Train Wreck (Glendale, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley: codes, radio, rating)

[Bunny Foofoo]

We know someone that was supposed to have been on that commuter train yesterday and the one that crashed in Glendale a few years ago . He just happened to take the days off and not go in to work ! I am shocked that with all today's technology, that something like this can happen ! My heart goes out to the victims families !

[happ]

According to the LA Times, the Metro train yields to the freight train outside the Chatsworth station & the Metro runs on a separate track for a short distance. I was surprised to hear that there is only one track going into Simi Valley because of tunnels in the Santa Susana pass.

My initial assumption yesterday was that somehow two trains collided by passing each other on dual tracks [not knowing one train needed to yield]. Isn't this stuff all computerized?

[missionhome]

Metrolink has announced that the train engineer ignored the red light for the Metrolink train to stop and allow the freight to pass, so this is human error. The train engineer perished in the accident.

18 people are confirmed dead. They can see two or three bodies still in the wreckage that they can't get to yet. They believe all survivors are out and they need to begin working on the lower level of the train.

I know in some places a train automatically stops by a kill switch if a train passes a red light. It sounds like we need this big time in So Cal.

[Winston Smith]

What amazes me about this accident is that it happened maybe a minute's travel from that long tunnel between Chatsworth and Simi. It's hard to think about how much worse this disaster would have been had the two trains crashed a mile inside the mountain.

The early news now seems to say that the Metrolink's engineer failed to heed a signal to wait for the freight train to pass. Did the Metrolink engineer survive?

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by cre8

Did the Metrolink engineer survive?

From the Times:
"Metrolink said the train's engineer, whom it did not identify, died in the crash. There was no word on the fate of the Union Pacific crew."

[katenik]

Originally Posted by missionhome

From the Times:
"Metrolink said the train's engineer, whom it did not identify, died in the crash. There was no word on the fate of the Union Pacific crew."

Last update from governor and mayor's joint press conference moments ago: 23 dead, 10 critically injured.

Re the engineer: Mistakes happen, but I can't imagine how he would have lived with the guilt had he survived.

[amc760]

Originally Posted by missionhome

Metrolink has announced that the train engineer ignored the red light for the Metrolink train to stop and allow the freight to pass, so this is human error. The train engineer perished in the accident.

18 people are confirmed dead. They can see two or three bodies still in the wreckage that they can't get to yet. They believe all survivors are out and they need to begin working on the lower level of the train.

I know in some places a train automatically stops by a kill switch if a train passes a red light. It sounds like we need this big time in So Cal.

Really?

How effective is that? I can't imagine a large train with the momentum of going like 50 mph being able to stop that fast, especially after already passing a red light.

Like Katenik said, I can't imagine how that guy would live with himself had he survived.

[tigereyeentertainment]

very horrible accident

Originally Posted by Christine Joan

An Oxnard commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train crashed in Chatsworth this afternoon. So far, at least six people are known to have died. My prayers go out to those who have been injured and those who have lost family members.

[MIKEETC]

Originally Posted by amc760

Really?

How effective is that? I can't imagine a large train with the momentum of going like 50 mph being able to stop that fast, especially after already passing a red light.

Like Katenik said, I can't imagine how that guy would live with himself had he survived.

I don't know about possible failsafe systems at Metrolink, but there was an accident that occurred in Chicago in May, 2008 where an operator was warned of a danger but ignored the warning:

In Chicago, authorities said a train operator apparently made two key errors in quick succession to cause a derailment that left passengers perched more than 20 feet above the ground and sent several to hospitals.

The operator failed to heed a red signal ordering him to stop, Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said. After the four-car train went through the signal, it automatically activated a trip, which stopped the train.

But the operator moved the train forward again at a spot where the tracks split before they were switched into proper position, causing the rear end of the front car and the second car to derail but remain standing, with the other two cars still on the tracks, Gaffney said.

source: FOXNews.com - Train Collision in Boston, Derailment in Chicago Kill 1, Injure Dozens - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

I don't know what the circumstances were in LA, so I can't say if we're looking at the same thing. I will say this is a terribly sad situation...

[city414]

you know its interesting that there blaming this on the driver esp that he cant defend himself. its easier to pin it on the deceased engineer it could have also been a signal era.

think about it if it was a mechanical era on the basis of the signal or in fact the other engineer fromthe other train would they really report the truth when theres an opurtunity to blame it on someone who cannot defend thenselves?