Engineer sent text 22 seconds before fatal train crash - CNN.com

Train engineers will now get a 12 hour max duty day. ALPA, so help me god you better use this with the FAA. When operating a train you have all those fancy controls like forward and reverse. Oh don't forget the whistle! When will the 16 hour airline day end???

"the Senate on Wednesday night cleared a rail safety reform bill"...

"The bill also limits the hours a week rail crews can work, and prohibits shifts longer than 12 hours, the AP said. "

W T F!?

This is HUGE depending on what they have now.

If that passes and that is what they get -- we as pilots -- EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US -- even before ALPA and other unions can start lobbying -- must write several letters each to our government representatives to show how silly it would be for flight crew duty limits not to match those of train operators in the aftermath of a train wreck that included a long duty day.

I'm going to type my letter up tomorrow on my layover. It will be ready.

Why? As far as alpa is concerned, everything is fine. The FAA had new duty limits proposed back in mid 90's. ALPA did not push for it. The FAA has the new FAR's tabled for over 12 years. Why has ALPA not pushed for the changes in flight and duty limits? Answer, when the new rules were proposed, the only pilots that would have benefited were regional pilots because most regional airlines duty limits are FAR's, while most mainline pilots have more restrictive duty limits in their contracts, or at least they did. But even with that said, mainline pilots have duty/trip rigs which makes it costly for the company to hold you out for 16 hours. While regional pilots are basically getting per diem as pay.
ALPA does not want to waist any political capital and **** off mainline management when they negotiate mainline pilots contract. Regional pilots are used by both the company and ALPA to get something except for the regional pilots.
It is to late for ALAP to try to negotiate its way out because mgt has there number.
Just my two cents.

Then stop complaining about it on here and bypass the union and write your congressman and some newspapers.

I'm serious. It is so obvious with a bill passing like this that the flying rule needs to be changed that it is worth taking a few minutes of your own time.

I don't see where ALPA Politics are even involved.. As far as my family is concerned I don't want them flying on your plane if you've been pushing 15's and 16's for a few days, let alone a few years... I think the general public would feel the same way if they actually knew what kind of duty time we put in.

As much as it sucks, the government won't do a damn thing until [new] major accident occurs as a result of fatigue/long duty day...which I would bet isn't too far away based on things in the industry today...

Well 2 guys in Hawaii in recent months both fell asleep, and though I don't know the exact circumstances, I don't believe there are any major changes in any work rules as a result. I would hope it was at least looked into. Thank god that situation played out the way it did and not in tragedy, because that's unfortunately about what it will take for the feds to make changes.

graveyard tech/regs is how the government works. unless there's a pile of corpses on the 6 o'clock news, politicians don't care about it at all.

Unfortuneately, the crew had more than 12 hrs rest before duty so that wasn't the issue here. Even if the crew jumpseated in 1 hour before departure after being up all night.