Sep 25, 2008 5:16 am US/Pacific
MTA Board To Discuss Commuter Rail Safety
LOS ANGELES
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors will discuss commuter rail safety Thursday in the wake of the September 12 Metrolink collision that killed 25 people and injured dozens more.
CBS
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors will discuss commuter rail safety Thursday in the wake of the September 12 Metrolink collision that killed 25 people and injured dozens more.
Board members will hear a presentation by Metrolink officials on positive train control technology, a system of monitoring and controlling train movements to prevent such collisions.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board chairman, announced Thursday that he also intended to introduce a motion that would call on Metrolink to add several safety precautions, including placing a second engineer and video cameras in each locomotive cab.
Ron Roberts, chairman of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, testified at a U.S. Senate briefing yesterday than an additional engineer would be considered to reduce the possibility of future collisions.
Villaraigosa will also advocate the use of "automatic train stop" technology as a stopgap safety measure while positive train control technology is being developed, he said.
The September 12 collision occurred when a Metrolink train slammed head- on into a Union Pacific freight train near Chatsworth.
Of the 86 commuters hospitalized after the wreck, 18 remained hospitalized Thursday -- four of them in critical condition, according to the Los Angeles Times.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
SLIDESHOW: Metrolink Crash
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