Скачать или смотреть Precision Railroading: Union Pacific's 2020 Plan and why I don't think it will work

Precision Railroading seems to be all the fashion these days. From job cuts to three mile long trains and Positive Train Control (PTC), the American class 1 railroads all seem to be on board and, from the sound of it, so is the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
PTC was mandated by the FRA in the wake of the head on collision in 2008 when a Metrolink commuter train ran a red signal and hit a UP freight train head on near Chatsworth, Ca. that killed 25 and injured 175. PTC is designed to automatically bring a train to a safe stop should it run a red signal, among other types of on track restrictions.The PTC systems had to up and working by 2015 at the expense of the railroads, not the taxpayer.
As many predicted, the roads have used this extra layer of protection to attempt to cut costs in the operating (train) department by reducing the number of train crews. Right now, a road crew consists of an engineer and a conductor. The plan is to eliminate the conductor, leaving one person to operate the ever increasing size of trains. The rumor is trains in the range of three miles in length and nearing 20,000 tons. which would decrease the number of trains needing those one person crews and the FRA seems to be ready to give it the green light.
Also, at present, the engineering department (signal, electrical, communications) is experiencing job cuts across the board. The PTC is a good system but, as with all systems (especially ones involving modern technology), it is not foolproof or failsafe and the engineering department is responsible for its maintenance. With these departments already at workload saturation and more cuts likely, who will see to it that the PTC (as well as all the other systems for which they are responsible) stays in good working order?
SP tried the cost cutting measure of major job cuts in the arly 90s and it went south quickly. I fail to understand why UP thinks it will work out this time.
I don't know. I was just a signal guy and not one who created or would even understand corporate business models and predictions. I speak only from the perspective of a guy with 40 years experience in the field.
In any case, this is my two cents worth on the UP 2020 Plan.