$100 million to make area’s rail crossings safer

GLENDALE — Metrolink is scheduled Monday to break ground in Van Nuys on a project designed to enhance safety near at-grade crossings throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, a strategy largely spawned by a January 2005 train wreck in Glendale, officials said.

The $100-million endeavor, which officials are calling the Sealed Corridor Project, will target 63 railroad crossings between the Los Angeles Union Station and Moorpark rail line, and the Union Station and Sylmar-San Fernando rail line — both of which pass through Glendale, Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell said.

As a part of the program, Metrolink plans to install center medians to keep drivers from steering onto the opposite side of the road to dodge gates, as well as putting in locked security gates to block access to right-of ways along the track, she said.

The January 2005 crash — the deadliest in Metrolink history — occurred when a man drove his Jeep onto the right-of-way and parked his car in the middle of the track. Though the driver, Juan Manuel Alvarez, fled the scene, his abandoned vehicle caused a train derailment, which killed 11 people and injured 200 others. Alvarez is facing criminal and civil prosecution.

“Part of the sealed corridor program is swinging gates, which would prevent someone from having easy access to the right-of-way,” she said. “That’s not to say that somebody with real criminal intent might not find a way around that. But it certainly will eliminate easy access to the right-of-way.”

Since about 90% of accidents are due to driver error, many new safety measures are designed to keep drivers from maneuvering into harm’s way, she said. Officials are planning, for instance, to have crossing gates seal off both travel lanes on both sides of the track — as opposed to the existing configuration where only the right travel lane is protected, she said.

Zeroing in on the safety precautions that will prevent the more common accidents — such as drivers trying to race or circumvent crossing arms — will be a great benefit to public safety, said State Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, who represents Burbank and Glendale.