Assembly members who investigated last year's deadly Metrolink crash near Glendale recommended Wednesday that commuter railroads stop pushing trains from the rear with locomotives, a widespread practice that some experts fear leads to more severe accidents.
The committee, headed by Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer (D-Glendale), also called for improvements at railroad crossings statewide, legislative action to boost funding for rail-safety programs and a widespread public education effort.
If a ban on so-called push operations became effective, it would affect four commuter lines: the Altamont Commuter Express and Caltrain, both in Northern California, as well as the Coaster in San Diego County and Metrolink, which serves six Southland counties.
"There is no doubt in my mind that push operations are a killer and should be made illegal," Frommer said during a news conference near the site of the Jan. 26 crash that left 11 dead and 180 injured.
The proposals, Frommer said, are designed to help reverse a steady increase in train accidents in California, which has one of the worst rail safety records in the nation. The recommendations come from a special committee of eight Assembly members organized by Frommer after the Glendale tragedy.
In that crash, a train hit a sport utility vehicle that was on the tracks, triggering the derailment of two Metrolink trains.
The train that struck the SUV was being pushed from the rear with a locomotive.
In push mode, an engine is placed behind the last passenger car. In that configuration, the train is controlled from a cab car, a passenger coach at the front with an engineer's station.
Some rail-safety experts say push operations can leave passengers vulnerable because passenger cars are more likely to derail and sustain more damage in head-on collisions than heavier locomotives.
Since Metrolink began in 1992, it has had three other major crashes involving push operations, resulting in four deaths and 150 injuries. In contrast, the line has had two major crashes of trains pulled by locomotives; 25 people were hurt, and no one was killed.
Eliminating push operations, commuter rail officials say, would be costly and is unwarranted because there are already safety improvements planned for passenger cars, which include energy-absorbing materials that are designed to cushion the impact.
Metrolink plans to use the technology in 40 new cab cars that will be phased in as part of its coach replacement program.
