The Nation's Deadliest Light Rail System

The Blue Line -- a light rail line running from downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach -- has grisliest record in the U.S.

1 minute read

January 15, 2003, 8:00 AM PST

"The trains run by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority are packed with riders. About 70,000 pay the $1.35 fare on an average weekday. But the trains frequently hit errant motorists and pedestrians, jinxing the Blue Line with the worst record of deaths and injuries among the nation's 18 big-city light-rail systems... The Blue Line's grisly record has been one of the few obstacles to a national building boom in light rail. Opponents of a Salt Lake City streetcar project cited the L.A. statistics in trying to block the 1999 inaugural of the city's TRAX cars which rolled anyway. Five deaths have occurred in Salt Lake City since."

Thanks to Transport Policy Listserv

FULL STORY: Blue Line takes a troubled route

Tuesday, January 7, 2003 in USA Today

Transportation California

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