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Metrolink shows media the dangers of the rails
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's officer and dog patrol a Metrolink train about to depart for Los Angeles as service partially resumes for the first time since the September 12 head-on collision of a Metrolink commuter train with a freight train September 15, 2008 in Chatsworth, California. Twenty-four people were killed in the crash and a 25th has died in a hospital. Ninety-five of the 222 passengers were critically or seriously injured. Metrolink has blamed a Metrolink engineer who was killed in the crash for not stopping for a red light so the freight train could pass on a parallel track. It was the worst rail disaster in Metrolink history and worst in the U.S. for 15 years.
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Photo by David McNew/Getty Images
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Officials of the Metrolink commuter rail system invited reporters today to ride a rail safety enforcement train in Glendale.
The seven-minute stretch between the Glendale and Burbank stations includes some of the most accident-prone crossings on Metrolink’s map.
It’s not far from the spot at which Juan Alvarez pulled his SUV onto the tracks in 2005 and caused the second-deadliest crash in Metrolink history.
As the train shuttled between the stations on Thursday, Glendale police patrolled each crossing for motorists who try to drive around the safety gates and beat the train.
"Most of the guys that run around the gates are the guys who probably do it frequently because they never get stopped, they never get caught," said Glendale Police Sargent Peter Presnall. "Now that we have this kind of program, hopefully we can get those repeat offenders to get them to stop doing what they’re doing."
Between the crossings there’s plenty of room for other illegal activity the police would like to stop: parking vehicles on the tracks, riding motorcycles in the railroad right of way, walking along the rails.
Some people even do that while they listen to music through headphones. During a ride-along Thursday, an engineer spotted someone on a bicycle hurrying across the tracks.
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"It appeared that he was crossing on our property rather than at a designated crossing, where it’s safe place to do so," said Steve Smith, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy, which contracts with Metrolink for security. "That’s one of things that we face out here. Trespassing in inappropriate places. And it puts the crews at risk ‘cause they may have to put the train in emergency to keep from hitting the person."
Metrolink officials said that on railroads across the country nationwide, there are about 500 trespassing fatalities a year. California has the largest share.
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