(The following story by Dug Begley appeared on the Press-Enterprise website on May 3, 2010.)
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — New impact-minimizing passenger cars should be carrying commuters in Southern California later this year and will one day save lives, Metrolink officials said Monday.
The regional commuter train system unveiled the first two of 117 passenger cars at the agency’s Colton maintenance yard where they will be assembled. Metrolink becomes the first commuter rail system in the United States to switch to the safer cars, designed to crumple around the passenger compartment to help absorb some of the impact during a collision.
“We are going to be in short order, if we are not already, the standard for safety in the country,” said Metrolink board vice-chairman Richard Katz.
The rail cars will be tested over the summer in Colton, prior to going into service in September, officials said. Once the two gleaming silver railcars are inspected, full production of the remaining 115 will start, said Metrolink chairman Keith Millhouse, of Moorpark.
Plus, officials said the new rail cars will make for more comfortable riding for commuters. Higher seat backs, room for bicycles and more slots to lock wheelchairs into place for disabled riders are included.
New Attitude
Metrolink officials have been stressing agency safety after recent rail catastrophes catapulted the system into the national spotlight.
A 2002 crash in Placentia and the 2005 Glendale wreck that killed 11 prompted many of the design changes, officials said. During those accidents, passengers were injured or killed because the railcars did not absorb the impacts, and riders were tossed around the interior.
In September 2008, a Metrolink train in Chatsworth slammed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train, killing 25 and injuring 135. Robert Sanchez, the train’s engineer, was blamed the crash, after investigators determined he failed to stop at a red light along the tracks.
Following Chatsworth, Metrolink’s safety record and commitment to passengers was questioned. Millhouse said in the months following dramatic changes were needed to improve the safety culture in the agency.
CEO David Solow was replaced as the agency head earlier this year. John Fenton, who took over as CEO in April after a three-month search, said the new impact-minimizing cars are one step, but not enough.
“Securitry begins and ends with our people…,” Fenton said, noting that more training is coming for Metrolink crews. He said the agency wants a culture “with no tolerance for bad decisions and unsafe acts.”
Railroad history
The new railcars are a leap forward for passenger safety and rail safety officials said. After three years of design, Seoul-based Hyundai Rotem Co. and U.S.-based crews developed bumpers on the ends of the railcars that collapse to absorb the brunt of any impact. Steel inside the bumpers constricts like an accordion, and bolts inside the rail car sheer away to also lessen the risk to passengers.
Calling it “American railroad history,” former interim Metrolink CEO Eric Haley said the new cars will save lives in the event of a collision, and help set a standard for all U.S. commuter railroads.
Inside the trains, seats and tables have been redesigned to collapse and help minimize impacts. Developing collapsible tables was especially important, officials said.
The train cars are also the first to have built-in outward and inward facing cameras, part of new standards developed after the Chatsworth crash to police train engineers. Unions representing the train engineers have challenged the use of inward facing cameras.
Colton Jobs
Also important to Inland area officials is the jobs coming to Colton as a result of the new railcars. Sixty employees will be added at the maintenance facility to assemble the rail cars.
“We are becoming the hub city for not only freight railroads, but passenger rail service,” said Colton Mayor Kelly Chastain.
Workers will take the parts shipped from Korea and build the railcars in Colton. Once certified, they will be put into regular service on Metrolink lines. The contract with Hyundai Rotem calls for parts for 10 railcars to be delivered per month. The 67 rear cab cars and 50 central passenger cars will all be in use by spring 2011, officials said.
The Colton maintenance yard’s first phase is complete, officials said. But Metrolink is already eyeing expansion plans.
“I’d love to see them soon,” Chastain said.