Metrolink Wreck

[WhoozOn1st]

A Metrolink/UP freight collision - on TV it looks like a cornfield meet (head-on) - just about an hour before this post has shut down the coast rail route for the time being. Injuries. Tonday's remaining Surfliners, northbound 785, and southbound 798 and 796, can forget it.

 

[-Jamie-]

I don't know if it's on the net yet, but a Metrolink hit a frieght train in Chattsworth about an hour ago. It's pretty bad (rather horrific acctually). The impact caused the first car to basically peel open like a sardine can. The engine is now inside the car. 2 confirmed dead so far, I'm sure there will be many more. There are at least 5 freight cars that are stacked up perpendicular to the track. The Starlight will probably need to be bustituted for days before this gets cleaned up.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

As Jamie said in another post, 2 dead so far. 23 injured, 10 critical. It appears the Metrolink locomotive telescoped into the first bi-level passenger car. Local TV stations are all over it.

 

[Karch]

As Jamie said in another post, 2 dead so far. 23 injured, 10 critical. It appears the Metrolink locomotive telescoped into the first bi-level passenger car. Local TV stations are all over it.

Near Stony Park in Chatsworth,, Commuter train 111 left Union Station around 1530 heading to Moorpark.

This will block the Coast Starlight until they clear. Guessing Bus Bridge.

 

[Karch]

As Jamie said in another post, 2 dead so far. 23 injured, 10 critical. It appears the Metrolink locomotive telescoped into the first bi-level passenger car. Local TV stations are all over it.

Near Stony Park in Chatsworth,, Commuter train 111 left Union Station around 1530 heading to Moorpark.

This will block the Coast Starlight until they clear. Guessing Bus Bridge.

Live Feed

http://www.knbc.com/videostream/10954229/detail.html

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Chatworth is at the west end of the San Fernando Valley. Outbound it's the last Metrolink/Surfliner stop before trains go over (and through - 3 tunnels) the Santa Susanna pass. Thanks for the link, Karch. Now I can watch channel 4 online and another channel on the TV.

 

[Karch]

Chatworth is at the west end of the San Fernando Valley. Outbound it's the last Metrolink/Surfliner stop before trains go over (and through - 3 tunnels) the Santa Susanna pass. Thanks for the link, Karch. Now I can watch channel 4 online and another channel on the TV.

There is double track just south of Stoney Park Curve. The track goes to single track and enters a series of tunnels just before the curve.

Its unclear if the NB Metrolink hit the SB Freight, or vice versa.

Not sure if the collision occured in the double track or single track section.

Google Map view.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=h&z=17

 

[WhoozOn1st]

In the Google Earth view, the Metrolink train was traveling from the Chatworth station (below bottom of pic) and the double track onto the single track. The curve leads out of the San Fernando Valley and into the Santa Susanna pass. the UP freight was apparently exiting the pass inbound, and about to pass the Chatsworth station. The tunnels are AFTER the curve outbound, and this could be seen in some aerial TV shots.

Though the TV stations are sticking with the official total of 2 dead so far, there are more sheets than that on the ground by the trains.

 

[Karch]

Chatworth is at the west end of the San Fernando Valley. Outbound it's the last Metrolink/Surfliner stop before trains go over (and through - 3 tunnels) the Santa Susanna pass. Thanks for the link, Karch. Now I can watch channel 4 online and another channel on the TV.

There is double track just south of Stoney Park Curve. The track goes to single track and enters a series of tunnels just before the curve.

Its unclear if the NB Metrolink hit the SB Freight, or vice versa.

Not sure if the collision occured in the double track or single track section.

Google Map view.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=h&z=17

Reviewing aerial footage suggests the accident ended up here.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=h&z=19

Single track section, just a bit after the double track.

Looks like the death count will go higher.

 

[AlanB]

A Metrolink commuter train believed to be carrying up to 350 people collided with a freight train Friday, killing two people and injuring an unknown number of others.
Firefighters put out a fire under part of the wreckage and pulled people from a Metrolink car, which was partly torn open and left lying on its side. Several other cars in the Metrolink train remained upright.

From MSNBC.

 

[nsaspook]

A Metrolink commuter train believed to be carrying up to 350 people collided with a freight train Friday, killing two people and injuring an unknown number of others.
Firefighters put out a fire under part of the wreckage and pulled people from a Metrolink car, which was partly torn open and left lying on its side. Several other cars in the Metrolink train remained upright.

From MSNBC.

