New Rules for Engineers After Rialto Metrolink Train Crash
In response to renewed safety fears after yet another train accident, Metrolink has now pushed new safety rules into force with immediate effect. The rule requires drivers to slow down the train when they are approaching a red signal. The new rule was decided on Friday, and mandates that drivers will slow to a speed of 40 mph or less when they receive an alert of a possible red or stop light ahead.
The train accident involving a Metrolink train and a freight train near Rialto last Thursday occurred, investigators say, because the engineer failed to stop at a stop signal and went on ahead, sideswiping a freight train. There were no injuries in this crash. The nature of the crash, however, was just too similar to the more devastating train accident that occurred near Chatsworth on September 12th. In that train crash too, the engineer was found to have run a red light, causing the commuter train to crash head on into a freight train coming from the opposite direction.
In Thursday’s train crash, the train was found to have been going at 70 mph even after the engineer ran the red light. It also appears that the engineer failed to inform other trains and operators in the area that he was approaching a red light, in violation of company policy. When asked about this failure to call out the colors of the signals over the radio, the engineers at the control reportedly told investigators that by that time, they were trying hard to stop the train to avoid a collision.
Meanwhile, Senator Dianne Feinstein has called upon Federal Railroad Administration officials to remove legal roadblocks to getting a vital piece of safety legislation for commuter rails passed quickly. Sen. Feinstein, who had earlier called for enhanced safety features for trains in the wake of the deadly Chatsworth train crash, has asked the FRA to enact emergency waivers that would push forward plans to install ATS or Automatic Train Stop systems on Metrolink trains. ATS makes use of an alarm that is sounded when a train is due to approach a signal. The conductor of the train is required to acknowledge the alarm, and if he fails to do so, the train will automatically come to a stop. Metrolink officials too have confirmed their approval of this system.
It’s almost like time is running out at Metrolink. Bills recently passed by Congress call for train collision systems to be in place on all tracks by 2015, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that that may just be too long a period of time for Metrolink. Interim measures that will act as stop gap safety features to prevent the risk of train accidents are absolutely essential, and so far, we have not seen anyone at Metrolink take a proactive role in enacting such features on its trains. Why does it have to take accidents, or the worry about facing Metrolink train accident lawyers for SoCal’s commuter rail agency to act?
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of train accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
