Rail Safety Improvement Act: Minimizing Metrolink Train Accidents

Through the years, trains have emerged as one of the most trusted means of transportation around the world. From its early beginnings as a locomotive running on steam, trains have developed into a complex freight or passenger vehicle that operate on electricity or diesel fuel.

Metrolink is a commuter train system in Southern California that has lines in Ventura Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, and Orange County. In a heavily populated state like California, traffic jams certainly happen, so a railroad system is useful for commuting passengers.

However, be it on the road or up in the air, vehicular accidents still happen. Trains are susceptible to accidents like collision with another train or with other vehicles and derailment. A good example is the 2008 Chatsworth collision between Metrolink and Union Pacific. The two trains crashed head-on at the Ventura County rail line. The tragedy caused 25 deaths and 135 injuries. Total cost of the accident amounted to more than $7 million. The Chatsworth disaster is considered the worst among the reported Metrolink train accidents.

The said tragedy prompted the Senate Commerce and House Transportation and Infrastructure committees to persuade the United States Congress into developing a new law regarding railroad safety. More popularly known as the U.S. Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the bill was signed by then-president George W. Bush into law on October 18, 2008, with an implementation deadline of until 2015.

The provisions included on the law are divided into different aspects:


• Hours of service – This aspect includes the employees’ time on duty and limbo time. One of the provisions states that an employee “may not remain or go on duty unless the employee has at least 10 consecutive hours of undisturbed rest during the prior 24 hours” except during emergencies or if the U.S. Secretary of Transportation waives it.

• On Duty Injuries – It states that employers have to provide the injured employee transportation to the nearest hospital. The employee may demand to be relieved if he needs additional treatment, like counseling or physical treatment, after an accident.

• Training – According to the Federal Railroad Administration regulations, all employees have to undergo training.

• Alcohol and Drug Testing – Railroad shall conduct scientifically recognized method of alcohol and drug testing. If an employee prefers to, then he may challenge whether the process should be accepted or not.

• Positive Train Control (PTC) – Class I and intercity passenger and commuter railroads are required to install PTC on their main line tracks.