FEDS SAY 'PUSH-PULL' COMMUTER TRAINS SAFE.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

A federal investigation sparked by the Jan. 26 Metrolink tragedy found that pushing a train creates no greater risk of derailment than when cars are pulled by a locomotive, officials said Wednesday.

The Federal Railroad Administration report specifically disputes claims that the crash near Glendale that killed a total of 11 passengers would not have been as severe had the derailed train been led by a locomotive. But it recommends a number of structural modifications to improve the safety of passengers riding in cab cars.

Metrolink officials said the report affirmed their decision to continue operating in the push-pull configuration on commuter trains that operate throughout Southern California.

``It says push-pull operation is a safe operation, but it also says we have an obligation to work within the regulatory framework to make things as safe as we can,'' said Metrolink CEO David Solow.

``Although from a nationwide perspective push-pull is a very safe operation, this is not to say we shouldn't improve what we're doing and spend more time and effort to make it more safe.''

The push-mode did lead to higher death rates nationwide, but the interim report from the FRA attributed that to the ``very unusual and difficult'' period experienced by Metrolink, which had 12 fatalities from push operations between 1997 and 2005.

That included eight of 11 deaths in the Glendale tragedy, which occurred when a Metrolink train being pushed from Ventura County to downtown Los Angeles hit an SUV parked on the tracks. It derailed, hit a parked freight train and collided with a northbound Metrolink train.

Eight passengers in the southbound cars - which were pushed by a locomotive - were killed, along with the engineer and two passengers in the northbound train. Nearly 200 other passengers were injured.

Metrolink faces lawsuits by survivors of those killed in the crash and other victims, including the widow of the conductor, who says her husband said he was concerned about the safety of the push-pull configuration.

Trains are generally in the push-mode on the morning commute from the suburbs to downtown Los Angeles, with the locomotive in the rear and the cab car leading the train. The locomotive pulls the cars on the ride home.

``Operating the trains in that direction, with a much lighter car, and without a cow catcher, makes it much easier to derail,'' maintains R. Edward Pfiester, who is representing conductor Tom Ormiston's widow, Ann, and others affected by the crash.

Richard C. Beall, a railroad operations and safety consultant who also works as an engineer for the South Florida Rail Transit Authority, also disputed the FRA's findings, saying a locomotive provides more protection for passengers in a collision with a train or other obstacle.

``It seems like with everything else in life our forefathers got it right - the locomotive was supposed to be in front,'' he said. ``The locomotive, you have so much more tonnage, so much more steel.''

The report, part of the FRA's decade-long evaluation of push-pull operations, found the push-pull configuration can pose a risk to passenger safety after the front 10 rows of seats were crushed during crash tests.

It said Metrolink's decision to rope off the front seats of cab cars - action taken after the Glendale crash - is ``prudent'' action that other rail operators could consider.

It also said reinforcing the cab car with so-called crush zones at potential impact points would help. Metrolink wants to include the crush zone in new rail cars it is ordering this fall.

Metrolink also plans to order rear-facing and high-backed seating to help stabilize passengers and tables that collapse on impact, which had also been noted in the report.

The report also discussed the need for fencing, patrols or grade separations to keep unauthorized people off the tracks.

The report also said the alternatives to running trains in the push-mode would pose even greater risks to passengers.

For example, rail operators could cut push operations completely, or restrict passengers from riding in the front cars. But the result would be reduced train service, leaving passengers to stand in the aisles or find alternative modes of travel, both of which would be more dangerous, the report said.

Metrolink has long maintained that it could not afford to buy the land needed to build costly turn-around yards in the suburbs to put the locomotive in front on all routes.

Solow said banning push operations would essentially put Metrolink out of business.

``The push-pull has been around for a very long time. Entire operating plans of many of the rail operators, including Metrolink, (are) built on it,'' said Tom Rubin, a former head of rail safety for the now-defunct Southern California Rapid Transit District.

``They don't really have an alternative without massive investment in their cars and their infrastructure to do it any other way,'' he said.

``The FRA and these rail operators, they're facing this difficult trade-off between safety and costs, and in many cases the ability to operate at all. It's a very, very difficult situation.

``It's basically, do a little bit better with what you have now, or lights out.''

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

The Federal Railroad Administration said Wednesday that commuter trains that are pushed by the locomotive engine - like this Metrolink train traveling south through the Santa Susana Pass - are as safe as trains that are pulled in each direction.

Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer