Efforts Stepped Up to Keep People Off Rails

Since Metrolink trains began running through Los Angeles County in 1992, 23 pedestrians and motorists have died in train-related accidents, including 10 in the San Fernando Valley, a Metrolink official said Thursday.

Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo said all fatalities connected to Metrolink trains have stemmed from people illegally wandering on the tracks or attempting to save stalled cars stuck at a railway crossing.

“Our trains weigh about 500 tons and travel at an average of 50 m.p.h.,” Hidalgo said. “They cover the length of three football fields every second.”

In commemoration of National Rail Safety Week this week, Hidalgo said, transportation agencies across the country have been urging non-passengers to stay off the tracks.

“When a large object is headed toward you, you cannot judge how quickly it is approaching,” he said. “People assume they have more time to clear the tracks than they actually do.”

The result has been the deaths of individuals jogging alongside the tracks at night chasing after loose dogs or miscalculating the time needed to make it to the other side before a speeding passenger train rolls by, Hidalgo said.

In one tragic instance, a woman whose van stalled at a railway crossing in Pacoima was crushed by an oncoming train after saving her daughter, then going back and attempting to start her car’s engine.

Hidalgo compared the impact to that of a small compact car running over a soda can.

“You can replace a car,” he said.

In attempt to further educate the public of the dangers of lingering near tracks while trains approach, Metrolink has placed a series of billboards in the Valley that warn passersby in English and Spanish to keep clear of the tracks.

The agency also plans to initiate a safety education program similar to the MTA’s Adopt-A-Crossing program.