(The Associated Press circulated the following article on March 24.)
GLENDALE, Calif. — A test of new safety devices on trains Thursday showed good results to help passengers survive wrecks, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced at the site of last year’s commuter train disaster.
The government sent a train pushed by a locomotive into another train along tracks in Colorado and found that passenger areas were damaged far less than in tests without the new equipment.
The new safety measures will help passengers survive a 36-mph crash — more than double the current standard of 15 mph, Mineta said.
The new technology included redesigned tables, special padded seats, zones designed to collapse and a device to prevent cars from jackknifing.
Mineta spoke near a track where 11 people were killed and more than 180 injured when a Metrolink train struck an SUV, jackknifed and struck another train. The first train was being pushed by a locomotive and operated from a cab car at the front.
Some critics say the real problem is the use of locomotives to push passenger cars instead of pulling them, but officials said Thursday that there was no evidence of a higher threat of derailments or injuries.
The safety devices await federal approval, but they are expected to be used in about 100 new Metrolink cars in about three years, said David Solow, Metrolink’s chief executive.