Metrolink board: blaming engineer was premature

Ron Roberts, the chairman of the board of directors for Metrolink, just read me this statement that he attributed to the Metrolink board:

"Metrolink staff has recently made comments regarding the possible cause of the September 12th, 2008, tragedy in Chatsworth. The National Transportation Safety Board has characterized these comments as premature and has ordered Metrolink to withhold further comments at this time pending investigation and we agree."

On Saturday, Metrolink spokesperson Denise Tyrrell told reporters that the engineer of the Metrolink train caused the crash by not obeying a track signal telling him to stop.

In an unusual move, the statement from the Metrolink board did not come through the agency's communications department, nor was a press release issued. Before speaking with Roberts, I called Francisco Oaxaca, a spokesman for Metrolink, and asked him about the expected statement. "It's something that the board chair is doing under his authority," he said, adding that Metrolink staff supports Roberts.

At the very least, all this suggests that there may be some strife within the agency over what the data shows and how or if it should be released to the public.

--Steve Hymon

Comments

[Jim Osborn]

Denise Tyrrell said it a lot on TV. She also said it here

thetransitcoalition.us/NewsPDF/LAT20060108a.pdf

This was found by typing this below into google
On Jan 8, 2006
Driver Skirted Train Gates
By David Pierson, Times Staff Writer

From the end of the article:

"Tyrrell said Friday's accident should serve as a reminder that motorists cannot outrun an oncoming train.

The speed limit for trains at the Buena Vista crossing is 79 mph, and Tyrrell said it takes 12 seconds for a train to reach the intersection after the gates are lowered.

"It's impossible to tell the speed of an oncoming train," Tyrrell said. "She may have seen the train and believed she could judge how fast it was moving. No one can judge the speed of a train."

The Burbank Police Report with three eyewitnesses, plus another eyewitness later dispute that this driver was trying to beat a train or speed. She was going at walking speed, unaware that the train was approaching.

Jim Osborn

[Nancy]

I support Tyrrell 100 percent!! She was so real and authentic. Such a contrast to the way in which the politicians involved gave their information.

When I heard Tyrrell on the air come forth immediately with what she knew... I thought "wow" what a wonderful, heartfelt and intelligent response to this disaster. You have my support!!! I so wish more public spokespeople were more like you!!!

[fact checker]

Jim Osborn posted that Tyrrell's usual phrase is: "the driver tried to beat the train."

Doing Google searches, I cannot find any instances of her saying this.

I did find that a local police officer used that phrase after the Corona Metrolink crash the other day: Corona Police Lt. Brent Coleman said "the driver tried to beat the train." http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-coronatrain13-2008sep13,0,5513172.story

Jim, how about posting a source for your assertion?

[fact checker]

Jim Osborn posted that Tyrrell's usual phrase is: "the driver tried to beat the train."

Doing Google searches, I cannot find any instances of her saying this.

I did find that a local police officer used that phrase after the Corona Metrolink crash the other day: Corona Police Lt. Brent Coleman said "the driver tried to beat the train." http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-coronatrain13-2008sep13,0,5513172.story

Jim, how about posting a source for your assertion?

[Spokker]

"She always balmes the driver, never the inadequate safety systems of Metrolink."

What inadequate safety systems? Better not drive. It requires you to stop at a red light!

"Perhaps Metrolink should concentrate on rail safety, instead of spending thousands of dollars persecuting web masters who have the word “Metrolink” in their URL."

Way to use this accident to publicize your stupid spat with Metrolink about your web site.

"Her usual phrase is, "the driver tried to beat the train" when the NTSB has found otherwise."

Grade crossing accidents occur because the train was hiding behind a bush, lying in wait, ready to strike unsuspecting motorists in their cars...

[tucanofulano]

No one has actually ruled out SUICIDE on the part of the engine driver, not should they.

[Cathy Kelley]

My heart & prayers go out to all the families who lost their loved ones in this tragically, horrendous train crash.

I think media & the train companies do have a right ,of course, to finding the cause of the wreck,so they can do their best to correct the problem,or problems.

But I feel a bit more compassion & respect should be given the family's who lost their loved ones,& support for the injured victms, who are still suffering now,should be taken into consideration before pointing fingers of blame.

I'm sure there is fault to be found on both sides of the track & it's not about who to blame,but how to prevent this from happening again.

It sounds more to me like a brake malfuntion then a text message being sent.

But no matter what the cause,or whom, the blame ends up on,the clarification will never bring back the loved ones who lost their lives.

At least give their deaths some dignity & work towards prevention of another train crash,instead of adding more grief, to the already griefstricken families & friends by pointing fingers of blame.

