New rail era: Operators honoredto go from bus to train
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No comments [ Add Comment ]By MITCH SHAW
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
Tom McCurdy has spent 32 years of his life behind the wheel of a Utah Transit Authority bus.
On Saturday, although he will still be employed by UTA, McCurdy will leave his post as a bus driver and begin his dream job.
The highly anticipated FrontRunner system begins service this week with McCurdy and a team of 30 other operators, made up entirely of former UTA bus drivers, manning the trains.
Among bus drivers, moving from the street to the rail is like a commercial airline pilot stepping into the space shuttle and flying to the moon.
"In the bus community, being an operator on a commuter rail system is a big deal," said UTA spokeswoman Carrie Bohnsack-Ware. "It's something that is considered an honor and very highly coveted."
McCurdy's decision to become a FrontRunner operator stemmed from the fact that he needed a new challenge, but also because he saw an opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream.
"Don't get me wrong, I loved driving the bus -- enough to do it for 32 years," McCurdy said.
"But when you spend that much time doing anything, you jump at the opportunity to do something new."
The UTA veteran said trains fascinate him.
"All of us old guys had train sets when we were growing up," McCurdy said. "A lot of people in my generation dreamed of driving a train -- and I was definitely one of them."
McCurdy's fellow FrontRunner operator, Earl Newson, said driving the train also brought back memories.
"I feel like a kid again," he said. "I had to have this as my last hurrah. It will keep me young a little bit longer."
Newson began driving UTA buses in January 2000 and also drove TRAX during the Olympics. He said the move from bus to TRAX was enough of an adjustment, but operating FrontRunner is unlike anything he's done at UTA.
"This is nothing like driving a bus -- or TRAX for that matter," he said. "Some people think this would be easier because you are on a rail, traveling in basically a straight line. But everything here happens a lot faster."
One FrontRunner locomotive can carry up to 10 passenger cars and consistently travels at speeds of 79 mph.
"Driving the bus is a lot more mundane and routine," Newson said. "You can't avoid anything on the rail; you can't steer. If you get in a wreck on this thing, you become a spectator. You've got to be on your toes at all times."
To ensure the train is as safe as possible, FrontRunner operators have to log at least 120 hours of driving, along with about six weeks of classroom instruction, to get their certification.
"It takes a lot of hard work to get to this point," said Andres Alacron, rail operations supervisor. "I don't think people realize the amount of time these guys spend on test and training and just the hours and hours of preparation that goes into this."
Alacron said when bus drivers become FrontRunner operators, they enter into exclusive company.
"Not everybody makes it," he said. "It takes a lot of dedication to perform this job. Safety is the No. 1 priority with a commuter rail, so we only choose the best of the best."
McCurdy said even though FrontRunner hasn't opened to the public yet, he has already encountered a real-life safety hazard.
"There was a guy walking right on the train tracks as we were coming toward him," he said. "I just threw on the brakes and started to slow down and sounded the horn loud and often. Luckily, he got out of the way."
Alacron said the incident is all part of the training. The more practice operators have dealing with adversity, the better they will be at handling it with a cab full of passengers.
"That's why we do the hours and hours of training, to encounter situations they will likely encounter when they are on their routes," Alacron said. "We want to have these guys as prepared as they can possibly be."
When FrontRunner officially opens its doors on Saturday, McCurdy and the other operators will not only be well-prepared, but also very eager to begin their new careers.
"I know I've already put in a lot of time for UTA," he said. "But when I first stepped onto this train, I felt like I could do another 30 years. I'm gonna feel like a kid on Christmas."
