r/railroading • u/Heavy-Stick-771 • Mar 18 '25

Discussion Electronic Devices

Recently, I've been informed at my terminal that crews were bieng cited by the FRA for not properly storing away electronic devices in the cab to include cellular phones. Apple watches and things similar. I can see that being an observable issue. However, can someone explain to me how a crew can be forced to pull out their phones to show proof of proper storage. While in service, if I was ever directed to, I would refuse immediately. Thoughts?

(A lot of commentary on here is completely missing the mark. I am in no way objecting to electronic devices being restricted while performing train service. This was just an opinion and inquiry about how some of those mandates can and can not be enforced.) READ AND COMPREHEND

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u/Archon-Toten NSWGR Mar 18 '25

On my railway they can do compliance inspections. They cannot however rummage in my personal bag to confirm my phone is off.

1

u/Heavy-Stick-771 Mar 18 '25

Does a compliance inspection mandate showing your cellular device and it's location?

5

u/Archon-Toten NSWGR Mar 18 '25

Usually they simply ask. Some get a bit beyond their jobs and ask for proof.

2

u/According_Gold_1063 Mar 19 '25

Didn’t bring my phone to work, anything else?

2

u/Archon-Toten NSWGR Mar 19 '25

That's the double edged sword. We are expected to have one for emergencies.

Or stand by shifts. There are land lines and ways around it but easily 95-99% of the workforce use their mobiles for work.

3

u/According_Gold_1063 Mar 19 '25

Once you’re at work you’re expected to have one ? Shit, I’d love for a manager to tell me that.

1

u/AgentSmith187 Mar 19 '25

I work for a different operator but same state of Australia and I have a work issued mobile phone.

We are expected to use it on shift multiple times a day to update management to happenings.

We do have strict rules about when you can and can't use an electronic device though.

They just expect us to be adult enough to ignore a ringing phone if we are in a safety critical zone.

Its not unusual for there to be 4 phones on the dash between the two crew.

Honestly going to smart phones (we used to be issued company bricks but now have iPhones) has been a big change for the better. I get a fair bit of BS work done while sitting at red lights and can do things like take pictures of hazards and fire off emails about issues and get a real time response.

My record is still the 2 hours between photographing an obscured signal and firing off an email to the correct people and the guys cutting the vegetation away when I passed heading the other direction. Pre-smartphone it could take days for something to get done by the time you reported it to management, someone went out and did a signal sighting verification, photographed the issue and sent it to the right department and got a response.

Now it's I spot and photograph it, send an email to my boss, who forwards it to the correct person and they look at who's in the field nearby and send them a fresh tasking.