Safety, traffic concerns raised when 3.5-mile-long freight train rolls through L.A. Basin

An apparently unprecedented super freight train -- extending some 3½ miles -- rolled through Southern California over the weekend, catching state regulators off guard and prompting concerns about potential safety risks and traffic delays, The Times has learned.

Union Pacific said the train was a test of equipment and ways to improve operating efficiency, but that the company does not have plans to run such trains regularly.

Some officials are worried it may be a harbinger. “I will be asking a lot more questions,” said Democratic Rep. Grace Napolitano, whose San Gabriel Valley district includes part of the train route.

“If they’re testing to increase the size of trains in L.A., I have a problem with that.” 

The state Public Utilities Commission raced a team of personnel to Imperial County on Saturday to monitor the train as it wound its way toward the Inland Empire. The train originally left Texas on Friday night and reached its ultimate destination, a large intermodal facility near the Port of Long Beach, on Sunday.

“We were quite concerned about it, which was why we scrambled our people to be out there Saturday to essentially find out what was going on,” said Richard W. Clarke, who oversees rail safety at the state agency.

There are no state or federal limits on the length of trains or requirements to notify agencies about unusually long train configurations, officials said. Union Pacific said it did alert local federal regulators, who observed the train’s movement.

The 18,000-foot-long train was two to three times the length of a typical freight train and the largest known to operate in the state — and possibly the nation, Clark said.

Tracks were cleared so the train could run up to 70 mph, said Tom Lange, Union Pacific's spokesman. He said it would take three to five minutes for the train to clear a grade crossing.

The test was part of an effort to explore ways to “better serve our customers,” he said. Such trains actually reduce the chances of derailment, he said, because locomotive power is distributed along the train, reducing stress on couplers and other equipment.

In addition, while long trains may extend some waits, they reduce overall waiting time for motorists at crossings, Lange said. That’s because crossing signals begin stopping traffic 20 to 25 seconds before each train arrives. The long train tested over the weekend was the equivalent of three typical mile-long trains, which would have added 40 to 50 seconds to total motorist wait time.

In addition to concerns about lack of notice to state authorities, who regulate grade crossings, Clark said his agency wanted to ensure the massive train had adequate braking capacity and officials were on hand in case of extended delays for motorists and emergency vehicles, especially if the train was forced to stop for some reason.

No incidents were reported, but the commission staff is continuing to examine issues raised by such operations, Clark said.

The train, which carried furniture, clothing, electronics and other goods for export from Texas, was the longest ever assembled by Union Pacific, Lange said. Among other benefits, he said, such trains could remove hundreds of trucks from the road and save fuel compared to other modes of cargo transportation. Trains up to 12,500 feet—a little over two miles long—already are operated in the Los Angeles area, he said.  

He acknowledged longer trains can reduce costs of train crew requirements because the additional locomotives are controlled from the front cab.

A spokesman for the California chapter of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen warned such “monster trains” raise a host of concerns.

“Nobody I know of in the railroad industry ever has run a train this size,” said Tim Smith, state legislative chairman for the union.

“We’re not trained for it. The longer the train, the more you have to consider the curvature of tracks...starting and stopping.”

--Rich Connell

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Comments

[syscom3]

This is way to long of a train to be used in an urban area with grade crossings.

The state should ban such monstrosities, unless they were out in the countryside.

[Gorbo]

Funny, I read about this 5 days ago here in Texas...

[Joemamabush]

Rep. Grace Napolitano,
Word of caution the size of the train reduces costs. If needed one question to be answered. The trains built the west. Before the roads. Grace read your history.

[Karl Dahlquist]

Uh, the train ran on Sunday...and is not the longest in history...and was a one time deal.

[Distillerman]

Who pulled that train?

[oldusedcop]

Union Pacific is blowing smoke. Trains are supposed to clear a grade crossing in no more than five minutes. The idea that a shorter train takes longer to clear a crossing is a figment of someone's imagination, built on the supposition that three shorter trains would follow immediately, one behind the other. Even a graduate of LAUSD can figure out the math on this one. When was the last time anyone saw a caravan of three trains going through a crossing?

