(The following article by Gordon Dickson was posted on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram website on September 13.)
ABOARD THE OPERATION LIFESAVER TRAIN — Texas leads the nation with 324 collisions, 23 deaths and 138 injuries at rail crossings in 2005 and is on pace for even worse carnage this year, safety officials warned Tuesday.
Dozens of Metroplex officials boarded vintage 1950s railcars Tuesday for a tour of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. During the three-hour journey, which began at Fort Worth’s Intermodal Transportation Center and included brief stops in Dallas and Arlington, members of Texas Operation Lifesaver, a nonprofit educational program, asked for help in getting the word out about crossing safety.
“A fully loaded train weighs more than 6,000 tons. It takes more than a mile for a train to stop, so it’s important for you to stay out of the way,” said Vence Haggard, deputy regional administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.
During the trip, at least two passenger cars were observed going around crossing gates to beat the train in Arlington and Irving, Fort Worth Deputy Police Chief Charles Ramirez said. He said officers soon may begin riding trains and monitoring crossings where violations are chronic.
The Operation Lifesaver Train was pulled by three locomotives: one from Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe and two from Union Pacific. There were also Trinity Railway Express and Amtrak sightseeing cars, a UP baggage car and four vintage 1950s UP coaches, which the rail company uses for special events.
The old railcars were air-conditioned and exquisitely clean, and featured a nostalgic hunter green upholstery and carpeting.
Dignitaries included Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, who spent the first portion of the ride — along the TRE route from Fort Worth to Dallas — chatting with Fort Worth Transportation Authority President Dick Ruddell about future commuter rail service in that city.
On the return trip, the train took the UP line through Dallas, Grand Prairie, Arlington and Fort Worth — the very line that could someday host new commuter rail, if area officials can first find a way to relieve freight traffic.
The train blocked traffic on Arlington’s Center Street, which already is gridlocked because of construction, during a two-minute stop. Irate motorists honked.
North Richland Hills Mayor Oscar Trevino also was on the train. His city is searching for funds to join the proposed Cotton Belt rail line from Fort Worth to Grapevine.
“I think the western Metroplex has finally realized that this is our solution: rail,” Trevino said.