Improving Metrolink crossings

Metrolink on Monday will announce the beginning of a "sealed corridor" program to improve safety at crossings in the wake of the deadly Glendale crash in 2005. The first will be on Van Nuys Boulevard. More from Metrolink statement:

The plan, which targets 63 crossings along 65 miles of track on Metrolink’s Ventura County and Antelope Valley lines, features dramatic improvements at grade crossings, including four quadrant gates, longer gate arms, “Z” pedestrian crossings, median separators, locked gates, fencing and other enhancements. “Our intention is to systematically reduce the opportunity for accidents at grade crossings,” states Rep. Howard L. Berman of Valley Village. 

“The safety of trains, passengers, crews, motorist and pedestrians throughout Southern California is Metrolink’s No. 1 priority,” says Metrolink Board Chairman Ron Roberts. The holistic “sealed corridor” approach has been used successfully in North Carolina.  Metrolink, however, will be the first commuter rail agency in the country to apply these methods to a densely populated urban setting with correspondingly high volumes of street and rail traffic.  North Carolina saw an 86% reduction in grade crossing violations when they installed quad gates, a 77% reduction with median separators and an 84% reduction with longer crossing arms.

Comments

[Harold D. Houfek]

Thank you for the explanation because I heard this 3rd hand. Have a good day !

[Bart Reed]

Harold: I am sorry you don't have a clue how Push-Pull Train operations work. The train operator is always running the train from the forward cab position as the trainset moves. You imply that the operator sits in the back somewhere while the train moves forward. NOT TRUE. There are dual controls in the engine and in the cab car which bookends a trainset. Most motorists can tell when a train is approaching, as there are three lights that get brighter and brighter as the train approaches. For the stupid and dishonest attorneys who believe that when a cab car is approaching (with those lights), it is really receding, so Metrolink has a new design to make the cab car look more like an engine. If you are a normal motorist, lights approaching means something is coming at you.

[Harold D. Houfek]

After the accident I thought that all of the trains would be pulling rather than pushing so they could see what lied ahead of them ?