Metrolink crash in Chatsworth (San Fernando Valley- LA)

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2008-09-12 10:30pm

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A Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train collided head-on at about 4:20 PM PST today. Rescue efforts are still ongoing, and the body count estimates range between 4 and upwards of 6. The Metrolink locomotive was shoved halfway into the first passenger car by the impact and both derailed.

Looks grim, they're estimating that this is probably going to be the worst crash in Metrolink history, worse than the 2005 crash in Glendale due to a pickup truck on the tracks.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2008-09-13 12:32am

right now 15+ dead, 100+ injured

Darth Fanboy · Post by **Darth Fanboy** » 2008-09-13 04:43am

Those pictures they were playing on the news were gruesome. KCAL was saying about 20+ dead and that the train was fortunately being pulled instead of pushed at the time (correct me if i'm saying this wrong) and that more deaths could have occurred otherwise.

As someone who actually uses the LA-area rails, i'll be keeping an eye on the investigation.

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2008-09-13 11:59am

It's up to 18+ dead now.

I guess it was a good thing that the train was being pulled, since the locomotive bore the brunt of the impact, but even so it wasn't enough to stop the car behind it from being driven forward.

That said, if it had been pushing as is usual for Metrolink, we probably could have expected to see 100+ dead as the locomotive drove the passenger cars into the freight train...

Tribun · Post by **Tribun** » 2008-09-13 12:07pm

While this is horrible, how long until the usual suspects will cry that this is proof how bad train traffic is (in their minds) and that it should be abolished for even more roads?

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2008-09-13 12:15pm

I'll be the first to point out to said idiots that the frequency and number of fatalities in train collisions is still extremely low, especially compared to automotive crashes. In LA, we typically have over 50 automotive crashes, usually with at least one fatality, in a day. This happens to be the first Metrolink crash in three years...

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2008-09-13 12:18pm

and it comes not long after the conviction and sentancing of the asshole with the truck responsible for the glendale crash.

oh. and up north we had those anti-rail idjits complain about how bad trains were because of:

People trying to beat the train
because local tweekers thought it would be fun to disable a crossing gate.
because fog prevented someone from seeing the crossing gate lights when he was driving 70+mph on a 45mph zone. (with FOG)

so essentially in the minds of a few it's the train's fault that California drivers are darwin awards waiting to be given.

Alerik the Fortunate · Post by **Alerik the Fortunate** » 2008-09-13 12:40pm

My mom called yesterday freaked out thinking I was on that train. Fortunately I was dropped from my Friday lab class due to lack of equipment, but it turns out that it was a different line than the one I would have been on at the time anyway. I'm just surprised that scheduling would allow for a head on train on train collision. Somebody is going to be in severe trouble over this. I hope it doesn't reduce ridership, since the more people ride it the more they are able to improve the service. I have yet to see what the local media makes of this.

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-09-13 12:42pm

Tribun wrote:While this is horrible, how long until the usual suspects will cry that this is proof how bad train traffic is (in their minds) and that it should be abolished for even more roads?

Wouldn't it be just as easy to say that this is proof that we need a better, more comprehensive rail network?

Cecelia5578 · Post by **Cecelia5578** » 2008-09-13 02:26pm

Or that commuter trains and freight trains shouldn't be sharing the same track.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-09-13 05:02pm

Cecelia5578 wrote:Or that commuter trains and freight trains shouldn't be sharing the same track.

I don't see a practical way to separate the two entirely.

Actually, the rail control system in the US is arguably more sophisticated than the air traffic control. The system is really quite amazing, which is why accidents such as this are extremely rare. Which, of course, does nothing to mitigate the tragic loss of life.

Clearly, there WILL be an investigation.

Tribun wrote:While this is horrible, how long until the usual suspects will cry that this is proof how bad train traffic is (in their minds) and that it should be abolished for even more roads?

You know, I've never heard this before, but then I do live in Chicago where rail travel is thoroughly part of the landscape and local culture. I suppose it's not surprising there would be a different outlook in California.

On edit: A spokeperson for the commuter rail said the train engineer failed to heed a red signal. >sigh< Human error. Some, perhaps all, of the commuter rail in the Chicago area (I don't know for sure, but it is the case on the lines I've ridden) has control devices on board such that the train comes to a halt at red signals and the driver must go through a conscious process to override it, which means even if the human does screw up at least the train will be moving at a slow speed. Which makes me wonder if the Metrolink has that, and if not, why not?

Cecelia5578 · Post by **Cecelia5578** » 2008-09-13 05:56pm

Isn't the fact that passenger (which includes commuter rail) rail in many cases shares trackage (and surrenders its right of way to freight trains) a reason why service sucks and is slow? Amtrak on the West Coast is like that-there were always delays going from Eugene to Portland cause we had to pull over and allow a freight train to pass. And, of course, the increased risk of accidents. Which, as been noted, could've been worse had the freight train hit the other side of the commuter train.

CmdrWilkens · Post by **CmdrWilkens** » 2008-09-14 12:09am

Cecelia5578 wrote:Isn't the fact that passenger (which includes commuter rail) rail in many cases shares trackage (and surrenders its right of way to freight trains) a reason why service sucks and is slow? Amtrak on the West Coast is like that-there were always delays going from Eugene to Portland cause we had to pull over and allow a freight train to pass. And, of course, the increased risk of accidents. Which, as been noted, could've been worse had the freight train hit the other side of the commuter train.

Well the passengar lines (notably Amtrak) own virtually none of the trackage in this country. The largest chunk is still the NEC and outside of that most (not all but most) passenger service runs under agreement with a host railroad which is invariably a freight railroad. There are a host of regulations designed to allow passenger trains a great degree of priority but the actual execution is obviously much more suspect as people pay a lot less per ton-mile than freight.

From an infrastructure standpoint it honestly just doesn't make that much sense to have completely seperate passenger and freight tracks so long as you can provide sufficient sidings and double/triple/quad tracked segments. Obtaining the land, laying the track, setting up the signal and dispatch apparatus can all be huge capital outlays. Its much easier just to add more length of a second or third track along an existing right of way than to find a completely new one and build it from the ground up.