Wyoming Man Who Says AI Driver Wrecked Train Settles With Union Pacific

A Pinedale, Wyoming, man who sued Union Pacific Railroad last year on claims the company caused a train wreck by using an artificial intelligence-powered driver settled his lawsuit Wednesday. 

Andrew Kirol last April accused Union Pacific Railroad of negligence and violating federal inspection laws ahead of a May 3, 2021, crash outside of Green River, Wyoming. 

Kirol and the railroad company filed a notice Wednesday informing the U.S. District Court for Wyoming that they’d settled the lawsuit. 

The terms aren’t yet known: the settlement agreement was not publicly available as of Thursday. Kirol’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, according to a UP spokesman.

The spokesman said Union Pacific’s Energy Management System (EMS) manages train forces, momentum and speed and is “akin to intelligent cruise control. Using real-time onboard simulations, EMS looks at a train’s length and weight, the terrain and the curvature of the tracks.”

“It then selects the best train handling strategy to control throttle and dynamic braking, effectively managing the natural push and pull of the couplers that connect rail cars,” says the statement. It says EMS reduces fuel consumption nearly 4% compared to manual operation – equating to approximately 350 gallons per 1,000 train miles. In 2023, EMS saved Union Pacific 18 million gallons of fuel while reducing greenhouse gas emissions 247,000 metric tons.

As of Monday, the case file indicated it was still headed to trial. The lawyers had agreed on terms to dictate the exchange of confidential evidence, and asked the judge to authorize those terms. The judge did in a Tuesday order. 

The Claims

Kirol’s original allegations stemmed from a wreck he suffered while working as a locomotive engineer. 

On May 3, 2021, he was on a train headed for Green River. 

Union Pacific had installed a computer software system known as “LEADER,” which was to control the locomotives without input from the engineer, and learn through artificial intelligence how to control the trains’ movements over various tracks, terrains and territories, the original complaint says.

Kirol’s complaint says the railroad company compelled him “under threat of discipline” to use the computer-driven locomotives that day to operate a lengthy freight train on the main line tracks through hills, valleys and other obstacles.

Kirol rode in the lead locomotive, with a locomotive about halfway toward the rear of the train uncrewed and driven by the computer rather than remotely by him as it would “normally” be, the document says.

The train approached Green River and started climbing a hill.

The computer system gave the locomotives dangerous instructions, telling the lead locomotive to slow down and the middle locomotive to speed up, which made the middle locomotive rear-end the front cars, throwing Kirol around the lead locomotive’s cab, injuring his lower back and other parts of his body, the complaint alleges.

“No competent locomotive engineer would have allowed (this situation) to arise under the circumstances,” the document adds.

This story has been updated to include a post-publication comment by Union Pacific.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.