Five years after a Metrolink crash killed 11 people, the rail agency, on Monday, will unveil its $230 million fleet of passenger coaches designed to crumple and protect passengers during a crash.
The 117 new rail coaches are designed to increase passenger safety as trains run with their locomotives pushing from the rear, a common practice by Metrolink and other commuter rail agencies across the nation. Such practices save money and time by eliminating the need to turn around trains, but place passengers in the lead coaches at risk in collisions.
Metrolink's new cab/passenger cars have a box at the front end of the coach that is designed to absorb energy and crumple in a crash. All of the passenger seats in the double-deck wagons face to the rear, making the ride safer for patrons.
The new coaches are the product of years of research by the Federal Railroad Administration, and include redesigned seating, improved emergency exits, fire retardant materials and anti-derailment wheels and suspensions.
The coaches will be used throughout trains, not just as lead cars, Metrolink said. Their use could cut fatalities by 75 percent in a 35 mile an hour crash, estimate federal officials.
The rail agency began designing the new coaches after 11 people were killed when a Metrolink train hit a Jeep deliberately left on the tracks in Glendale, then derailed and crashed into a stopped freight train. Motorist Juan Manuel Alvarez was convicted of 11 counts of murder in the case, and is serving 11 life sentences without chance of parole.
Another Metrolink crash, in September 2008, killed 25 people in Chatsworth when a train led by a passenger coach hit some freight engines head-on.
