Railroad Fires Three for Guiding Train on Collision Course
MINNEAPOLIS — Three Milwaukee Road trainmen have been fired because they put their freight train on a collision course with an Amtrak passenger train, even though the trains stopped within a mile of each other, a railroad spokesman said Wednesday.
The trainmen, based in Minneapolis and St. Paul, are appealing their firings, said John Mogan, general chairman of the United Transportation Union-Milwaukee Road.
The men had been suspended after their train bypassed a sidetrack the night of Dec. 16, staying on a main track as Amtrak’s North Star approached. The North Star, carrying 230 passengers from Duluth to St. Paul, stopped safely after seeing trackside warning signals and the freight train’s headlight.
After a brief delay, the freight train backed up to the siding and allowed the North Star to pass.
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