Railroads offering signing bonuses

[Greg_Lewis]

Interesting story. The RRs are offering signing bonuses for folks who want to work in operations:

http://www.kxan.com/news/national-news/ ... 1151289420

[Vance Nickerson]

Yep say goodbye to the wife, kids and life and come build America one siding at a time with us.

[makinsmoke]

Under the watchful eye of your friendly, neighborhood drone....

“Oh, here, pee in this cup...”

[mspetersen]

Anyone who hires into train service today shouldn't expect to do it for 30 years. At some point there will be one man or unmanned trains operating. Only a matter of time. If they can run unmanned semis, trains shouldn't be as hard. PTC is laying the foundation for that right now.

[RCRR]

That's an interesting point. Also, without fear of a crew timing out you can run a freight train at whatever painfully slow speed you need to make it "safe" without a driver onboard.

[FKreider]

Anyone who hires into train service today shouldn't expect to do it for 30 years. At some point there will be one man or unmanned trains operating. Only a matter of time. If they can run unmanned semis, trains shouldn't be as hard. PTC is laying the foundation for that right now.

This might be true but all of that automation still needs maintenance and repair. Sensors fail, computer programs glitch and need updating, ect. Also the locomotives and track will still need maintenance.