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Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., left, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif, gives an opening statement during a briefing on the Metrolink crash in Chatsworth on Capitol Hill last month. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
In the wake of the deadly Chatsworth train crash where a Metrolink commuter train and Union Pacific freight train crashed head on killing 25 and injuring 135, technology called positive train control that detects and shut down trains heading towards each other will be installed by 2012, three years before federal law will require them to do so, Bottleneck Blog reports after a hearing today in Van Nuys.
"37 percent, or 142.8 miles, of Metrolink’s 389 mile system is single track," said Senator Dianne Feinstein at the hearing who also mentioned some interesting facts regarding the popular Amtrak Surfliner that goes in and out of Los Angeles. "41 percent, or 51 miles, of the 125 mile Amtrak and commuter rail corridor from Los Angeles to San Diego – the second most heavily traveled rail corridor in America, with 44 passenger trains daily – is single track. 80 percent, or 180 miles, of the 225 mile Amtrak and commuter rail line from L.A. north to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo is single track."
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Is what is not shown in this article is the percentage of service operated by MetroLink and Amtrak that is NOW operated with Automatic Train Control or PTS. Many of the MetroLink and Amtrak locomotives and cab cars and lines are NOW equipped with a system that will put a train into emergency stop if the train passes a red light.
Unfortunately the “Cost Line” to Ventura and north was not equipped with this ATC, PTS.
Equipping the remaining MetroLink and Amtrak lines line in Southern California with the currently used system can and should be done within a reasonable time, but why is this overlooked in most news reports of the future safety of our rail lines.