Metrolink Crash Would Have Been Much Worse If Not for New Rail Cars

"Three crash-resistant cars in Metrolink's new $263-million fleet of state-of-the-art passenger coaches performed well in their first test involving a major crash, rail officials said," write Dan Weikel and Laura J. Nelson of the Los Angeles Times about how the new South Korean-manufactured Rotem rail cars held up in in the February 24 Oxnard crash.

The cars, among the first to incorporate years of accident research, have front and rear crush zones, tables that give way in a wreck, improved emergency exits, fire retardant materials and more protective seating designs.

"We've spent a bundle on safety," said Richard Katz, a former state legislator and longtime Metrolink board member. "Accidents happen. When they do, we want to make sure our passengers and crews are in the safest cars and safest situations we can create."

Push-Pull Safety Controversy

As noted here Wednesday, the train was pushed by a locomotive in the rear, so the cab car, "(a) new, heavier Rotem cab car, equipped with a protective crushable nose cone, was leading the train when it hit the truck Tuesday," write Weikel and Nelson. "Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson, chairman of the Metrolink board and other Metrolink board members defended the practice of pushing passenger cars."

Some safety experts say putting heavier locomotives at the back of trains leaves passengers more vulnerable in frontal crashes and can be risky along routes in dense urban settings with many grade crossings.

"The mass of a cab car, even if beefed up, is not the same as a locomotive," said William Keppen, a railroad safety expert in Baltimore. "You just don't get the same level of protection, and the number of cars that were to derail would probably be fewer."

The Oxnard railroad crossing where the crash occurred "has a long history of deadly accidents and is ranked among the two dozen most dangerous in California," note the reporters. "Officials said a $30-million grade separation planned for the intersection has languished awaiting state and federal funding." And it has lots of company.

Across Metrolink's six-county [512-mile] system, there are 818 rail crossings, including 451 at street level.

The crossing is "one of thousands in Southern California, and many of them need attention," said Moorpark Mayor Pro Tem Keith Millhouse, a Metrolink board member.

Finally, the reporters note that the much-hyped application of positive train control "can prevent train collisions such as Metrolink's 2008 head-on wreck in Chatsworth" that resulted in 25 deaths, but is not designed to spot vehicles stuck at intersections or along railroad tracks.

In Tuesday's crash, the pickup driver, towing a trailer, was not even stuck on the tracks as had initially been thought, said Robert Sumwalt, a board member with the National Transportation Safety Board. He had driven 80 feet on the tracks west of crossing near 5th Street and Rice Avenue, according to Weikel and Nelson.

NTSB is investigating the crash. "We don't go to every grade crossing incident, but we are very interested in this for a number of factors," said Sumwalt.

Hat tip to AASHTO Daily Transportation Update.