(The following article by Karen Rubin was posted on the Pasadena Star-News website on October 31.)
PASADENA, Calif. — School supplies. Engine parts. Clothing and shoes.
Each day, tons of goods are loaded onto freight trains at the Los Angeles and San Pedro ports, bound for points east.
The Union Pacific Railroad Co. and Burlington North Santa Fe Corp. carry this cargo.
These trains 83 a day rumble through the San Gabriel Valley and Whittier. Local neighborhoods experience some of the largest volume of train traffic in the Southland more than the San Fernando Valley and Orange County, experts say.
And it’s getting busier.
“It is expected to double because of the growth of freight traffic from the ports,’ said Rick Richmond, CEO of the Alameda Corridor East Construction Authority. “In terms of train traffic, nothing holds a candle or competes with the San Gabriel Valley.’
By 2025, train traffic in this corridor is expected to leap to a total of 160 a day an explosion that brings people, neighborhoods, developments and trains together.
The two railroad companies handle about 90 percent of the eastbound rail traffic from the San Pedro Bay ports to the rest of the United States. Combine that with Metrolink and the Valley area is becoming a logjam of trains.
Following the Oct. 16 derailment of 11 out of 38 Union Pacific freight cars in a North Whittier neighborhood and given the increasing amount of train traffic in the Valley, questions arise as to how safe neighborhoods are when housing developments are built 20 feet from railroad tracks.
Is the rail system in the Valley able to handle the dramatic increase in freight volume? What condition are these trains in And what condition are the tracks they travel on?
In the case of the North Whittier accident, a train bound for Marion, Ark., derailed and badly damaged the back yards of two homes. The accident prompted evacuations, cut electricity to 1,700 homes and brought traffic to a halt on the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway. No one was injured. The freight cargo included disposable lighters, wheel rims, car batteries and paint.
A broken rail caused the accident. Union Pacific officials are investigating the track metal, which may have been defective. If this is the case, workers could not detect the defect visually, even though the track was inspected just days prior to the derailment. Safety concerns Experts say more train traffic does not mean a rise in accidents, deaths, injuries and property damage.
“Railroad safety is improving,’ said Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration. “Ninety-six percent of the casualties are trespassers or cars that collide with trains.’
From 2001 to 2003, Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe had 82 accidents in and around the San Gabriel Valley. Most of these accidents, according to FRA statistics, occurred in the railroad yards.
From January to July, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. had seven such accidents. Union Pacific had four.
Federal law mandates railroad companies report any accident causing $6,800 or more in damage.
Bursting air hoses, worn brake parts and broken axles between wheel seats are common causes of accidents.
Mark Davis, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad Co., says safety and good-operating equipment is a top priority. The number of broken rail incidents have dropped due to new technologies.
“We average $1 billion a year in track and capacity improvements,’ he said. “We are always analyzing our lines for safety.’
But Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina castigated Union Pacific officials over the North Whittier derailment and is demanding answers.
She criticized them for not being responsive to residents and says it was like pulling teeth to get them together with county, state and federal agencies to discuss safety concerns.
“I am not satisfied that they are doing all they can do,’ she said. “Residents needed immediate safety assurances and they did not get it.’
In June 2003, a runaway train on the same line derailed in Commerce, destroying two homes and injuring 13 people.
Last week, Molina met with lawmakers and officials with Union Pacific Railroad, the California Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“It took a long time for Union Pacific officials to sit down at the table,’ Molina said. “This should have been done on day one or day two. They are responding too slow. The ball is in their court. They must be held accountable on all levels.’
Union Pacific officials disagree.
“We felt we responded as quickly and patiently as we could,’ said John Bromley, a Union Pacific spokesman. “We are doing everything we can to ensure safety.’
Union Pacific is putting together a safety plan for county, state and federal officials.
Railroad economics Those working with the Alameda Corridor East Construction Project and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. say accidents are few and far between.
About $314 billion in cargo is unloaded and ferried east on trains and trucks every year. The railroad infrastructure is getting to the point where it can’t handle the amount of trains.
“There is a lot of conflict now,’ said Wally Baker, senior vice president of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.
“It is clear that with this kind of capacity we have to be very organized. We have to make sure that with an increase of 100 trains a day that the grade separations and safety technology is in place and it causes the least amount of economic and environmental impact.’
The Alameda Corridor East Construction Authority is trying to solve the problem. The goal of the $910 million project is to improve a 35-mile freight rail corridor through the Valley from East Los Angeles to Pomona.
This means improving equipment at railroad crossings, building grade separations and closing down railroad sections deemed unsafe.
But this railroad-safety crossing project in the Valley did not receive the same amount of money that others have in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
“They did not pour as much money into the Valley,’ Richmond said. “(Other projects) do not have the amount of trains going though as many residential areas.’
For example, the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority in southern Los Angeles which oversees a 20-mile freight rail expressway received $2.4 billon to build a grade separation, a 10-mile underground railway, a truck expressway and a pump station.
This corridor deals with 35 trains a day compared with 83 in the Valley.
But Adrian Ocegueda, 19, and her husband, Adrian Macias, 18, don’t want to hear about safety figures, excuses or promises. On Oct. 16, a freight car sliced through their North Whittier back yard on Croton Avenue.
Ocegueda had just walked into a bedroom with her 5-month-old daughter, Alia, in her arms when the train derailed.
“Had I not gone to my bedroom, we both would have been dead,’ she said. “‘I am still shaken. I miss my house. We are still trying to get over this. I’m still mad. What can be done to ensure the safety of residents?’