At one time, a remote-controlled train was a scale model that circled the Christmas tree.
But technology has gone far beyond those little Lionels, and full-size railroads across the country are seeking to cut back on crews and use remote-control devices instead as a way to lower their costs.
As a result, the issue of how many people it should take to run a freight train is now before the General Assembly.
House lawmakers recently stalled a bill that would require railroads to assign at least two operators to freight trains, and to bar trains from being operated along the public right of way with a remote-control device that might not even be on the train.
But the proposal picked up steam Thursday when Sen. Adeline Geo-Karis (R-Zion) said she will amend it onto one of her bills in the Senate.
“I think for safety reasons, you need two people,” Geo-Karis said. “Who’s going to look after any problems with only one?”
Concerns arose when lawmakers heard of a railroad that wanted to operate freight trains with only one engineer and a remote-control device on a route passing through Lake County and northwest suburban Cook County.
Janet Gilbert, an attorney for the Wisconsin Central Ltd., said it is seeking federal approval of that plan.
Wisconsin Central freight trains share the tracks with commuter trains of the Metra North Central line to downtown Chicago.
Although federal regulators denied the request in February, Wisconsin Central officials said they will try again next year.
