Commuter Train

The long, arduous story that has been the litigation surrounding the 2005 Metrolink disaster in Glendale appears to be finally winding down. News this week that 90% of the victim lawsuits filed against the commuter rail agency had settled provided the first hint of closure, not only for victims, but also the city that until recently had been the site of Metrolink’s deadliest crash. With the tragedy lingering in the halls of Superior Court for years now, to even begin to feel a sense of closure is welcome development, especially with the legal tsunami bearing down as a result of the Chatsworth crash.

Lawsuit filed against Nestle Three citizens of the West African nation of Mali are suing Nestle SA, Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Cargill Inc., alleging the firms and their subsidiaries benefited from child slave labor at cocoa bean plantations in Ivory Coast. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday, was brought on behalf of three unnamed "John Doe" plaintiffs identified as former child slaves. The complaint, which alleged violations of U.S. federal laws against slavery, trafficking, forced labor and torture, among others, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

GLENDALE — Derek Garcia often uses the Metrolink commuter train from Glendale to Lancaster to visit his family. It’s a cheap way to get to the High Desert and avoid the stress of traffic jams on the freeways. But the cost of avoiding the hassles of highway travel could get a little more expensive for Garcia and hundreds of other Metrolink commuters. The Metrolink Board of Directors on Friday could decide to increase fares by 6% to cover revenue shortfalls.

GLENDALE — The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a wide-ranging federal provision to improve railway safety on the heels of a devastating Metrolink crash in Chatsworth that killed 25 people. The Rail Collision Prevention Act, introduced by Reps. Adam Schiff, Henry Waxman and Elton Gallegly, would install “positive train control” systems featuring more advanced communications measures for rail lines where commuter and freight trains share a track.

"Derailed" is a suspense/thriller in city wide release that starts out badly, jumps the track and eventually blossoms into a full-fledged train wreck. Ad writer Charles Schine (Clive Owen) meets financial advisor Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) on a commuter train and the two quickly spark up a romance. Both Charles and Lucinda are inconveniently married so they pursue their affair to a seedy hotel room on the fringe of Chicago's business district. It is there that a hoodlum intrudes upon their illicit tryst in a gut-wrenching, rape/pistol-whipping scene that leaves the audience limp and sickened.

Josh Kleinbaum When Thomas Ormiston brought his BMW 320i into Walter Asatourian's car repair shop in Glendale, the two often discussed Ormiston's railroad life. Asatourian would ask the Metrolink conductor about the possibility of a train crash, especially after reading about wrecks in the newspaper. Asatourian couldn't ask his friend about the most recent train crash. Instead, he took time off work Monday to pay his respects. "He says, 'Accidents will happen,'" Asatourian said.

Jackson Bell The 25-year-old man accused of killing 11 people by causing Metrolink's deadliest train wreck made his first court appearance Friday, but a judge postponed the arraignment so medical experts could evaluate him, officials said. Police say Juan Manuel Alvarez, of Compton, drove his Jeep Grand Cherokee onto the railroad tracks near Chevy Chase Drive Wednesday morning in a suicide attempt that caused a three-train wreck, which killed 11 passengers and injured nearly 200. Alvarez allegedly jumped out of his Jeep moments before a commuter train collided into the SUV and then smashed into another train.

Jackson Bell The 25-year-old man accused of causing a commuter train wreck that killed 11 and injured more than 180 Wednesday will face murder charges, prosecutors said, but his first court appearance was delayed Thursday for medical reasons. Juan Manuel Alvarez of Compton parked his Jeep Cherokee on the train tracks near Chevy Chase Drive in an apparent suicide attempt early Wednesday morning but changed his mind and left the SUV on the track, police said.

Ben Godar A commuter train slammed into a Jeep Cherokee late Thursday afternoon, the second such collision in the area in a month. None of the approximately 300 passengers aboard Amtrak 775 were injured in the crash, police said, and the driver of the SUV was able to escape before the collision. The impact crushed the front of the Jeep and threw it about 60 feet from the railroad crossing. The train received minor damage. The crash occurred at 3:14 p.m. in the train crossing at Doran Street, just west of San Fernando Road.

Ben Godar A commuter train slammed into an sport-utility vehicle early Monday near Grandview Avenue and San Fernando Road, killing a Burbank man in what police say was a possible suicide. It was the third train-vs.-vehicle incident in the area in less than a month. Phillip Anderson, 52, was killed at 8:11 a.m. when a MetroLink train crashed into his Ford Explorer. The impact threw Anderson along the side of the tracks, but the train continued to push the SUV for almost a mile until it came to rest near the intersection at Doran Street.