Chatsworth Train Collision

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Chatsworth Train in Los Angeles California By James Davis Athens State University MG415 Technical Risk Management Instructor: Dr. J. Wayne McCain Figure 1-Aftermath of the Chatsworth train collision Disaster Friday September 12, 2008 is a day many people in and around the world will never forget. This is the day when a careless act created one of the worst train wrecks in the history of the United States. This is when a Metrolink Train 111, that was carrying about 400 people, collided with an oncoming Union Pacific freight train. In the aftermath of the train collision there were 25 people dead and hundreds more injured. There was some speculation about how the train wreck occurred at first because witnesses said that it was due to a faulty railway signals. People claimed that the Metrolink train had permission to proceed onto the railway because the signal was green and not red. Investigators looked into this claim and conducted several extensive tests on the signaling equipment. Not only did the equipment pass the test, but computer records showed that the signal in question was indeed red immediately prior to the collision. Investigators quickly narrowed their investigation down to the Metrolink train engineer phone records. The records indicated that the engineer of the train had been sending and receiving text messages all throughout his shift including one just 22 seconds before the two trains collided. History The Metrolink is a commuter rail system servicing Los Angeles and the surrounding area of Southern California. Metrolink consists of seven lines and 55 stations using 512 miles of track and it travels up to 90 miles per hour. This system was started by the member agencies of the SCRRA, Southern California Regional Rail Authority, in October 26, 1992 under the name Metrolink and had an average of 41,000 weekday riders. Of course

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