I would like to commend the rescue teams that worked so diligently & relentlessly on saving the victims.
I sat & watched them all day on the videos & articles online & they definitely deserve an award.
.
And also, my hats are off to the community in Chatsworth & the surrounding areas that showed the rest of the world that being a neighbor & pitching in when the going gets rough,has not been forgotten.

Thank you for letting me have my say.
Cathy

[Unindicted Co-conspirator]

Tyrell has resigned as of Monday morning.

Robert: you know nothing about trains or anything else.
All the passenger coaches are designed & built with anti-telescoping structures, but nothing will prevent 200 tons of locomotive from destroying a 80 ton coach.

In Chicago, the Burlington [CB &Q] always required it's commuter coaches to be built stronger at the bulkheads than the four other railroads that ran double-deck commuter trains there.
I don't remember why, but the Burlington ran more freights on its line & all three tracks were reversible on the "Speedway" between Chicago & Aurora.
I don't know if Metra, which now runs the service is required by the successor BNSF to do so.

[Cathy Kelley]

My heart & prayers go out to all the families who lost their loved ones in this tragically, horrendous train crash.

I think media & the train companies do have a right ,of course, to finding the cause of the wreck,so they can do their best to correct the problem,or problems.

But I feel a bit more compassion & respect should be given the family's who lost their loved ones,& support for the injured victms, who are still suffering now,should be taken into consideration before pointing fingers of blame.

I'm sure there is fault to be found on both sides of the track & it's not about who to blame,but how to prevent this from happening again.

It sounds more to me like a brake malfuntion then a text message being sent.

But no matter what the cause,or whom, the blame ends up on,the clarification will never bring back the loved ones who lost their lives.

At least give their deaths some dignity & work towards prevention of another train crash,instead of adding more grief, to the already griefstricken families & friends by pointing fingers of blame.

I would like to commend the rescue teams that worked so diligently & relentlessly on saving the victims.
I sat & watched them all day on the videos & articles online & they definitely deserve an award.
.
And also, my hats are off to the community in Chatsworth & the surrounding areas that showed the rest of the world that being a neighbor & pitching in when the going gets rough,has not been forgotten.

Thank you for letting me have my say.
Cathy

[teresa]

I think people need to think how the engineers family may feel about this as well...if I was his family I would toss a few lawyers Metrolinks way....condolences and resolve to ALL the families.
I am a rider of Amtrak and often we have to wait 10 -20 min periods to check for false signals. They use due dilligence and let us know what is going on...they say vandals take the copper wire out of the signals. A sort of terrorism? How can they control this? Have police standing by a signal in the middle of no where 24/7?
I am an avid fan of trains and public transportation especially now with the horrendous traffic in L.A. and on the CA highways and it is a solution to the 'fuel crisis'. I know that Amtrak is working on a new system with Federal Funding it received and I hope that Metrolink gets more funding for safer travel as well.

[Mike K.]

The engineer was a contract employee, I'm sure the contract between Metrolink and his employer contains an indemnification clause benifiting Metrolink, That would explain Metrolinks' premature attempt to assign blame to the engineer. The attorneys, especially defense counsel, are going to have a field day with this one

[Robert Arkow]

You are right. The diagnosis is premature.

But blaming the engineer takes the blame off of Metrolink. Remember that the engineer is a contractor, not a Metrolink employee.

Here’s what the LA Times did not tell you. After the accident happened on Friday night, Metrolink posted this on their web site.

This was posted when the body count was estimated to be 10-15.

An emergency meeting/closed session of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority Board of Directors by teleconference call to discuss a threat to public services and facilities will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday September 13, 2008 pursuant to California Government Code Sections 54956.5 and 54957.

That’s right, the board met closed session by teleconference to discuss a “threat to public services” less than 24 hours after the accident, while bodies are still in the train.

A “closed session” is the fancy word for a meeting that the public cannot attend, in other words a secret meeting.

This accident does not appear to be an act of terrorism, but rather a simple railroad accident, most likely caused by human error or inattention.

I find it interesting that the “excuse” to meet in closed session was because of a “threat to public services”.

I was told, but cannot confirm, that a similar “closed session” teleconference happened Sunday, using the same excuse.

Time will tell exactly what that “threat” was, but I suspect that the “threat to public services” was based on the good possibility that there will be a massive civil claim against Metrolink.

Metrolink’s Board should be ashamed of itself, using this as an excuse to meet in secret.

Perhaps Metrolink should concentrate on rail safety, instead of spending thousands of dollars persecuting web masters who have the word “Metrolink” in their URL.

