Blue Line heading for a fatal record
"With 22 accidents and six fatalities so far this year, officials say the Blue Line — one of the busiest light rails in the nation — is on pace to have more deaths in 2012 than any other year in its 22-year history...
"The Blue Line, which has 26 million riders annually, opened as the county's first light-rail line in 1990. It averaged 50.9 accidents annually during the first dozen years of operation, but that number dropped substantially over the next decade with an average of 27.9 accidents annually."
You gotta love stuff like this:
"Family members said 16-year-old Luis Manuel Martinez, Jr. was killed June 12 when he was struck by a Blue Line train while walking near street-level tracks in Willowbrook."
Apparently the train left the rails and viciously pursued poor Luis, who was only minding his own business "near" the tracks.
Also noted in the story is the unresolved issue of a flawed junction shared by Expo and Blue lines that by all accounts poses an ongoing derailment hazard.
"With 22 accidents and six fatalities so far this year, officials say the Blue Line — one of the busiest light rails in the nation — is on pace to have more deaths in 2012 than any other year in its 22-year history...
"The Blue Line, which has 26 million riders annually, opened as the county's first light-rail line in 1990. It averaged 50.9 accidents annually during the first dozen years of operation, but that number dropped substantially over the next decade with an average of 27.9 accidents annually."
You gotta love stuff like this:
"Family members said 16-year-old Luis Manuel Martinez, Jr. was killed June 12 when he was struck by a Blue Line train while walking near street-level tracks in Willowbrook."
Apparently the train left the rails and viciously pursued poor Luis, who was only minding his own business "near" the tracks.
Also noted in the story is the unresolved issue of a flawed junction shared by Expo and Blue lines that by all accounts poses an ongoing derailment hazard.
Blue Line opening, July 1990. The Source Photo.
