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resources department in Washington to a director of training in Chicago. He said that the manager of engineer training at the Wilmington facility is the director of the engineer training school and reports to the Chicago-based director of training.
According to the manager of engineer training, the human resources department has administrative accountability for the school. This department is also responsible for processing apprentice engineers' records pertaining to physical characteristics qualification, completion of OJT, and simulator instruction. Simulator time for final evaluation and certification at the IIT facility is scheduled through the human resources department. The manager of engineer training explained that the system general road foreman has accountability for trainees in the OJT phase of the program and that the transportation department establishes criteria to determine when an apprentice is eligible to "mark up" as an engineer.
The manager of engineer training indicated that the transportation department is responsible for the administration, follow up, and monitoring of trainees in OJT. A system transportation manager from the transportation department is assigned to coordinate each class.
Development and Evolution of the Program—According to the system general road foreman, Amtrak has changed the program primarily to adapt the training to the makeup of individual classes. The manager of engineer training stated that the engineer training school has never been evaluate to determine how well it is performing its mission. The general manager of transportation testified that he anticipates program changes, including weekly supervisory rides with apprentice engineers and selection and approval of instructing engineers before they participate in the program. He also said Amtrak management was reviewing the engineer training program at the time that the Safety Board was taking depositions for the accident. Safety Board investigators later learned from Amtrak's executive vice president that Amtrak initiated the management review primarily to determine whether the engineer training program complies with FRA locomotive engineer qualification requirements in 49 CFR Part 240.
Engineers' and Apprentice Engineers' Concerns—A recently trained engineer stated that Amtrak should allot more time for OJT. He explained that he would have benefited from additional training beyond the 17 months he had received. He added that he thought he was ready to begin working by himself but that 3 or 4 more months of training would have been useful.
One apprentice engineer contrasted the duration of the engineer training program with the time allotted to complete his apprenticeship as an Amtrak electrician. He recalled that the latter included 16 weeks of classes, together with a 3-year apprenticeship, and that during his apprenticeship he received 8 additional hours of classroom instruction a month.
FRA Engineer Certification—On December 11, 1989, the FRA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to address the requirements for qualification of locomotive engineers. The FRA proposed that railroads consider the following five criteria: vision and hearing acuity; sufficient knowledge of operating rules, as demonstrated by passing a written examination; sufficient train operation skills, as demonstrated by passing a performance skills test, eligibility, as demonstrated by the individual's railroad employee and motor vehicle driver record, and familiarity with the physical characteristics of the routes on which the individual would operate.
