Commuter Rail – Page 64 – Railfanning.org

NTSB: Engineer Sent, Received Texts Prior to Crash

September 17, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

LOS ANGELES – The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that the engineer of a Metrolink commuter train that crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train sent and received text messages prior to the crash. “NTSB investigators asked for records of the Metrolink engineer’s cell phone calls and text messages from the service provider,” the agency said in a statement. “The Board today received some of those records, which indicate that the engineer had sent and received text messages on the day of the accident, including some while he was on duty.” The Metrolink commuter train and the Union Pacific

Oberstar: Deadly Train Crash was Preventable

September 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Friday’s fatal Metrolink train crash was preventable, according to Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In the wreck, a Metrolink commuter train collided with a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles, killing 25 people and injuring 135 others. The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2095), a bill the House of Representatives passed last year, would require trains to be equipped with Positive Train Control (PTC), a collision avoidance system. PTC has been at the top of the National Transportation Safety Board’s priority list for nearly two

Law Firm Looking for Metrolink Victims

September 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

LOS ANGELES –A Los Angeles law firm that represented victims of a 2005 Metrolink train wreck announced its plan to leverage its experience on behalf of the victims of the Sept. 12 Metrolink wreck in Chatsworth. Attorneys R. Edward Pfiester, Jr. and Victor A. Russo, in a news release, said they offered their prayers and sympathy for the victims of the train collision and for their families and “vowed to use their extensive experience in previous Metrolink cases on behalf of the victims of this tragic train accident.” “Unfortunately, some attorneys are claiming to be experienced in railroad cases when,

Amtrak Service Alert: Pacific Surfliner & Coast Starlight Service Restoration Plan

September 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

LOS ANGELES — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains, which ordinarily operate between San Luis Obispo and San Diego, and the Coast Starlight, which ordinarily operates between Los Angeles and Seattle, will resume normal operations north of Los Angeles this afternoon, Sept. 16. Pacific Surfliner Service and Related Thruway Motorcoaches Normal service will resume Sept. 16, starting with northbound Train 775 and southbound Train 784 and their related Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches. Pacific Surfliners and their connecting Thruway Motorcoaches between Los Angeles and San Diego were not affected by this service interruption. Coast Starlight, Trains 11 & 14 The northbound Coast Starlight, Train

Metrolink Spokeswoman Resigns Following Comments

September 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

LOS ANGELES — Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell has resigned following comments she made to reporters in the wake of a fatal wreck. A Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train collided on on Sept. 12 near Chatsworth, Calif., killing 25 people and injuring more than 130 more. Tyrrell and Metrolink quickly blamed human error for the crash, but the National Transportation Safety Board says it is still investigating. “Her teary comments and surprising candor elicited a flood of encouragement from Metrolink staff members and commuters from as far as London and Vietnam,” The Los Angeles Times reported. “By

Amtrak Tracks Remain Closed Due to Collision — Pacific Surfliner & Coast Starlight Affected

September 16, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

LOS ANGELES — Railroad tracks remain closed following a fatal Metrolink crash, Amtrak officials said. A Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train collided on on Sept. 12 near Chatsworth, Calif., killing 25 peopel and injuring more than 130 more. As a result, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner trains with connecting Thruway Motorcoach buses will not operate north of Los Angeles Sept. 15 and Sept. 16. Pacific Surfliner Service and Related Thruway Motorcoaches There will be no service by Pacific Surfliners and their connecting Thruway Motorcoach buses on September 15 and 16, between San Luis Obispo and Goleta, California, and

Conductor May be Key to Metrolink Investigation

September 15, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHATSWORTH, Calif. — Investigators probing a fatal Metrolink crash want to interview the train’s conductor and also hope that recordings of verbal safety checks will help paint a fuller picture of what happened in the moments leading up to the crash. “He’ll be able to tell us whether he recalls the engineer calling out and him confirming those signals,” The Associated Press quoted Kitty Higgins of the National Transportation Safety Board as saying about the conductor. Metrolink has already blamed human error for the Sept. 12 crash that killed 25 people and injured 130 more. However, the National Transportation Safety

Metrolink Engineer May Have Been Texting

September 14, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHATSWORTH, Calif. — Investigators probing a fatal Metrolink crash are looking into whether the train’s engineer sent a text message just before his train crashed into a parked Union Pacific freight train, according to various media reports. “That would be to me unbelievable,” KTLA quoted Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell as saying. “I cannot imagine a scenario where a Metrolink engineer would be texting someone while driving a train.” Metrolink has already blamed human error for the crash that killed 25 people and injured 130 more. However, the National Transportation Safety Board says it is still investigating. The wreck is said

L.B. Foster Receives Continuous Welded Rail Orders; Rail to be Used in Two California Transit Projects

September 14, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

PITTSBURGH — L.B. Foster Company said it has been awarded business in northern and southern California for continuous welded rail (CWR) for two transit projects. They include the following: — 1,812 tons of 136# New Rail for Caltrain, which will be used for future capital improvements on the 145-year-old railroad. Caltrain is owned and operated by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. Caltrain runs from San Francisco to San Jose, with commuter-hour service to Gilroy. Delivery of the CWR is to begin in the late third quarter of 2008. — 1,813 tons of 136# New Rail for the Southern California

Death Toll Reaches 25 in Deadly California Train Crash, Human Error Suspected

September 14, 2008 Voice of America

Officials of the California commuter rail system Metrolink say Friday’s deadly train crash outside Los Angeles, which killed 25 people and injured 135, was caused by an engineer who failed to stop at a signal.