Metrolink to Install Inward Facing Cameras to Watch Engineers

The angles of the three cameras | Image via Metrolink

Text messaging appears to be one major caper in the Chatsworth Metrolink train crash last year, which left 25 dead and 135 injured. Investigators found that Metrolink Engineer Robert Sanchez sent a text message 22 seconds before his train slammed head-on into a freight train.

In response, Metrolink announced that one outward and two inward cameras with audio devices will be installed in all locomotive cabs this week.

“The installation of video cameras inside the control cabs of our trains will provide a significant deterrent to the type of dangerous and inappropriate activity, including text messaging and unauthorized persons in the cab, revealed during the National Transportation Safety Board’s hearing on last fall’s collision,” said Metrolink Board Chairman Keith Millhouse in a statement. In addition to text messaging while operating the train, investigators believe that Sanchez let rail enthusiast teenagers ride in the cab with him.