Paul M. Anderson
GLENDALE -- Ralph Magallan doesn't like to talk about it.
The Metrolink train engineer still vividly remembers the day a few
years ago, early on in his career, when a train he was driving slammed
into a truck.
"I was coming around a curve and I could see the truck in front of me.
I knew he had no idea I was coming and he was stuck out on the tracks,"
Magallan said. "It was a scary feeling."
Magallan was at the helm of a Metrolink commuter train Thursday as
officials took reporters and truckers for a ride to demonstrate issues of
rail crossing safety. The public education campaign was a response to
five train and truck collisions in the Glendale area in the past three
months. The most recent was a Jan. 28 accident in Glendale in which a
truck carrying 110,000-pound carbon dioxide condensing canister was hit
while crossing tracks at Grandview Avenue by an oncoming commuter train.
Before the recent string of accidents, there was only one similar
colllision over a two-year period.
Most of the problems involve trucks not having enough room to idle at
some grade crossings on San Fernando Road, officials said. Some truckers
let the back ends of their rigs rest over the tracks while waiting for
the light to change.
"It's more a question of not judging distances properly," said Steve
Telliano, a spokesman for the California Trucking Assn.
Telliano said there are more trucks on the road, many of whom are from
out-of-state and are unfamiliar with local streets.
Glendale officials closed the San Fernando rail crossing at Bekins Way
in October and are working to close the crossing at Allen Avenue between
Flower Street and San Fernando Road. Engineers determined the crossings
don't have enough clearing for traffic when a train approaches.
Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca said the commuter rail agency
hoped to accomplish two main objectives: to educate truckers and enforce
the law with other drivers. Glendale and Burbank police and Los Angeles
County sheriff's deputies patrolled the tracks looking for violations.
Glendale police handed out 13 tickets and five warnings for various
violations, said Sgt. Lewie Guay. Burbank officers gave out four tickets
and three warnings, said Burbank Lt. Chris Welker.
The lion's share of the Glendale tickets were for drivers who stopped
on the tracks, Guay said. One driver got a ticket for passing another
vehicle within 100 feet of the crossing, one driver was ticketed for
driving around the gates and one driver was cited for failing to stop for
the flashing red lights, Guay said.
That's a pretty normal day, Magallan said.
"People have to understand there's a real reason for those gates and
lights," Magallan said, adding that his experiences as an engineer have
improved his driving off-duty.
"I explained to my wife, 'Don't go around the gates.' She doesn't, but
it still makes me think about it," Magallan said.
