A Dangerous Hop

Recently I took the 9 a.m. Amtrak San Diegan train between Moorpark and Los Angeles. I was surprised to find the Moorpark platform is dangerously designed and if changes are not made, it could result in deaths of passengers crossing to meet their train.

The platform’s setup requires passengers to cross over a set of railroad tracks to catch their train. Most of the time a person can simply cross the tracks and wait for the Amtrak or Metrolink train on the center platform, but this is not always the case.

I arrived at the platform’s parking lot to find a slow moving freight train blocking my path to the platform. We waited for the freight to pass. But within five minutes we heard our passenger train arriving, and we could not get to the platform. In fear of missing our train, we hastily hopped onto a flatcar of the moving freight train and jumped off onto the platform.

I now regret risking my life to catch a train, but how many others may try to do the same in order to catch the train? It’s a matter of time before someone gets run over by a train because the transportation department wanted to save a few extra dollars by not building an overhead walkway.

TODD CLARK

Thousand Oaks