Burbank Rail Crossing Has Most Crashes

The Burbank crossing where a fiery Metrolink crash occurred earlier this month has the highest number of train-auto collisions in the six-county commuter rail network, Metrolink records show.

The Buena Vista Street crossing, which was rebuilt last year, is also in the middle of an 18-mile rail corridor from Glendale to Sylmar that has the highest rate of all types of collisions involving Metrolink trains, according to Metrolink data. Twenty-one people have been killed along the corridor, which runs mostly along San Fernando Road, since 1992.

The Jan. 6 crash, in which a four-car train slammed into a stake-bed truck, was the sixth collision at the Buena Vista crossing since 1994 but the first to result in injuries. The truck’s driver was killed and 33 people were injured when two train cars were overturned.

The train’s engineer, Jim Cook, has worked the corridor, part of Metrolink’s Antelope Valley line, for about nine years. “It’s blood alley,” he said.

Cook, recovering from a broken wrist and other injuries at his Palmdale home, said the Buena Vista crossing has been a problem for him and he blames reckless motorists. “I took the bumpers off two cars there before this.... I’ve had a lot of close calls there with people getting stuck [on the tracks].”

Transit experts say that, because motorists make mistakes, collisions are inevitable wherever high-speed trains travel through urban areas, especially when crossings are at street level.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Blue Line, which runs 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach, has been deadlier than any Metrolink corridor. Sixty-one people have been killed on the light-rail line since 1990.

“There’s a huge number of railroad deaths every year because people are where they’re not supposed to be,” said Tom Rubin, a transportation consultant and former top official at the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

Burbank and Metrolink officials say the Buena Vista crossing is safe, although there are plans to replace it with a rail overpass. The city reconfigured the crossing last year to accommodate more auto traffic.

“It has flashing lights, bells, cross arms, warning signs, pavement markings.... All of that is state of the art,” said Bruce Feng, Burbank’s director of public works.

Metrolink spokeswoman Sharon Gavin said: “If you obey the law, that crossing is safe.”

Residents of the area say the Buena Vista crossing can confuse drivers.

Buena Vista Street and San Fernando Boulevard meet at sharp angles, with the tracks running parallel to the latter. The Buena Vista crossing gates, when down, are far enough apart to allow vehicles to turn left in a smooth curve from San Fernando onto the tracks.

When the gates are up, traffic congestion on Buena Vista can leave motorists stopped on the tracks, if they ignore or don’t see the “Keep Clear” pavement markings. With trains coming at speeds of nearly 80 mph, motorists could be stuck there for terrifying seconds, residents say.

“It’s a trap,” said Jerry Hoxsie, 66, a retired businessman. “It’s confusing to a lot of people. Where it says, ‘Keep Clear,’ people drive through and park on the tracks.”

USC engineering professor Najmedin Meshkati, who has studied rail accidents, said he can understand why drivers make errors there. “There is no clear indication where to stop,” he said as he paced across the intersection.

As traffic lights on Buena Vista turned from yellow to red, a white sedan stopped and then crept, in a stop-and-go motion, over the tracks. Others followed, and some cars idled on the rails.”Look at this guy; he’s confused. He doesn’t know what to do,” Meshkati said. “You can see the confusion of people there.”

He added that the crossing should have more-prominent signs that warn drivers making left turns over the tracks, because that’s how most collisions occur.

Debra Bakeman, 42, an emergency medical technician living nearby, recently had her own close call. “The other night I was trapped in there, and I saw the train coming so I ran the red light.”

Burbank police officials say that Jacek “Jack” Wysocki, who was killed in the Jan. 6 crash, made the left turn from San Fernando Boulevard, despite the flashing lights and lowered gates.

Federal, state and local authorities are investigating the crash.

Wysocki’s family contends that the professional truck driver never would have tried to beat the train and that something must have confused him.

“With his experience, it’s unbelievable that he would do this,” said Iwona Wysocki, his daughter-in-law.

Since Metrolink began service in 1992, there have been 77 people killed in 236 incidents. Nearly a third of the incidents occurred along the San Fernando Road corridor, even though it makes up less than 5% of Metrolink’s 388 miles of rail, data show.

The corridor’s Sunland Boulevard intersection ranks second among Metrolink’s 438 crossings in the number of train-vehicle collisions, with four incidents.

Arlene Cortez, 59, said she sees drivers trying to beat the train there all the time. A year and half ago, the Sun Valley homemaker watched aghast as two cars from opposite directions drove around the dropped gates. “They hit each other!” Cortez said. Metrolink officials acknowledge there have been problems along the corridor, mostly involving pedestrians, but say collisions and other incidents have been declining because of the agency’s safety measures.

Eight people were killed in 20 incidents along the corridor in 1993 and 1994. In 10 incidents in 2001 and 2002, one person was killed.

Deaths ruled as suicide are not included in the data.

In the late 1990s, Metrolink fenced several miles of the corridor to keep out trespassers. Last fall, the rail system also began posting 700 billboards with safety messages in English and Spanish along the corridor, said Edward Pederson, manager of operations.

Rubin said the only way to make rail crossings completely safe is to use overpasses or underpasses, so that vehicles won’t have to drive over the tracks.

The state Department of Transportation plans to elevate the tracks above Buena Vista and other streets for more than a mile along the corridor.

The $108-million project is scheduled to begin in 2005 and be completed three years later. It still lacks $15 million in funding.

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Times Director of Computer Analysis Richard O’Reilly contributed to this report.