Tragedy, they say, is the mother of change. Once again this adage is proven true with the recent train crash that killed 26 passengers in Los Angeles. On Friday, a head-on collision happened between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train. Among the 134 people injured, 39 were in critical condition. This is considered America’s deadliest rail accident in 15 years.

Lack of Safety Procedures?

Accident investigators said employees on board the commuter train may have ignored safety procedures. The commuter train was found to have driven through three warning light signals before crashing into the freight train.

After listening to audio recordings obtained by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), federal officials found that several verbal commands that should have been exchanged between the train’s conductor and engineer were absent. Recordings also showed that the employees in the commuter train did not call out and confirm certain light signals along their route.

Railroad Safety Feature

Federal officials blamed railroads for their refusal to install a more advanced safety feature on all U.S. tracks. They said this expensive technology could have prevented the train wreck.

“Many times in this country, we regulate by counting tombstones,” said Barry M. Sweedler, former director of the Office of Safety Recommendations for NTSB. “Unfortunately, it takes a tragedy like this with many people dead for action to take place, even though people in the know knew what needed to be done and didn’t do it,” he said.

Rail safety advocates are now pushing for laws requiring this technology called positive train control. This system works by monitoring train location and speed using satellite-based positioning systems and digital communication. If a train malfunctions by missing signals or getting on the wrong track, the system could slow the train and engage the brakes.

“The unwillingness of rail companies to make the needed investments in safety have prevented this technology from being fully implemented,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The said technology is already in use on 2,600 miles of track out of about 140,000 miles across the U.S. It has not been installed on the Los Angeles track where the tragic crash occurred.

The Association of American Railroads has doubts about the reliability of the technology. They said that apart from it being too costly, it is yet to be perfected.

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