Metro North's most recent disaster involving an SUV and a commuter train at a crossing in Valhalla, is also its most deadly in its 30 year history. And it could have been avoided.
We will never know what was going through the driver’s mind when she chose to drive forward across the tracks, instead of reversing out of the crossing. However, unfortunately, accidents of this type occur all too frequently. Rarely do they come with such loss of life.
As I write this,
five passengers and the driver of the SUV, which caused the accident, are reported dead. At least 15 more passengers have reportedly suffered severe injuries including amputations, burns and smoke inhalation.
When looking at this train accident, the first question is, “What happened?” And the next of course, is, “How do we avoid it from happening again?”
Because these types of accidents are well known to occur, the railroad industry has responded and made available various devices to minimize the potential for such an accident. While not required by Federal Railroad Administration regulation, the Long Island Railroad long ago put in place at some of its crossings sensors on the crossing gates to send a signal and allow train dispatchers to know of potential issues at a crossing. Specifically, when the gate comes down against an obstruction, a signal is sent so that the train can be alerted to either slow down or at a minimum be made aware of a potential issue.
Metro North on the other hand, has no such sensors on any of its crossing gates in, any of the three states in which its trains operate. Out west, many of the busier freight crossings have video, both live and recorded, but this is another tool which Metro North has not availed itself of.
Certainly the driver made a foolish decision and was unaware of her surroundings, however it is equally obvious that Metro North has not taken advantage of all of the preventive tools available to it to avoid accidents which, like it or not, are foreseeable.
While it is true that not every circumstance can be anticipated to ensure passenger safety (and worker safety), last night's accident was not something unexpected in the railroad world.