John Bruce Wrote:
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> OPRRMS, you don't think accidents "run rampant" on
> Metrolink? Wow! Just in my neck of the woods,
> between Glendale and Chatsworth, three major
> fatals in less than 10 years?

Three? How did you arrive at that figure? If you're including the Los Feliz and Buena Vista derailments, both resulted from trains striking vehicles that were on the track. The trains were being operated in accordance with all applicable rules, but you're saying they were Metrolink's fault? How would you have prevented them from happening? Do you think the train can swerve around them?

> And that doesn't
> count Atwood and lesser fender-benders. Many
> injuries, such as those that arose from people
> hitting tables in the crashes, could have been
> averted by better equipment design. (The tables
> should have been removed after the Burbank crash.)

I can't speak to the reason why Metrolink hasn't removed tables, but if I were to guess I'd say it's because the passengers like them. If you're interested in finding out, I recommend that you contact Metrolink and ask. (The contact info was provided for you in a previous post.)

> I'd hate to see what you think "running rampant"
> involves. I can't think of a worse safety record
> since the Long Island Rail Road in the late 1940s.

I wasn't alive in the 1940s and I've never ridden the LIRR. But for comparison, I used to do a fair amount of commuting between the Southland and the Bay Area on PSA. They had a reputation for being a reliable and safe airline. Then they had two crashes; one caused by a private plane striking a PSA jet, and the other caused by a disgruntled former employee. Were either of those the fault of PSA? No. Did it make PSA an unsafe airline? Did people stop flying PSA? No. And I didn't either. Fast forward to Metrolink. Will people stop riding it? Doesn't appear so. Guess they don't share your concerns. Maybe you should make your concerns known in a more appropriate forum than a railbuff chatroom.