Placentia Seeks to Fund Rail Upgrades

Placentia city officials are seeking more than $9 million from the Orange County Transportation Authority to improve rail safety and reduce the risk of accidents like last month’s fatal head-on crash between two trains.

The money would be used to upgrade signaling and communication systems between dispatchers and engineers, and improve 11 rail crossings in the city.

OCTA board members discussed the funding request informally at their meeting Monday, but transportation officials said they will study Placentia’s plan and address the issue again May 30.

“We’ve agreed to look at their proposal, to see if we can possibly help assist with the facilitation of funding,” OCTA spokesman George Urch said.

“Safety’s important to us, especially in light of the accident,” he said. “We want to help fix whatever problems are out there.”

In the April 23 crash, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway engineer said he was blinded by the sun and went through a yellow signal warning him to slow down. As a result, he slowed down when he approached a red light but was unable to stop in time to avoid plowing head-on into a Metrolink commuter train.

Two people were killed and hundreds were injured.

“We have been warning people about this for years,” Placentia City Councilman Norman Z. Eckenrode said.

“If they had collided at the same rate of speed they normally go, we would not have had two people killed; we would have had 100 people killed.”

Mayor Chris Lowe said the city is focused on improving rail safety in Placentia, where about 70 trains pass through daily.

The city will soon break ground on a five-mile project that will place the tracks in a trench below passenger and business traffic, thanks to $30 million in starter money approved by Gov. Gray Davis.

The project is estimated to take several years to complete. In the meantime, the city hopes to make other rail safety improvements with OCTA’s help.

If OCTA approves the $9.2 million, Placentia will add four-quadrant rail guards that prevent motorists from sneaking across the tracks.

About $3 million will be used to improve signals.

“Right now, a lot of the signaling that engineers use is outdated and needs to be upgraded,” Lowe said. “There’s some features that could identify right away when engineers have missed those signals and alert authorities that the engineer needs to stop.”