Metrolink Is on Right Path for Safety : Railroad Can Post Signs and Educate, but It Alone Can Not Prevent Accidents

There is only so much that a railroad operator can do to keep motorists and pedestrians off the tracks and out of harm’s way. At some point, it becomes the responsibility of the public to listen, learn, and act accordingly. A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board said it best: “The trains are generally where they are supposed to be. It’s the motorists and pedestrians who often aren’t.”

We note this because there have been eight fatalities in the brief history of the new Metrolink commuter trains, seven of them in the San Fernando Valley. Six deaths have occurred along a short stretch of track between Sylmar and Pacoima.

Metrolink appears to have made a reasonable effort to prevent such incidents. Such steps have included the use of all standard track warning devices, and an aggressive and continuing rail-safety information program that began before Metrolink’s inaugural run. The California office of Operation Lifesaver, for example, says that Metrolink “has made a good effort.” Operation Lifesaver is a national nonprofit program that works closely with federal and state governments, the police, and the railroads.

One problem has been the lethargy of Metrolink’s regular procurement process in adding additional signs and fencing along the Sylmar-Pacoima tracks. This must be expedited.

Metrolink’s educational efforts must also continue. That’s because the number of motorists and pedestrians who have been issued citations for track violations has risen from about 114 a month to 200 a month.

A Metrolink train traveling at 80 m.p.h. covers a distance of two football fields in just five seconds. By the time that train sounds its horn, a quarter-mile from a grade crossing, it is already too late for it to stop. It will roll on for at least another mile before it comes to a halt. When that train hits a car, it results in an impact that is roughly equivalent to an automobile rolling over an empty soda can. That’s something for pedestrians and motorists alike to remember the next time they see an oncoming train.