Sep 19, 2008 12:45 pm US/Pacific
Railroad Safety Plan Unanimously Passed By Council
LOS ANGELES
-
-
It was one week ago that Metrolink train No. 111 slammed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, killing 25 people and injuring another 135.
Darrin Nupuf/CBS
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously agreed Friday to support federal legislation requiring railroad carriers to implement systems that could avoid crashes such as last week's collision between a commuter train and a freight train.
One resolution is in support of the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act., which would require rail lines to install positive train control, also know as PTC systems, no later than Dec. 31, 2018.
These systems automatically bring trains to a stop if engineers do not comply with signals.
The second resolution supports the Rail Collision Prevention Act, authored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both Democrats from California. That bill would require the PTC systems to be on "high-risk" lines by Dec. 31, 2012 and all other major rail lines by 2014.
Rail carriers that fail to comply would be fined up to $100,000.
It was one week ago that Metrolink train No. 111 slammed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, killing 25 people and injuring another 135.
"Human error will always occur and we can't account for that. What we can do is take technology to make sure that it overcomes human error and that we prevent these tragedies from happening," Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti said.
"We can't change what happened, but we can change it from happening again."
City Councilman Richard Alarcon said he supports the collision-avoidance systems, but questioned whether there is enough political will to get the multibillion-dollar systems installed.
"The bottom line is it's going to be very difficult to get this policy passed and we are going to have to have very strong strategic partners if we are going to get this kind of legislation passed," Alarcon said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also looking into whether text-messaging may have distracted engineer Robert Martin Sanchez while on duty last Friday.
The California Public Utilities Commission yesterday approved an immediate ban on the use of all cellular devices by engineers while operating freight or passenger trains.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
