The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) which operates the railroad known as Metrolink has the highest accident and fatality rate in the country. What the SCRRA is, is a governmental agency known as a joint powers board. Key word is governmental agency which has no idea how to run a railroad. The SCRRA is run by a bunch of bureaucrats who could not tell you the difference between a commuter bus or commuter train. and there is a difference.

The rules of operation on a highway is different and more complex on rail. On rail, a train follows the law of physics which means when steel is on steel there is less time to stop. This is called the coefficient of friction. The faster and heavier a train is, the more time needed to stop. I can tell you more about the specialized operating rules but I would bore everyone.

Bottom line is that since the SCRRA have no railroad background they contract most of their services. For example, the engineer who was operating the Metrolink train involved in the fatality was employed by Veolia Transportation, a large transportation company based in France. The dispatchers on Metrolink are employed by a different company. The maintenance done on the tracks and signals is contracted by different companies. The design and engineering is also done by a different company.

The freight train that was involved is operated by the Union Pacific that has their dispatchers in Omaha Nebraska. When trains are operating in that section of track in Chatsworth CA, both the Union Pacific Railroad and Metrolink share the same single track. Communication between the Metrolink dispatchers and the Union Pacific is essential in operating safely in that section of track.

News reports are stating the engineer went through a red signal. Well if that is the case that means he must went through a yellow/red light about a thousand yards before the red signal.

If I were in Los Angeles I would demand the SCRRA be run by competent railroaders not a bunch of bureaucrats who want a nice cushy government job.

I just hope Dr. Gonzo was not on that train.







-- Modified on 9/15/2008 11:58:10 PM

It wasn't raining so he was on his bike..

He'll die in bed with three hot girls and a huge graphic bong.  Not a bad way to go.

-- Modified on 9/16/2008 7:57:31 AM

The local news reports are saying the engineer was texting one of his teenaged friends a mere 60 seconds before the crash actually happened. An engineer now dead.
While the evidence presented thus far does make it seem the wreck was due to human negligence, the facts remain:

A - Although the use of a cell phone while driving is limited to hands free, TEXTING while driving, be it car, or railroad locomotive, is still legal. This needs to change.

B - Breaker is quite correct in the way the SCRRA operates. Sadly, corrupt politics at its worst and most vile lie at the core of the problems with Southern California's transportation grid. Those details are for another thread and are part of a larger picture of political corruption.

C - Efforts have been slow and bogged down in the courts ever since the investigation into the April 2002 Placentia train wreck. Now the price for their langusihing on this has risen dramatically.

No, hehe I was not on the train, but I do live a short trike ride away from Stoney Point. It's a sparsely populated corner of the San Fernando Valley, and so happens to be on a parallel path with one of my trike routes. Used to rock climb there as a teenager.

The fact is, as devastating as this wreck was in terms of lives lost and ruined, had it happened just one mile in either direction the population density rises considerably, and there are residential neighborhoods with homes a mere stones throw from the tracks.

Four girls, Blackie... four
Blonde, Brunette, couple of Redheads.

of all I am happy to hear your all right. Thank God. The reason the SCRRA spokesperson is blaming the engineer for texting is because well let's be straight; she is blaming the contractor (Velioa Transportation) for the accident. IN other words it's a blame game which is what politicians do and is what the SCRRA does.

The SCRRA is blaming human error and well I tell you something safety begins at the top. SCRRA should be blaming their poor management practices and lack of system engineering principles. Again, it is more than one light the engineer has to go through. I want to hear those dispatching tapes between Omaha and Metrolink.

I am sorry to be upset but this carnage that happened last Friday is murder. Here is another tidbit, to perform contract work on the SCRRA a firm has obtain Railroad Liability Coverage. The SCRRA has the highest insurance rates of any railroad in the country. Poor safety performance is a symptom of poor management practices.