Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Bucks County (PA) Community College to offer engineer and conductor training

Found the following article on the Railpace magazine web site. The spellings are theirs.

PA COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO OFFER ENGINEER AND CONDUCTING CURRICULUM: Reporter John Anastasi wrote in his March 9, 2008 (Bucks County, PA) Courier Times article that Bucks County Community College (BCCC) is working to add locomotive engineering and conduction training programs to its curriculum. The school sees a field that needs workers. Barbara Miller, BCCC's vice president for continuing education, workforce development and public safety said "The railroads are still a part of how we move people and materials." The course covers operating rules, train air-brake theory, railroad infrastructure, diesel and electric locomotive operation and other topics and is designed to prepare students for a railroad training academy. The need for engineers and conductors is very real, according to regional and national railroad officials. "We need to do more recruiting than we have in many years," said Tom White, spokesman for the Washington D.C.-based Association of American Railroads. "The high cost of fuel has prompted some companies to use rail service rather than trucking to transport their products," said White. "That, coupled with growth in national and global trade, has helped drive the increase." Salaries for conductors and engineers average about $67,000 and $75,000, respectively, according to the AAR.