It's always interesting when folks tell you something they so clearly don't really know, with such certainty? But, since you probably haven't actually read the voter approved statute, or seen the funding allocation tables, in quite a while, you probably just forgot?

There is a 900 million dollar component of the voter approved high speed rail bonds which is specifically set aside for local system capital projects. So while it would a lot more funding to get to an acceptable 90% or more of traffic grade separated from RR's on all major mainline freight and passenger corridors, there is also money that is available which could be spent on that, today.

We could, also, with HSR monies, today, be grade separating all of the dangerous crossing on San Fernando Road and creating a safe fully grade separated right of way for Amtrak, Metrolink and HSR. But, there is no coordination or prioritization, even in the spending of those limited funds. There is also almost no evidence of effective coordination of planning among the agencies involved, that goes double for MTA and CHSRA, triple for Caltrans, which couldn't even produce a viable State Rail Plan (but is trying yet again...?).

It's not just a funding problem, it's also a problem with our choices in how we spend what we have. Poor planning, a lack of good leadership, and poor choices do make a difference.

As to Rotem car safety, I'm still waiting to find out why this cab car didn't just knock the living crap out of this truck and stay on the rails and upright in direction of travel, even if derailed (like the Amtrak accidents?). I find myself very concerned about the possibility that debris intruded under the front trucks and derailed that cab car either on or just before the crossing.

As to cab cars, there is no evidence that I know of that shows cab cars to be more dangerous per se. I'm still waiting to see a link to the Big E's purported "study" that makes this claim, though. Then some folks have probably never seen four E units cross wise on there sides from hitting a loaded hay truck, or the remains of locomotives piled nearly four stories high from a true head on, or spent years looking at boring safety data.

Physics was also apparently lacking in some schools, as most cab cars are just part of a 400 ton train at speed slamming into a 3,000 pound car, or in this case what appeared to be only a modest sized truck, and should have just knocked the car six ways from Sunday, without derailing, like most Cab Cars seem to do, in most accidents.

Glendale and New York are both examples of where cab cars were lifted and derailed when the vehicle they hit got jammed by rail side devices or impediments and were forced under the cab/mu cars. Was that the case here, possibly due to truck debris being jammed under the Rotem Cab Car by the crossing islands and apparatus?

I am much more concerned about debris intrusion that should not have happened this easily from a vehicle this size, so the report will be interesting when they look at the causes. This is an important issue since most of the injuries seemed to be from the two cars that "spun" out, both the Bombardier and the "safer" Rotem Cab Car, mainly from folks being tossed about like rag dolls, due to the derailment, not from the impact with the vehicle.

And, finally, maybe some day we will get around to creating some kind of an effective program for grade separation in this state, based on prioritizing for risk and exposure, on our major passenger and freight corridors.