Jan 18, 2006 5:45 pm US/Pacific
Railway Safety Report: Calif. Needs Help
by Paul Dandridge
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
A report, issued Wednesday, from the state Committee on Rail Safety, chaired by Dario Frommer, D-Glendale, found California has one of the country's worst rail safety records based on the number of accidents and
fatalities at public grade crossings.
The committee was created after the Jan. 26, 2005, Metrolink accident in Glendale. Eleven people were killed and 200 people were injured in the derailment. Juan Manuel Alvarez, 26, is facing multiple murder charges in
connection with the derailment. Police said Alvarez purposely parked his SUV on the train tracks.
That accident forced lawmakers to examine Metrolink's practice of the push-pull configuration, which places heavy locomotives at the rear of the train and pushes lighter passenger cabs forward.
In the event of a derailment, this method can lead to more serious injuries because lighter passenger cars can be easily pushed off the tracks, Frommer said.
"There is no doubt in my mind that push-pull configuration is a killer," Frommer said.
"We respectfully disagree with the committee's conclusion on push-pull," said Denise Tyrrell of Metrolink.
"As it stands, commuter rail cars are 20 times safer than an automobile. If they're suggesting we phase out push-pull, are they also suggesting we phase out automobiles on the freeway?" Tyrrell said.
Frommer warned train operators he would pursue legislation if push-pull was not voluntarily phased out.
The committee also suggested installing better security gates at crossings to prevent cars from driving onto the tracks and installing surveillance systems to provide early warning systems to oncoming trains.
Frommer plans to ask Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to earmark $500 million of the proposed infrastructure bond to remove dangerous at-grade crossings.
Other safety precautions, such as seat belts, public announcement systems and traffic lights, could be installed without money from the infrastructure bond, said Elaine Parent Siebers, whose brother William died in the Glendale
accident.
"These are simple, common-sense ideas," Siebers said.
Metrolink officials said they have already begun work on safety improvements without abandoning the push-pull method. Trains are being equipped with mechanisms similar to shock absorbers, Tyrrell said.
However, Siebers argued money would be better spent on equipping commuter trains with multiple locomotives at both ends, similar to freight trains.
This practice implies, "freight is worth more than human life," Siebers said. "Why can't commuter trains have that too?"
(© 2006 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
