couple of humans to attempt to stop the train and moreover, someone to attempt
to walk to the carnage of your car and try to administer first aid while you
suck you last breaths not leaving you to die alone with the remote machine.

Yea give that Italian cruise ship captain a break as well.

With that thought in mind it takes a crash with the death of 100's of people before they do anything about it. The guy gets paid to monitor the train and it's surroundings. If I were to sit back and read the paper on my job, I wouldn't have it for long.

Give him a break? Give me a break! If I were a passenger on that train, I would take every measure possible to make sure that idiot never, ever drives a train, a bus, or even a pedicab. The guy is an idiot. Period. No defense possible. None.

So you're OK with the moron reading the paper instead of paying attention to the track and train? That would, by extension, make you a moron if so.

They do have cameras at my job. I'm a mechanical/project engineer. I have a camera in my office as do my subordinates, the shop, the master mech's office, the lab and the production floor. Our department manager monitors them from time to time. I can guarantee you; if I lift a newspaper for a period of time, I'm as good as gone.

I would love to work where you do. Read the paper all day, talk/text on my cell or probably sit around playing solitare. Must be nice.

Nowadays some trains have enough sensors in them to be completely automated; however, they still have conductors for 2 reasons:
1. Slim chance that something actually goes wrong (not that it’d make a difference, train isn’t going to be able to stop in time by the time you see something on/in the tracks anyways).
2. To keep people using the train system, as many people won't feel safe in the 'hands' of a machine.

There are very few jobs out there that people stay on task 100% of the time, (never talk to coworkers about no-work related stuff, never let their minds wander, etc). And the few jobs that actually require you to be 100% on task pay very well for it, because those are often some of the most boring ones out there.

Anyways, even if he didn’t have a paper in his hands that doesn’t mean he’s there mentally. I’m sure after a person has drove the same root a few times (in which case all they are doing is having to change the speed and honk the horn for crossings, which in comparison makes driving down the interstate look interesting) your mind begins to wander, try imagining that for 24 years.

Endeavor - hope you find a better place to work someday.

Jerad.....I'm sure you meant "route" instead of "root?" Sorry....my grammar bug just popped up there.

Why would I want to work somewhere else? The cameras are there for more than just " big brother watching over me". They are there for safety reasons, theft, liability concerns and many other reasons. It also makes it easier to locate someone as we don't allow cell phones in the shop, lab or production areas. I do my job. I don't waste my time or the company's while I am at work. I feel everyone should do the same. Including this "engineer".

how about just say are you supposed to be reading while operating a moving train...see something SAY something...

because he was a nosy wannabe do gooder who looks for reasons to make other peoples life miserable because his/her life is lame so why shouldnt everyone elses be

Spoken like a true union slacker.

You have obviously never ridden a train in the NYC metro area. There are MANY where it is standing room only. And there is a door which cannot be opened from the passenger area unless you have the key to operate it to ensure passengers CANNOT get to the engineer.

XDm9mm

How do you people manage to wake the engineer when he's sleeping? We don't have passenger trians in my town, by the way.

Thanks for the different perspective. Made my knee stop jerking.

@Bandit...actually, you will be visited by the law enforcement agents because he WAS reading your paper while he was supposed to be paying attention to his job. therefor it was YOUR fault that he was preoccupied and could not do his job appropriately. Dont worry though, they will also question the ink manufacturer, the paper manufacturer AND the guy that cut the tree down to make that paper. Plus...the squirrel that was living in that tree was immediately executed for being associated with the end result that could have caused injury to so many train dwellers. Just saying.....you better have your story straight.

Bandit, Very refreshing! thank you, now I can quit reading all these goofy comments and go make supper. LOL Leave this forum on a positive note.

Oh boy.....while we're at it, can we pull off his finger nails with a pair of cherry red hot pliers and then drown him...? Can we? Can we???

Chill out will ya.

They are working on that. Nothing sacred anymore. Hack the entire planet.

Lol - except if you shoot video of a police officer, you take the risk of getting beat up or 'detained'

It's an automated train. He probably has nothing to do between stops other than try to stay awake.

Yep, absolutely. You made yourself perfectly clear. I can relate to the getting killed because of someone else's negligence.

Maybe that is why I always harboured the desire to die peacefully like my grandfather ...and not like the screaming people in his car going off a 2,000 ft cliff. :D

Driving I-5 between Tacoma and Seattle in a car is no piece of cake either. I guess if you were to use a cell phone, it puts an invisible shield around you so there is nothing to worry about.

Tough.