Originally Posted by
43Inches
Freight trains have been able to reduce driver numbers over the years, more for multiple head consists. That was a big reason Pilbara drivers got a big payrise, but also in trade off for dropping from 3 or so drivers per consist to a single driver.
Not
just the Pilbara trains either. I've worked Driver-Only freight for well over a decade and love it. Though I'm not the most personable person. In Australia DOO freight runs from Kalgoorlie to Perth (
without any supervisory system either), from Brisbane-Townsville (supervised by ATP & AWS), and both V/Line & CountryLink regional passenger trains in VIC/NSW are DOO as well, with the exception of the Broken Hill Xplorer - and that's
only due to the distance & shift length.
Originally Posted by Real Satoshi
The unintended consequence of this would be the final decimation of the profession, even for airline management, as few (if any) would embark on a 20 000 hour career built on solitude in an aluminium tube for extended hours on end...
Why wouldn't they? If you want to fly and the $$ are right, there's no practical difference between having "the system" monitor you and a human. The vast majority of train driver's who work DOO thoroughly enjoy it. You make your cuppa, you put your Spotify on, get comfortable and watch the world go by for 10-12 hours. If you have an ergonomic cab design (
notany locomotive designed by an American...), it is genuinely enjoyable, comfortable and relaxing. As above, I've done DOO for 12 years and the only times I've missed having a Coey were where I had to wait for a second Driver to come out by car to shunt out a defective wagon, a rare event in itself, whereas with two on board we could have done it then and there.