Metrolink to place locos in front of Rotem cab cars for now

[Martin Baumann]

What maximum speed do Metrolink normally run at and what speed are the BNSF units geared for?

[Backshophoss]

Metrolink as a MAS of 79 mph,with some streaches of 90 mph on some of their subdivisions,(per an outdated ETT)
the AC-44's have a timetable MAS of 70 mph(per outdated BNSF ETT)

[Supaned]

According to reports elsewhere , the units are now all gathered at Commerce yard. 5641 is the test unit for Metrolink (seemingly for PTC compatibility/conversion) and has been on various test runs - yesterday being the most recent.

Nobody seems to know when they will actually start , clearly Metrolink aren't that worried about running the Rotem cab cars solo as if it was that urgent you would think they would have done something by now , which begs the question why are they bothering with the BNSF locos?

[Tadman]

This is bloody insanity. Just absolutely nuts crazy stupid insanity. How long have we seen cab car trains in how many different countries? And now we're going to spend $19m to lease freight units to act as battering rams???

God forbid we focus on the cause of the problem - errant motorists.

Only in Kalifornia...

[Backshophoss]

By now,there's a "small" pile of lawsuits filed,and served to Metrolink's Legal Dept,
by the "better call Saul" type lawyers after the Oxnard wreck,along with possible "notices" from FRA and NTSB.
This is likely a"CYA" reaction by Metrolink.

Operation Lifesaver may have a had a hard time getting their PSA's aired on LA's media outlets.
Most car drivers in the LA basin would run the gates then wait for a train to pass,have seen way
TOO many near misses at grade crossings from the driver's seat of a 18 wheeler.

[Tadman]

Here's another idea... For $19m how many cops could you hire and station at grade crossings writing tickets to crossing offenders for $200/each? Shoot they could actually make money here.

According to this fact sheet: http://www.metrolinktrains.com/pdfs/Fac ... 014_Q4.pdf

There's 451 street grade crossigns on all of Metrolink. For $19m, you could hire 158 cops. Each cop rotates between 3 crossings per day and writes all kinds of tickets.

[jt42cwr]

There's 451 street grade crossings on all of Metrolink. For $19m, you could hire 158 cops. Each cop rotates between 3 crossings per day and writes all kinds of tickets.

So based on those figures, for over 90% of the time there is no cop on duty on any particular crossing, which won't exactly reduce the chances of an accident by a great deal.

[Backshophoss]

You could try "Redflex" to install Cameras to "catch" gate runners,but would also create court cases,lawsuits over legality

[Tadman]

There's 451 street grade crossings on all of Metrolink. For $19m, you could hire 158 cops. Each cop rotates between 3 crossings per day and writes all kinds of tickets.

So based on those figures, for over 90% of the time there is no cop on duty on any particular crossing, which won't exactly reduce the chances of an accident by a great deal.

I disagree. There is almost no traffic midnight-5am, so we can throw that out. You likely have triple the traffic at rush hour, so we can concentrate on those times. I don't know if police contracts allow for split shifts but if they do, you'd have a nice way to cover two four-hour shifts, one at each rush. Even if there are no stats on car/traffic frequency over crossings, one could look at a timetable and determine the hot times for each crossing. Further, a few crossings could be eliminated -those with dual gates or those along trackage with low speeds or adjacent to stations.

All I'm saying is that you look at this solution and it just reeks of dumb ideas. No other city with cab cars - Chicago, Boston, MNCR, LIRR, Jersey Transit, Philly, DC, Baltimore, Miami, SFO, Sacramento, Seattle, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Nashville, Orlando, D/FW - has needed this fix. None. Ever. We have a clear problem with the drivers. When we had a drunk driving problem 20 years ago, we didn't install giant safety balloons around cars, we cracked down on drunks. It worked great and it was not exactly easy because drunk drivers don't always swerve. They sit in their cars like sober folks. Crossing scofflaws are very easy to identify just by watching them go around gates.

[Backshophoss]

The LA Metro region spans at least 5 counties,and many smaller towns between the Cities of LA and San Bedroo,
Not sure if Metrolink has it's own PD,or relies on the county PD/Sheriff for law enforcement.
That $19 million may not be enough to cover everybody who wants $$ for "their" PD to do grade crossing enforcement
in "their" part of the LA Metro area.

[jt42cwr]

Is this any nearer to actually happening? I've only heard of one test train running so far. Is this correct or have there been more that have not been widely reported?

[Backshophoss]

Believe only 1 AC-44 is testing for now,after the install of Metrolink's PTC setup,may have had a ATS install as well.

[jt42cwr]

Hopefully the rest are being fitted with the same already?

[clutch]

Metrolink contracts with County of Los Angeles Sheriff Office for law enforcement on all trains in the five counties. The old SCRTD did have it's own police.

[Supaned]

Well, another month has passed with the "unsafe" cab cars still able to run without the assistance of BNSF.

Is the row of power in track 15 at LA Union just a smoke and mirrors exercise?