2008 Woodie Awards
Feel safe riding the train
Joe Chapot
Issue date: 9/22/08 Section: Editorial
Tragedy struck Southern California as a Metrolink train, the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County commuter rail service, crashed into an on coming freight train last Friday, Sept. 12. The resulting collision has killed 17 people and injured 135, according the Associated Press.
In response, many people, including the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, called for review of California's rails, and Monday, Sept.14, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rode the Metrolink in solidarity with fellow commuters.
Yet, of all the people dealing the aftermath, the best response has come from the Bay Area's Caltrain and Amtrak. Both companies have been easing the Bay Area's concerns stemming from the crash pointing, out how safe their services already are.
While the exact cause of the Sept. 12 crash is unknown, two factors that already create unsafe conditions were present at the scene. First, the crash took place on a part of the rail service where only one set of tracks exist, meaning trains must wait for other trains traveling in the opposite direction to use the rail. The other major problem is that commuter trains share the rails with freight trains.
Caltrain and Amtrak have noted there are separate tracks for north and southbound train travel, removing the possibility of such a problem. The only exception is a small section of Amtrak train that crosses over marshland, so CSM students have nothing to worry about.
While freight does run on Amtrak's lines whenever it needs to, Caltrain is a different story. Freight trains are only allowed to travel during hours in which Caltrain does not run, which is a four-hour window, reducing the chance of such a collision while increasing the likelihood residents will be woken up because of freight trains blasting their horns.
In fact, Caltrain is becoming safer. Several depots known as Hold-Outs, where a center platform between the sets of rails serves northbound travelers, are slowly being converted into traditional stations with platforms on the outside of the tracks, eliminating the need for pedestrians to cross tracks to board trains.
So while we mourn the tragedy in Southern California, we Bay Area folk can keep riding Caltrain with the knowledge that are safe.
In response, many people, including the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, called for review of California's rails, and Monday, Sept.14, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rode the Metrolink in solidarity with fellow commuters.
Yet, of all the people dealing the aftermath, the best response has come from the Bay Area's Caltrain and Amtrak. Both companies have been easing the Bay Area's concerns stemming from the crash pointing, out how safe their services already are.
While the exact cause of the Sept. 12 crash is unknown, two factors that already create unsafe conditions were present at the scene. First, the crash took place on a part of the rail service where only one set of tracks exist, meaning trains must wait for other trains traveling in the opposite direction to use the rail. The other major problem is that commuter trains share the rails with freight trains.
Caltrain and Amtrak have noted there are separate tracks for north and southbound train travel, removing the possibility of such a problem. The only exception is a small section of Amtrak train that crosses over marshland, so CSM students have nothing to worry about.
While freight does run on Amtrak's lines whenever it needs to, Caltrain is a different story. Freight trains are only allowed to travel during hours in which Caltrain does not run, which is a four-hour window, reducing the chance of such a collision while increasing the likelihood residents will be woken up because of freight trains blasting their horns.
In fact, Caltrain is becoming safer. Several depots known as Hold-Outs, where a center platform between the sets of rails serves northbound travelers, are slowly being converted into traditional stations with platforms on the outside of the tracks, eliminating the need for pedestrians to cross tracks to board trains.
So while we mourn the tragedy in Southern California, we Bay Area folk can keep riding Caltrain with the knowledge that are safe.
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Train Ryder
Robert Gundrum
posted 9/22/08 @ 7:35 PM PST
"While freight does run on Amtrak's lines whenever it needs to, Caltrain is a different story."
Continued…)
The first part of the above quote is in error. To state it factually, <
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