As far as I'm aware (I'm not a railroader, just have a few in the family and neighbors) a passenger conductor in the United States has the same duties and skills as a freight conductor due to the fact that a passenger train may have the same problems as a freight. Passenger trains may add/drop cars at terminals or busier way points. Our local carrier has a cab-car mid-train so they can make an inbound 8 or 10 car run at rush hour, drop the last five downtown, run a few mid-day runs at 3-5 cars, then pick up the last five again for the outbound rush.
I've also seen a few examples of Amtrak dropping a bad car in a remote siding rather than dragging it X-hundred miles until a car knocker can be located. Amtrak conductors are responsible for the operation of the train (and thus signals and dispatching) just like a freight conductor. The actual division of responsibility between engineer and conductor may be different from day to day, but the conductor is a train service person like the engineer. This is as opposed to certain Amtrak employee types like coach attendant and diner staff, which are not covered by hours of service and not allowed to do any train-handling stuff.
I had an experience a few months ago where a brake hose parted on an Amtrak train, and the conductor put on a visi-vest and went out on the ROW to fix it. He was also wearing steel toe boots, which I think conductors are required to wear on most passenger railroads.
I've heard Via Canada has no conductors, just "train leaders" or something like that. I'm not sure if these people handle adds/drops or just passengers.
I've also seen a few examples of Amtrak dropping a bad car in a remote siding rather than dragging it X-hundred miles until a car knocker can be located. Amtrak conductors are responsible for the operation of the train (and thus signals and dispatching) just like a freight conductor. The actual division of responsibility between engineer and conductor may be different from day to day, but the conductor is a train service person like the engineer. This is as opposed to certain Amtrak employee types like coach attendant and diner staff, which are not covered by hours of service and not allowed to do any train-handling stuff.
I had an experience a few months ago where a brake hose parted on an Amtrak train, and the conductor put on a visi-vest and went out on the ROW to fix it. He was also wearing steel toe boots, which I think conductors are required to wear on most passenger railroads.
I've heard Via Canada has no conductors, just "train leaders" or something like that. I'm not sure if these people handle adds/drops or just passengers.
The new Acela: It's not Aveliable.
