Actually, fwiw passenger service can absolutely be stressful. Working with people, not inanimate cargo, is a pain in the a** sometimes. And commuter rail services often are short on equipment and long on delays and frustrated customers. Add to that the frequent instances of passengers crossing in front of trains pulling out of station stops, suicide by train, etc. and yes, it is stressful. At least in my city, these guys are working with crap equipment and every week there's an equipment shortage that drives the trainmaster crazy. It's no picnic, the issues are just diff from freight.
Btw, none of us are against speculation or discussion per se. What we don't like is black and white statements of blame passed off as fact. Leave those types of judgments to the ntsb is all I was saying. Discussion, sure-- I'm on here, aren't I??
And to the person who commented that many engineers prolly go their whole career without a fatality, I doubt that. I've been a buff for only one year and I know maybe 3 or 4 engineers to talk to. Of those 3 or 4, 2 were involved in fatalities during the past year. And that's just the ones I know. It's a fact of life in that industry.