Metrolink examining safety of state-of-the-art rail cars in wake of Oxnard crash

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The Metrolink commuter railway declared Thursday that it is going to assess the security of tons of new crash-immune passenger vehicles -- the sort officials claimed decreased fatal accidents in the wreck of a truck and train near Oxnard this year. Functionaries want to decide whether a potential design flaw in the automobiles played a part in the derailment that hurt 27 Metrolink passengers and killed the train's engineer. The assessment includes so called c ab vehicles, passenger coaches with the engineer's station. They've been in the entrance of trains when they've been shoved from behind by locomotives -- a common pattern employed by the state's commuter railways when trains reverse way at the conclusion of a line. Interested in the narratives shaping Ca? Register for the free Crucial California publication >>While the railway line, which serves six Southern-California counties, re-examines security functions on 5 7 automobiles assembled by the Hyundai Rotem Co., the autos will be briefly replaced in the entrance of trains with locomotives rent from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co.The c ab vehicles will stay in service as passenger coaches elsewhere in the lineup of automobiles. In February, a Metrolink train using a Rotem cab car in front derailed after hitting a pickup truck and trailer that wandered into a grade crossing at 5th Avenue and Rice Voie beyond Oxnard.Metrolink officers were quick to declare the state of the art automobiles with energy-absorbing crush zones, heavier building and anti-derailing characteristics seemed to decrease fatalities and accidents in the mishap. The $263-million expense for 137 Rotem cab vehicles and routine coaches, they stated, had certainly paid off. Twenty eight individuals were sent to the hospital following a Metrolink commuter train crashed using a tractor trailer in Oxnard, California on Feb. 2 4. The train engineer afterwards died of his injuries. The trucker was detained but released and is not charged. Twenty eight individuals were sent to the hospital following a Metrolink commuter train crashed using a tractor trailer in Oxnard, California on Feb. 2 4. The train engineer afterwards died of his injuries. The trucker was detained but released and is not charged. Now, but the railway would like to discover whether a plow-like accessory on the very front of the Rotem cab car neglected in the crash and let debris to get underneath the wheels, activating the derailment."we're using this measure from an abundance of care," mentioned Moorpark City Councilman Keith Millhouse, an associate of the railway's board. "This is an interim measure before the plow could be assessed and beefed-up if needed. That is likely to be expensive for the railway line, but you can not set a price on security."Millhouse believed that use of the c ab vehicles will be limited for a twelvemonth before the problem is worked out. Art Leahy, Metrolink's CEO, said the railway line continues to be working together with the National Transportation Security Board, which is investigating the injury. Though there are issues about the Rotem cab car plows, the NTSB has yet to discover the reason behind the crash."This is really interesting," stated Paul Dyson, president of the Railway Passenger of Assn. of California, who has questioned whether the new Rotem automobiles are as secure as authorities say. "The plow is essential in maintaining debris out from under the automobiles. Something really was wrong in Oxnard using how the train jackknifed. Passengers actually got tossed around."Since 2003, Metrolink has has received four severe injuries, including three derailments, involving trains with cab vehicles in entrance. Sixteen individuals were killed and nearly 360 hurt in these crashes. Though national studies suggest there's minimal danger from using cab cars nationwide, some security specialists argue that having weightier locomotives in entrance decrease likelihood of derailment in a injury. In addition they have challenged Metrolink's use of cab vehicles given that its 512-mi le program includes numerous grade crossings and tracks shared with freight trains. Tim Smith, the California legislative director for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, declined to discuss the Oxnard crash. Generally speaking, he stated the union h-AS consistently opposed using cab cars."we've believed they're harmful," Smith stated. "Cab vehicles are light in weight and simple to lift-off the tracks. So far as security is concerned, we'd like to really have a locomotive outside in front."Millhouse, nevertheless, usually defended using cab cars. He explained the short-term elimination of the Rotem automobiles from support pertains to to your unique design question which is unrelated to the greater debate on the security of cab cars. Follow @LADeadline16 for air travel news.

03.09.2015
ID:2783

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