Streetsblog Los Angeles

The NTSB "Recreates" the September 12 Crash in Chatsworth

Last week, Damien Goodmon penned a piece in CityWatch arguing that the focus on the actions of the conductor in the September 12 Chatsworth train crash is distracting the public from the larger issue of rail safety in the greater Los Angeles area.  Goodmon sites statistics showing that Metrolink trains are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than the busiest commuter railroad in the country, the Long Island Railroad.  He goes on to argue:

Dismissing the Chatsworth event as a “freak accident” distracts from the hundreds of others that have occurred on our region’s tracks and allows our elected leaders to continue, without appropriate criticism, to translate our region’s desires for solutions to our traffic crisis into policies of building rail quickly, cheaply and unsafely.  With policies and decisions to operate commuter trains on single-track segments with freight rail, and 225-ton light rail trains at street level across major intersections right next to large urban schools and churches there is plenty to criticize.

The catastrophic Metrolink accident should be a wake up call to our region.  It should result in an independent top-to-bottom no-holds-barred evaluation of the rail safety policies made by the politicians who lead our transportation agencies.  The evaluation should result in short-term (1-2 years) and long-term (20-30 year) recommendations … mandates … to implement safety mitigation measures on our rail lines, which must be prioritized among our transportation agencies.

In the Times this weekend, Steve Hymon delves in to how Metrolink functions as an agency.  The article is a pretty chilling read.  The underfunded agency is run by small-town political leaders who don't have an expertise in rail or rail safety.  Despite their being no history of attacks on U.S. transit systems, Metrolink has focused on keeping their riders safe from terrorists instead of other safety concerns.

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In the wake of last week's Metrolink disaster there has been a lot of discussion about what impact more modern signals could have had in preventing the crash.  Today, the Times revealed that Metrolink had been an outspoken critic of Congressional efforts to require better signalization for all train tracks.

That resistance has spurred Senator Diane Weinstein to introduce legislation that would require the installation of what she terms life saving signals by 2014.  Feinstein's bill, co-sponsored by Barbara Boxer, combines the language of two similar pieces of legislation passed in the House of Representatives and Senate respectively, that have yet to be combined into a single piece of legislation by a conference committee.

In a statement to the press, Feinstein calls the lack of what she calls a "positive train control system" a sign of negligence and the major reason for the crash.

“The fact is, this collision could have been avoided had there been a positive train control system in place. In my view, that’s sheer negligence.

“And it should be totally unacceptable to the American people that we have rail systems in which two trains going in opposite directions share a single track – with only a signal light to stop a collision – when technology exists to prevent a crash. This legislation will fix this. Nowhere is this needed more than in Southern California, where the majority of Metrolink’s 388 miles of track are shared with freight trains. We must install positive train control as quickly as possible. There is no excuse for inaction.”

One question that isn't answered in either the bill or the press statement: if these signals could save so many lives, why isn't the federal government offering some financial assistance to get them put in place quicker than six years from now?

Photo: Times

(Editor’s Note: After combing through literally hundreds of articles, I decided to post the links from LAist and the Bottleneck Blog.  Their combined stories cover the news from the crash completely.  The stories run chronologically with the earlier stories posted first.  Excellent work Steve, Zach, and the rest of the staff at LAist.)

Bottleneck Blog:

Announcing the Crash

Metrolink: A system forged from freight lines Metrolink service update (Saturday)

Metrolink crash: How trains navigate the tracks

Blood Drive Continues

Sunday morning updateMetrolink’s fatalities high compared to other commuter railroads

Metrolink board: blaming engineer was premature

Metrolink service update

LAist:

4 Dead in Metrolink Train Derailment

Rescue Operations Continue

What We Know About Today’s Derailment

Photos from Train Crash

Chatsworth Train Was Close to Tunnel

Death Toll at 18, Expected to Rise

City Flags Lowered to Half Mast

More Photos from Crash

Metrolink Blames Engineer

Search for Victims/Survivors Ends.  Death Toll at 25

Was Engineer Driving While Texting?

Partial List of Crash Victims Released

Board of Directors Holds Special Meeting

Metrolink Spokeswoman Who Blamed Engineer Quits

Photo: Zach Behrens/LAist

This week, Metrolink will begin random searches of riders to help make trains more secure for riders.  LA County Sheriffs will be conducting the searches which Metrolink claims are not in response to a specific threat.

A flyer to passengers left on Metrolink trains explains the procedure:

Prior to initiation of a screening event, signs will be posted at all entrances to the station parking lots and platforms to notify passengers that the deputies are present and the random security screening will be conducted. Access to the station platform will be restricted; passengers must pass through the checkpoint to gain access to the station platform.

The new random searches have already come under praise and criticism from Metrolink passengers.

Robert Akrow, the owner of the website metrolinkrider.com, went so far as to claim that the program is an example of why Metrolink is in need of an independent inspector general.

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At a Time When Transit Agencies Are Fighting For Every Dollar, Metrolink Wastes Money Suing Bloggers

This week's LA Weekly has a fascinating expose on Metrolink's ham-handed attempt to silence bloggers by dragging them in front of international courts.  I wish this were an April Fool's story, but it isn't.  The story's author, Max Taves, abandons any pretense of objectivity slamming Metrolink as a "Paranoid Transit Agency" before we even get to the text of the piece.   After reading the story, I can't say I blame him.

 And the story is basically this.  Desperate to shut down a website that is critical of its policies, Metrolink filed suit against Bob Arkow because his website was a violation of international copyright laws.  You see, the website's name is MetrolinkRider.com and Metrolink claimed that people might think the site was an official Metro message board.  Metrolink also sued for the domain metrolinksucks.com which doesn't have a website attached to it yet, but is also owned by Arkow.  Metrolink must have a pretty low opinion of its riders...that or members of its board and staff are going to be shocked to hear that Kobe Bryant doesn't spend his off days updating the links at this website.  Don't panic Camino, Metrolink lost its case in front of the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) court earlier this month.

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Last Friday, Metrolink announced plans to raise fares and cut service effective on July 1. Wait a second, you might be thinking, Metrolink announced these hikes over a year ago. True, but these fare hikes are in addition to the ones passed in 2007. From Metrolink's press release:

Because of the escalating cost of diesel fuel, scheduled increases in costs for operating services contracts and new start-up costs related to the arrival of additional passenger cars in 2009, the Board is considering a fare increase of up to 7.5%, instead of the previously approved 3.5% and potential reductions in service to take effect on July 1, 2008.

The Metrolink Board is also considering changes to the Group Travel Program. The proposed changes to the program are as follows:

Increase the discounted Group Travel fare for a round trip ticket from $7.00 to $10.00 beginning July 1, 2008

Increase the minimum number in a group to qualify for the discounted fare from 10 to 15 beginning July 1, 2008

Index future increases in the Group Travel fare to system-wide fare change proposals but only increase the fare when the cumulative total of increases is equal to or greater than $1.00.

Much like Foothill Transit during its recent fare increases and Metro during its public process for service cuts; Metrolink is avoiding laying blame at the feet of the governor and other elected leaders in Sacramento who consistently under fund transit operations and sometimes rob dedicated transportation funding to balance the general fund.

Unfortunately, our local media is doing nothing to help pick up the slack. Metrolink used the oldest media suppression trick in the book, releasing major news on Friday afternoon, and so far it's paid off. No stories on the fare increase appeared in the Daily News, LA Times, or Orange County Register. The only story I found was a reprint of the press release in California Newswire.

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