LA commuter train wreck
 

This looks absolutely horrible: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26680908


I hope everyone here is safe.

I just saw a repeat of the 11 o'clock news. OMG. :(

It's just so tragic... people going home from work for the weekend. And it appears like it could have been avoided. It should have been. It's communication gone horribly wrong. I hope it was just equipment malfunction and not human error, because if someone didn't do their job...... ugh.

The accident was very close to our home - there were so many helicopters overhead, it sounded like a Vietnam War movie.

There was a lot of stupid speculation passed off as news by the pathetic excuse for a news team known as KABC 7.

But the thing I must raise a glass to - we've got THE BEST emergency response teams anywhere - there was a great deal of interagency communication and cooperation, and this horrible situation was handled spectacularly.

I'm glad you're okay CM & MMG, when I saw Chatsworth, I was worried.

Also glad to know Euro was not on the train, either!

So, Metrolink is saying their driver (who did not survive the crash) failed to stop for a red signal.

Current death toll at 24.

Something tells me that Denise Tyrell will have a different job next week for coming out with this info so soon.

And if anybody cares, here is a satellite view of where the accident was. The grass area on the right is the triage area you see in news footage and I believe the point of impact is right around the middle of this screen. Most of the ground shots are coming from the upper right of the screen and the early shots were taken from Topanga Canyon Blvd about where it goes over the tracks.

Actually she did a smart thing stepping up and releasing that information before it got leaked. Hubby worked for Union Pacific for 30 years, the number of people who know what went wrong within hours is enough to have the potential for leaks and even more speculation. Signals are activated by the trains making the connection on that specific part of the track. computers let dispatch know where every train on the track is and tells the trains who has to pull over and wait for an oncoming train. One of the first things that happened in the discovery process was they had signal maintainers out there checking all the signals to make sure they were in proper operational status matching what the computer registered. The fact that it was human error was apparent in short order. My heart goes out to all the victims but I find it ironic that not one mention of the lost of the freight crew has been made in any report I've read, 3 crew were aboard that engine and I'm 99.9 percent sure all 3 perished.

There was a mention today in the LA Times that the most recent victim removed was possibly the engineer of the UP freight train. The article said that UP had not made a statement, and that it was difficult going trying to cut through the wreckage to reach the areas where there might still be survivors. Perhaps they haven't said anything because they haven't recovered the UP crew yet, and there is a very slim possibility that they are alive. Just a thought.

It's too bad the rail system in this country is so underdeveloped. Freight and passenger trains having to share the same rails is what causes huge Amtrak delays on the lines out this way.

I believe in Miracles but even I don't hold out hope that any of the UP crew survived...I've been up in the cab of an engine and taking that into account as I looked at the damage, while anything can happen if I knew my spouse was on that train I would presume the worst case scenario.

Ironically, the NIMBYs in the area are now screaming that they didn't like the "multiple tracks" - because they'd mean more accidents -

No, not allowing rail systems to be built with seperate tracks instead of mixed use rail with sidings allows more chance for accidents.

If it makes you feel any better, there have been many mentions on the reports I was listening to early (radio - KNX 1070). Although they mentioned that it was only two on the freight train (not uncommon to have incorrect details early on).

One small thing I DID have an issue with last night was the special honor procession for the LAPD officer when they brought out her body (if you didn't see it, a couple of hundred LAPD and LASD officers lined the route when they carried the body from the train wreckage to the triage area). The reason is pissed me off is (since she wasn't killed in the line of duty - she was just another commuter on her way home) was that they brought in off-duty officers to help create the honor line. If someone that belonged to just about any other group been killed, they would not have been allowed to bring in lines of people to provide an honor guard for their fallen friend.

If for example, one of the dead was an employee of Edison, would a couple of hundred Edison employees have been allowed to create the same honor processional.

Again, not a big beef: just something I noticed.

I know that there are separate tracks down where the Chatsworth Metrolink Station is and that the two tracks don't merge into one until just before the curve. (which is new, because when I lived in Chatsworth, they merged about 50' North of Devonshire). I will concede that is is not practical to have two tracks much further north of the accident as there is a long tunnel going through the Santa Susana Mountains into Slimi Valley.

I can appreciate your position even if I disagree, public service personnel tend to have a 'one of our own' mentality and I would hazard a guess that of those off duty officers not one was ordered to the site but in fact drove there of their own choice. Another poster on another site was furious that the rescue operations had halted momentarily while they extracted the officers remains and lowered her to the ground. By the time they brought her out it had gone from a rescue to a recovery operation and the presence of those officers gave the entire rescue team a moment to allow themselves to grieve at the horror they'd been dealing with all afternoon. It 'cost' the county/city nothing and it let those men and women have a moment before digging back into the carnage.

I'll start by reiterating that this isn't a big deal to me; just something I noticed.

But, for example, we here at LoT are a very tight group as well. Had 'one of our own' been in that wreck and we had all driven to the crash site of our own volition, would we been allowed to have made a similar processional?

I think we both know that the probability would be unlikely. I won't go so far as to say no way because I have no idea if any other group were notified that they lost one of their own and denied the opportunity. If she had been in street clothes I doubt they would have been able to identfy her as an off duty officer but I'm sure that one of the rescue workers found her, made a positive ID and contacted one of the Captains on site that they had a downed officer. Considering that everyone is listening to the radio transmissions the news traveled allowing the group to gather. Even so she wasn't afforded much special treatment considering they still left her on the train while they worked diligently to try and find any survivors so I'm OK with allowing the honor guard to assemble.

