Railroad managements aren’t looking to hire more people. They intentionally reduce the workforce in order to increase productivity. But they’ve done it to the point that career employees are quitting because excessive hours are burning them out. And they are getting fired for refusing overtime. They are getting fatigued and fatigue is dangerous in RR work.
I first became aware of this issue from following railfan forums. A business press article mentioned that Union Pacific’s workforce is only 2/3 of what it used to be despite increased traffic. UP is typical of all of the Class I roads.
From what little I’ve read, I’m wondering why OSHA isn’t having a conniption fit over what management is doing. I certainly couldn’t have gotten away with some of it when I was working for the auto plants.