(http://www.laweekly.com/2008-05-22/news/metrolink-tries-to-censor-bloggers/)

And the LA Times should do some digging and get the real facts.

Isn’t that what investigative reporting is all about?

My sympathies to the families that lost loved ones in the tragedy.

Robert Arkow
webmaster
www.metrolinkrider.com

[Joe]

Don't worry folks. Whether it was the engineer's fault or something else cause the accident, the taxpayers will foot the bill on this accident. It's a field day for attorneys.

[Robert]

Will we ever know with certainty what happened?

About all I can see so far is:

i) The freight train which collided runs daily at approximately the same time. The engineer knows its out there until he sees it pass.

ii) The engineer was said to be more fastidious about safe travel than most.

iii) Unless the signal was not working, he had to have blown a stop signal, and probably a slow before it

So was it a small error with large consequence?
Was the red masked by sun glare? Even so, the engineer and conductor both check the signal to avoid exactly that problem. I doubt it had anything to do with a cell phone; the engineer knows where the signals are and would check them regardless of minor distractions.
Its possible the engineer just blew the light, but put any sane person in the same place - you wouldn't venture onto the single track past a red, knowing you would personally be squashed between hundreds of tons of machinery.

We can see that there is not even a little crash absorption space (crush zone) in current passenger trains. It would not prevent all injuries, but could lessen impacts such as this. e.g. Add a six ft absorber to the front and rear of the passenger train, and add 2 or 3 ft to each passenger car in collapsable space. Passenger cars would need reinforcement so the main body would collapse less.

[Jim Osborn]

Denise Tyrell usually speaks first without knowing the facts. She always balmes the driver, never the inadequate safety systems of Metrolink. THe Engineer;s union speculates that any number of things could have caused the engineer (driver0 to miss the signal ranging from a stroke to glare. But Ms Tyrell only blames the DEAD engineer before any of the facts are in.

This is not the first time she has done so but it demonstrates a long pattern of her doing so. Her usual phrase is, "the driver tried to beat the train" when the NTSB has found otherwise.

After a similar head-on crash in Placentia in 2002,Blakey of the NTSB stated that the" NTSB has been concerned about for years.”

"In the wake of the crash, Blakey said, the rail industry must consider installing fully automated braking systems, which are used in the Northeast. There, passenger and freight trains also share common tracks" (LA Times article April 2002)

[Mark]

The union, for once, did raise some good points, points that Ms. Tyrrell could not possibly have been able to dispose of at this early date, so she probably was a tad premature in her statement.

The engineer could have had a stroke or heart attack or not seen the signal due to glare, as the union says. Unlikely, but let's wait until the autopsy and NSTB report. After all, the only other reasonable explanation is that he was suicidal, and decided to take the whole train with him, like that other guy recently convicted. This is also unlikely.

[Katlen]

It was painful and horrifying to hear the blame placed on the deceased engineer without an appropriate investigation. Think of his mourning family and friends.

[Louise Cicconi]

This is a horrendous tragedy and my thoughts are with the victims and all those impacted by this terrible incident. I have to say, that throughout this, I was really impressed by Metrolink's spokeswoman, Denise Tyrrell. I can't imagine having to deal with this type of catastrophe. I doubt that the Agency's spokeswoman would make any of these comments without going through internal approvals. I commend Metrolink for conveying the information to the public. In today's reality, honesty and accountability have become rare. Unfortunately, it seems that the Metrolink Board has decided to issue a statement that's not in the interest of the public, or the agency. It seems to me that the Board is more concerned about litigation than honest communication.

[merryjoe]

10:00 pm Sunday -- the NTSB just came out in a press conference and agreed with Metrolink's early statement that their engineer was to blame. So this blog article is outdated already.

[Spokker]

Karl, http://www.latimes.com/news/local/traffic/la-me-control14-2008sep14,0,5390210.story

[calwatch]

On the other hand, I support Denise Tyrrell 100% for making the call that she did. Too often the job of government public information officers is to stonewall the press and not admit the truth. I'm sure the facts were accurate: the engineer blew the signal, thus causing the tragedy to happen. Francisco Oaxaca is from the old school of public information, which is to admit nothing without a public records request and tell people as little as possible. Indeed, Metrolink may have set it up this way... Denise is the "good cop" and Francisco is the "bad cop". Either way, I think internally, someone at the CEO level made the decision to announce the cause of the train crash (Denise doesn't make decisions herself), and then caved when the Board realized such an admissions meant hundreds of millions of dollars in liability.

[Karl Dahlquist]

Denise Tyrell's career dissapation light just went on overtime.