I'd like to see Metrolink replaced with a totally grade separated rail line, either elevated or burried, I don't care which.

So would I.

That would be a great way to reduce the risks but the cost is so outrageous that it's really unlikely to ever become a reality. Even if it were on it's on track human error leads to catastrophe....this accident was human error, had the engineer followed procedure then the two trains would have passed safely. I won't speculate on the story that has come out about how he was texting with some teen...it could have been exhaustion, hell he could have had a heart attack in which case it wasn't human error but just a tragedy. Separate tracks would reduce the risk but not eliminate it.

Actually what was said was that they doubted he was texting since it's against the rules of the company. Having said that how many people break the rules by being online doing personal stuff while at work, cell phones were against the rules when my husband was working maintenance of way and all the guys had them, carried them with them and on breaks they would make calls, to include the supervisors. I will be surprised if the engineer texting is a factor in the crash but it's not impossible. At this point the only thing that is 'certain' is that the metrolink train was in the wrong. Why and how it got there is open to speculation from human error to mechanical/computer system glitch. If texting is involved it's very easy to investigate if in fact there were outgoing text messages from his phone at the time immediately prior to the crash.

LA commuter train wreck
 

I really hope texting was not involved in the factor. I really do for all those lives lost at the hands of that conductor. Yes many people do break the rules when it comes to cell phones, internet, texting etc while at work but in this case when someone is in charge of driving a Metrolink train or any public transportation including aeroplanes and have peoples lives in their hands texting should be the last thing they are doing while working.

From the Orange County Register:

According to news reports, the 3 person crew of the freight train survived.

That's great news. Where was it reported? I didn't see any mention in the few articles I skimmed this morning, but there are a lot of them.

That is incredible good news if it's true but can you share a link because I had heard that they had counted the conductor of the freight among the dead and then another report mentioned finding the engineer.

I know that one of the news reports talked about them interviewing the crews but I believe that includes the dispatchers involved.


Edited to add, I see that whoever suggested that the spokeswoman for Metro was right, she resigned. The report I read doesn't say if it was a voluntary or forced resignation but I'm sure that the suggestion that she was premature in her assesment came into play even tho she was proven to be correct in that it was in fact the Metro that was in the wrong.

I'll begin by saying that I haven't kept up on the news on this story this weekend other than the tidbits I catch on news radio while making some brief trips. But if the "other crew member" was in the locomotive with the engineer, I doubt he or she is still alive and if so, I doubt he or she is in a lucid state at this point. Purely speculative opinion on my part of course.

Sadly, my prediction was correct. From a "corporate spokesperson" perspective, she was too soon in making the statement, even if it was correct.

LA commuter train wreck
 

Been watching the local news this morning and they said again that the crew of the freight train survived. All 3 of them. I haven't seen a link oh yeah duh MSN homepage i clicked on the story and it's in there i think. Good news at least. But they're still saying they are investigating the signal but the track was switch track was bent like a banana and it shouldn't have if they had taken the precaution and stopped at the final light rather than jump it. Just sad to know Metrolink was at fault in this accident. Those people who lost their lives won't get them back. Their families won't get them back. In the end all that matters is lives were lost at human hands.

From this LA Times Article:

Assuming this is true, I applaud her for standing up for herself!

I'd say that it rings true to me....and kudos to her for having the courage and strength to stand up for her own ethics.

Good for her. Though that won't help her get her next job, sadly.

So where did the wreck happen in relation to "the curve"? I just confirmed on google maps that the curve is the one that passes below the old site of a summer day camp I used to go to (and Cherny, for that matter)

Here's a graphic from the LA Times that shows it.

Holy cow, I used to play tag right there!

I used to do all sorts of things in that area.

Probably WHILE I was playing tag. Ewwww....

I probably stopped my shenanigans in that area around 1978/1979, if that makes you feel any better.

*phew!*

It looks like there has been another Metro wreck, at least they are saying no one died. Thank goodness the bus was empty or I think it would have been worse!
Here's a link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26789695

And that's why I'm working from home today...

The best thing in the world to work from home, in your PJs (or not).

Glad you're okay!

Imagine my sleepy surprise when Chris returned home this morning. Let the weekend start early!

So would I be correct in assuming the safest seat on the train would be backward-facing with nobody sitting across from you, somewhere in the middle of the train?

Metro Rail and Metrolink are two ENTIRELY different systems!!!

Wanna know what? There were a bunch of car crashes on the freeways today, too- we should all stop using the freeways cuz they're just not safe...

I agree: everyone else should stop driving on the freeways. It would make my life a lot easier!

Engineer sent text 22 seconds before fatal train crash (CNN.com):

I can't imagine how much harder that news makes it for the families of those lost that day...

So sad. :(

All because of a stupid text message. :(

Just watched the news and they said he had sent/recieved 54 text during his work hours, now I know a lot of folks are very skilled at texting, I'm not one of those people, it takes me 10 minutes to type out a text on my phone, I use yahoo whenever possible so I have access to my keyboard.

some phones have keyboards