Re: Freight and Passenger Wage Rates

Gents,
Railroad Pay is something that you have to understand by working for the Railroad. It is a very complicated system, as you, as a trainman are paid on the basis of miles, number of cars handled and whether the train is a through freight or a local or a work train (they each pay differently). Switch Engines have their own rate system.
As an Engineer you are paid on the basis of the size and weight of the locomotive (weight on drivers). Today, yes, you get paid more for multiple units.
Here's brief brakedown of the basics:
Basic Day was 100 miles (in some places 80 miles) this is based on an average of 12.5 mph. You are paid on a number of cents per mile. The basic day is for 8 or less hours work. (if you get your trip over in less than 8 hours, you still get a basic day, it's not an hourly wage until overtime kicks in). Over time was generally paid to all time over 8 hours, EXCEPT!! if you run a district that was over 100 miles and got paid for the for the extra miles (say... 124 miles), your overtimes doesn't start until you run off your overmiles (all miles in excess of 100 miles) so on a 124 mile district, your overtime doesn't start until after 10 hours on duty.
Passenger miles , because of the higher speeds attained by Passenger trains pay a basic day of 150 miles. Passenger mileage rates are LOWER than freight rates per mile. Genreally, the lower rate is not the same as Freight Rates, so the Passenger Service Employees DO get paid more, but their overtime kicks in later.
There are also arbitrary and penalty payments based on negotiation for initial delay, final delay, trading trains, short turnarounds, call and release, Deadheading, doubling, etc.
Like I said, you have to work for the Railroad to understand.
Some of this has changed in recent years and the Railroad no longer pays the higher percentage that it used too. This leads to one severe employment problem that the Nations Railroads are now facing... They can't keep people. The job is too tough on families and individuals and the pay is no longer adequate compensation for the disruption that being on call 24/7/365 causes.
Believe me, having worked both Freight and Amtrak, I've gotten a lot less grief from 10,000 tons of freight than I've ever gotten from 400 passengers. Guess what, 10,000 tons of freight has never threatened to turn me in for enforcing Safety Rules that the freight doesn't like, and never threatened to sue my employer when that freight ignores those safety rules and gets hurt.
Rick Steele