Elected officials react in wake of Metrolink train wreck
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

In the two weeks since the Metrolink crash that killed 25— the majority of whom were Simi Valley and Moorpark residents— local and state politicians have taken action to make train travel safer.

A Metrolink passenger train collided with a Union Pacific freight train traveling in the opposite direction on the same track Sept. 12 after the Metrolink engineer, Robert Sanchez, reportedly missed three signals notifying him of another train on the tracks. It's still unclear how Sanchez, who died in the crash, missed the signals, although fatigue may have been a factor.

Investigators also say they have confirmed that Sanchez was text messaging on his cellphone, but it's unknown whether it contributed to the crash.

Less than a week after the crash, the Public Utilities Commission voted to prohibit the use of wireless devices for rail crews, a ban that had been in the works for weeks.

Whatever the reasons, Sanchez didn't heed the signals, and many have used the opportunity to push for alternate systems. Rail safety experts say a positive train control system, which monitors train locations and speed with GPS technology, could have prevented the crash. The system can detect excessive speed, whether trains are on the wrong track, and whether trains have missed signals. If engineers don't comply with the signals, the system will automatically stop the trains.

U.S. senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) have introduced legislation that would require every major U.S. railroad to install a train-control system.

U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly, along with representatives Adam Schiff and Henry Waxman, has submitted The Rail Collision Prevention Act, a companion bill to Feinstein and Boxer's bill introduced last week.

The Rail Collision Prevention Act would require commuter railroads and major freight railroads to develop plans for implementing positive train-control systems within one year of the legislation's enactment. By Dec. 31, 2012, the systems must be in place on rail lines designated as high-risk, and by Dec. 31, 2014, the remainder of passenger rail lines and rail lines used to transport hazardous materials must incorporate the system.

The bill authorizes the secretary of transportation to assess fines of up to $100,000 on rail carriers who don't comply.

"As the investigation continues, there probably will be other measures Congress will take to make rail travel safer," Gallegly said. "This bill is a good and important first step. I assure the families we will do everything we can to determine the cause and to ensure that something like this never happens again."

The Metrolink board of directors has unanimously supported the bill.

Schiff's district was affected by the Metrolink crash in January 2005 in Glendale. Waxman's district includes Chatsworth, the site of the most recent crash. Twenty-one of those who died live in Gallegly's district, which includes Simi Valley, Moorpark and parts of Thousand Oaks.

Similar legislation has passed through the House and Senate, but Gallegly, Waxman and Schmidt said they feel the implementation dates are too late and the penalties too weak. A final vote is expected next week, and provisions from the new bill may be added before it's sent to the president. Last week, Assembly members Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita) and Audra Strickland (RThousand Oaks) wrote a letter to Michael Peevey, president of the California Public Utilities Commission. "The horrific Metrolink accident that occurred in our districts last Friday was a very sad reminder of how important strict safety standards are to guaranteeing the public's well-being as well as their confidence in our mass transportation systems," they wrote. "This tragedy has negatively and irrevocably impacted so many lives (and) as policy makers we have a duty to find ways to guarantee that this type of accident is prevented in the future.

"The PUC's desire to enact safety improvements for rail travel is a significant step in the right direction," wrote Smyth and Strickland.