Metrolink tragedy highlights safety issues

On Jan. 26, a Metrolink commuter train crashed into a Jeep parked on its tracks by a man attempting suicide. Nearly 200 people were injured in the crash and 11 killed in one of the nation's deadliest commuter rail accidents since 1999.

Francisco Oaxaca, Metrolink manager of media and external communications, said the incident was a "one-in-a-billion event, one if you tried, you couldn't re-create." Later analysis proved his statement true: Had timing of the accident been one second later, the car would have easily been pushed to the side — causing no deaths.

Still, the accident prompts questions of safety. Officials with the Utah Transit Authority are reviewing several safety standards for commuter rail. Safety plans will focus on both the trains and areas where road intersects with track, called grade crossings.

Plans include the installation of cameras at the front of rail cars. Raised medians will be built at grade crossings, making it more difficult for a car to maneuver around safety gates.

UTA is currently studying how operators will be trained. They have the option of contracting with an agency such as Amtrak, which would train drivers and negotiate with labor unions. The authority could also train its own drivers, as they do with TRAX.

The training period for a commuter rail operator takes nine to 12 months vs. the six weeks it takes for a light-rail operator to be certified.