[Steven Barth]

31/2 mile long freght trains. Lot's of cars and pedestrians waiting a long time at RR crossings. There must be a better way.

[Lornaj]

It was not a test for Union Pacific, it was the real thing. Since notification is not necessary it was the real thing. The article said there is not any law to give notice. Big Business gets a free ride on everything.

[josowski]

Rep Grace Napolitano was so concerned because she can't count that high.
Once a moron, always a moron.

[Pete the Fed]

No big deal. Trains are more efficient anyway.

[Chris]

While this technique may add efficiency to Union Pacific, I wouldn't want to be the person on the one side of the tracks having a heart attack, while my ambulance is held up on the other side for 5 plus minutes.

[West Coast Rail Forums]

Please visit West Coast Rail Forums at www.westcoastrailforums.com for complete photo/video coverage of this monster train.

[Pragmatist]

OK. Probably a good idea. But the railroad is being a bit disingenuous.
It is less likely to derail? Ok, but how long does it take to stop? 30 seconds? 5 minutes? Takes less time at a crossing than 3 separate trains? OK, but how long does it take? At 70 miles an hour (probably a rare speed at an urban crossing) that would be 3 minutes. At 35 it would take 6. 6 minutes of backed up traffic at rush hour? Does that line of cars block an intersection? Let's find out but let's start by being honest.

[Diaz]

Tell me someone took a picture or video.

[Eddie]

A 40-50 "second" delay at the crossing?? Oh poor drivers.....must be an eternity...jeez, get a life! Trains should be this long or longer to eliminate extra trains being used in the first place..therefore, less frequent waits at the RR crossings.

50 seconds....wow, the world is going to end....show some patience, something California drivers can't do!

[victor knopp]

yea,why not a never ending conveyor belt of more stuff we dont need

[Figgins]

@ Eddie

True, 40-50 seconds is hardly worth commenting on, but just wait until there needs to be a crew change, and the train is mid-route in the LA basin. The train stops wherever it is, and doesn't move until a fresh crew takes over. Such stoppages are not uncommon in Riverside.

When a stoppage happens, the wait could be over an hour with the train blocking intersections along the way. Such trains would need extra planning, and careful staging of crews so that the trains are stopped for a minimum of time.

Hopefully UP will only move these trains during non-rush hour periods.

[Dave]

Long trains save energy - so what if a few people have to wait an extra minute at a crossing.

[Joel]

And people are complaining why? I thought we were working to enable MORE trains, so they take polluting trucks off the road.

[Ty]

Cool, 3 1/2 miles at 70 MPH. Kind of like the 10 mile trains at 12 MPH on the freeways everyday.

[Simon Hartigan]

I'd certainly rather see this 5.5 km long train than hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands) of trucks on our roads. Small private cars and trucks are not the answer to our traffic future in LA so I believe it's a good thing that we explore options such as this one.

[Efron Herta]

Liberals will complain about anything. The benefits of this train far out weigh the the detractors concerns.

[lin]

Eddie, 50 seconds in not the total time it takes for the train to cross. At speeds of between 25-70 miles per hour, a 3 1/2 mile long train will take between 8 1/2 mins to 3 mins to clear the crossing.

And the 50 seconds the article refers to is the total time SAVED from running one 3 1/2 mile long train versus three shorter ones. Savings due to rail guards lowering and opening only once.

[My opinon means nothing]

A train going through a crossing at 70 mph three and a half miles long! WOW! That would scare the begebers out of me if I was at the gates! I would be praying that those guys who said that it is safer than a mile long one are right! But, what if they're wrong? A three and a half mile long train is a lot of cars going splat!

[RoBEAR]

If something were to happen, it would take the crew member an hour to walk back to see what had happened, and an hour back again due to the lack of walking surface, if one of the Locomotives have an issue it could take hours to repair, if there happens to be a handbrake on any of the cars you would not be able to look back to see how your train is doing, what if a set of trucks came off the rail you would not be able to see the dust cloud, did UP mention how long it takes to get up to speed? The UP is playing with fire in your back yard and they don't care, they will do whatever they want! if a Hazmat incident happens they will stall you in court for years so the risk is worth it for them that is if you live through it!