KTLA has a live feed. http://www.ktla.com/pages/livevideo_channelb

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Now reports of a second fatal Metrolink accident, about an hour after the one at Chatsworth. This one more typical: Train/car, with driver killed, at Corona (Riverside Line, I think). Can't get metrolink website; undoubtedly overloaded.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

Meanwhile, the California high speed rail folks probably still think those Metrolink coaches are ridiculously overbuilt, and probably still want their high speed trainsets to have permission to be built to lesser crashworthiness standards. The Implementation Plan goes into some detail about wanting an exemption to the usual US crashworthiness standards.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

This Emergency Alert is all that currently shows on the Metrolink website:

http://metrolinktrains.com/emergency/

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Beginning Saturday I'll post links to local coverage of this calamity at the "L.A. Rail News Updates" topic in the Forum Members Gathering section. TV does a great job on getting pictures, but the commentary, speculation, and general rail ignorance leave much to be desired. Print media have a luxury that live TV coverage doesn't: Time. Deadlines, sure, but newspapers don't have to wing it on the air as the cameras roll. Time to track down facts and gain some perspective, without airing calls from notoriously unreliable witnesses as events unfold.

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is on the wreck scene, and said - unofficially - that the death toll could reach 10-15. If it goes over 11 it will be the worst in Metrolink history. Eleven were killed in a push mode wreck several years ago, and the guy held responsible for it - parked his SUV on the tracks - recently received 11 life terms for first-degree murder.

 

[Guest_Spokker_*]

Meanwhile, the California high speed rail folks probably still think those Metrolink coaches are ridiculously overbuilt, and probably still want their high speed trainsets to have permission to be built to lesser crashworthiness standards. The Implementation Plan goes into some detail about wanting an exemption to the usual US crashworthiness standards.

Uh, the high speed trains won't operate with freights so I don't know what you're crowing about here.

 

[SUNSETLIMITED01]

This is such a tragedy and I don't get how a commuter train wrecks a freight train.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Now taking bets on how long it takes Amtrak to issue a service alert regarding this disaster. I'm sure they're pretty preoccupied with Hurricane Ike, and REALLY didn't need this additional headache.

 

[RTOlson]

What a horrible accident. All of the passengers, train employees and their families are in my thoughts.

While details are obviously forthcoming, the L.A. Daily News is reporting that Metrolink dispatches for that part of the track.

A Metrolink dispatcher oversees that portion of the tracks and would have control over when the trains switch from one track to another, [Metrolink spokeswoman Denise] Tyrrell said.

I wonder what this means for the upcoming investigation.

 

[Guest_Spokker_*]

I wonder what this means for the upcoming investigation.

Someone must have run a red.

 

[montereyan]

Meanwhile, the California high speed rail folks probably still think those Metrolink coaches are ridiculously overbuilt, and probably still want their high speed trainsets to have permission to be built to lesser crashworthiness standards. The Implementation Plan goes into some detail about wanting an exemption to the usual US crashworthiness standards.

The California High Speed Rail trains will run on dedicated tracks - i.e. no sharing with freights. So there's no need to meet the FRA standards, which exist because of passenger rail sharing tracks with freights.

 

[PRR 60]

The LA Times is now reporting at least 15 fatalities. I hope and pray I'm wrong, but the total destruction of the first car of the Metrolink train makes me feel that the final toll will be much worse. I honestly don't know how anyone could have survived in that car. Words cannot describe how sickening this accident is.

 

[Karch]

The LA Times is now reporting at least 15 fatalities. I hope and pray I'm wrong, but the total destruction of the first car of the Metrolink train makes me feel that the final toll will be much worse. I honestly don't know how anyone could have survived in that car. Words cannot describe how sickening this accident is.

It was reported by an early responder to the scene that the signal tower was red on the Metrolink side. That, and its the Metrolink leaving double track to single track.. ... got any guesses?

I am sure there will be a full investigation to study the equipment, orders, and crew.

 

[AlanB]

It was reported by an early responder to the scene that the signal tower was red on the Metrolink side. That, and its the Metrolink leaving double track to single track.. ... got any guesses?

Well seeing as how the Metrolink train had passed the signal, it would be red. The question is, "was it red before the Metrolink train passed it?" And a first responder wouldn't know, since they responded to the accident, not before it.

 

[TuTall223]

I stopped on my way home. My brother rides that train to Simi Valley & I could not reach him. I finally found out he did not go in to work today. I walked though the tunnel thinking he might be on the train. The last two cars still inside the tunnel with FRED still flashing. The last four frieght cars did not derail. All cars forward of that were derailed in some form. Cars showed signs of buckling, and load shifts balloning sidewalls of rear cars. Both trains were moving at a good rate of speed, and because of the curve the Engineers probaly did not see the other train until seconds before impact. Really bad crash. God Bless the lost souls.