Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with all of the little idiosyncrasies that are found in every car:
a bedroom door that comes off its track, a circuit breaker that
trips for no obvious reason, and who knows what else. Finally,
and it's the most obvious of the duties, she's also responsible for
collecting tickets and for supervising the loading and unloading
of passengers and baggage. Even when there's nothing apparent
going on, most conductors “walk the train” every hour or so, just
to keep an eye on things.
The conductor also has the authority to deal with any other
problem if it involves the safety or well-being of the passengers.
If a passenger becomes ill, the conductor can arrange for an
ambulance to meet the train at an upcoming stop. If a passenger
becomes disorderly, the conductor has the authority to stop the
train and put him off.
Because he's so thoroughly familiar with the train's route, it's
usually the conductor who makes periodic announcements over
the public-address system about points of interest along the way.
It's also the conductor's responsibility to inform passengers as to
the reasons for any delays that may occur. (Too many conductors
just don't do that, however, and it's a real sore point with many
frequent passengers. In my opinion, there is simply no excuse for
not informing passengers about delays that are longer than a few
minutes.)
Finally, there is also paperwork to do. The conductor offi-
cially notes all arrival and departure times (which he confirms by
radio with the engineer, who passes that information along to the
dispatcher). Should the train be late, the conductor is responsible
for filling out a delay report, which includes both the length of
the delay and the reason it occurred.
By the way, the assistant conductor used to be called a train-
man, flagman, or brakeman. Today this person has the same
duties and responsibilities as the conductor but is in a subordi-
nate role. One vestige of the old job remains, however, because
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