’90s relics include — cabooses?

Regarding the Feb. 26 editorial, “How to fix freight rail after the Ohio derailment debacle”:

The editorial was correct in calling for better regulations and more emphasis on rail safety, but it must have been a while since the writers watched a train at a train crossing. In advocating for better brakes on freight trains, the editorial stated that air brakes “work by sending an air signal throughout the train. It takes time for the signal to reach the caboose.” It would take a very long time. Cabooses haven’t been used on freight trains by the major railroads since the 1990s.

Jamie Horwitz, Washington The writer is a media relations adviser for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and other rail unions.