Axle count inaccuracy requirements of Passenger trains operating on the UP

Okay, hot topic yesterday.  

UP SSI, Item 13, pg 125, paragraph D - When a verbal defect detector transmits an axle count that disagrees with the TCS train consist by a variance of +/- 3 axles the train crew must...

Yesterday I called Jim Ramirez positing that this rule does not apply to passenger trains and asked for the official word.  My basis comes from a previous discussion with Rob Korma(Torma?) out of Sacramento about this rule.  He stated that this does not apply to passenger trains because we do not have a TCS train consist list.  TCS stands for "Transportation Control System" this is the system conductors use to do their work order reporting.  After delving further, I surmise that it's important for freight trains to be aware of how many axles they have throughout the trip because they are picking up and dropping off cars at different locations.  If they are coming up with more or less axles than they are supposed to have, they may not have done the right work along the way.  Make sense?

So, the official word from the UP via Jim Ramirez is that this is a freight related rule and as passenger trains we would not need to drop our speed to 30 mph or any of the other requirements as required of freight. But what the UP does want us to do is make a couple of attempts to let the dispatcher know that the detector is giving the wrong axle count so that they can have the detector fixed.  If managers were listening and heard us making the attempts to notify the dispatcher, they would be satisfied with that and not have any issues.  If we didn't manage to reach the dispatcher for whatever reason, they would not have an issue with the way we handled - it as long as they heard us making the attempts.  

So I was partially right and partially wrong. Not the first time and not the last.