Boxer Reminds Metrolink: Train Crew Members Shouldn’t Ride Solo

The transportation spending bill passed by the Senate this week includes $50 million in rail safety grants sought in June
by environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) — but the
bill may not become law for months, and today Boxer told California’s
Metrolink commuter rail that interim safety protections would have to
stay in place.

Flickr photo: ProKelly

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Metrolink crash that
left 25 people dead and prompted a federal mandate to install the
safety monitoring system known as “positive train control” on all
commuter rail systems. The accident also helped advance the push for a
national ban on on texting while driving, the activity that was found
to contribute to the accident. 

A recent report
in the Los Angeles Times found that while Metrolink was making progress
on some of the changes its officials vowed to make in the wake of the
crash, other promises remained unfulfilled. In a letter sent today to
Metrolink chairman Keith Millhouse, Boxer said she “was pleased” when
the rail network started adding a second crew member to train operating
teams, adding: “As we work together to ensure that positive train
control is implemented as quickly as possible, safety must not be
compromised in the interim.”

This week’s transportation spending bill also includes $500,000
Boxer set aside for Metrolink to help pay for installation of “positive
train control,” a computer-based system that helps prevent crashes by
automatically detecting when two trains travel too close to one
another.

The senator’s full letter to Millhouse follows after the jump.

September 18, 2009

Keith Millhouse

Chairman

Metrolink

Dear Chairman Millhouse:

I
am deeply concerned that on average, 87 percent of Metrolink trains
operate without a second crew member in the train cab.  While I
recognize that Metrolink is moving forward with the installation of
cameras in its train cabs, I continue to believe that a second crew
member in the cab is an essential interim safety measure that must be
employed.  One year after the tragic Chatsworth crash that killed 25
people and injured 135 more, we cannot afford to undermine steps we
have taken to improve the safety of commuter rail.

Last September, I chaired a briefing for Senators
on the cause of the Metrolink tragedy.  I requested that interim safety
measures be immediately implemented in the absence of the installation
of positive train control. Former Metrolink Chairman Ron Roberts
pledged at that briefing to add an extra crew member in the train cabs
to act as an “extra set of eyes” to prevent another tragedy. I was
pleased when Metrolink began to follow through on that pledge.

While I understand the challenges facing commuter
rail in this difficult economy, safety must continue to be the top
priority. As we work together to ensure that positive train control is
implemented as quickly as possible, safety must not be compromised in
the interim.

Thank you for your attention to this critical
matter and I look forward to your
response.                                                                                                

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer

United States Senator