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Traffic signals along Exposition Boulevard turned red, and lights flashed to signal the approach of the train, which had "watch for trains"..." data-socialshare-slug="la-me-0329-metro-expo-line-crash-20150330" data-socialshare-content="story" data-socialshare-newspapername="Los Angeles Times" data-socialshare-content-id="83172634"><span class="trb_socialize_item" data-role="socialshare_share" data-socialshare-type="facebook"></span><span class="trb_socialize_item" data-role="socialshare_share" data-socialshare-type="twitter"></span><span class="trb_socialize_item" data-role="socialshare_email" data-socialshare-type="email"></span></div> <div class="trb_ar_hl"> <h1 class="trb_ar_hl_t" itemprop="name">Metro light rail crash near USC renews debate on rail safety</h1> </div> </header> <div class="trb_ar_main"> <div class="trb_ar_la"><aside class="trb_embed " data-content-id="83172632" data-content-size="leadart" data-content-type="image" data-content-slug="la-la-ap-metro-train01-jpg-20150328" data-content-subtype="photo" data-role="socialshare_item imgsize_ratiosizecontainer " data-state=" "> <div class="trb_embed_media "> <figure data-role=" delayload delayload_done imgsize_item" class="trb_embed_imageContainer_figure"><img itemprop="image" data-baseurl="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/http://www.trbimg.com/img-5517886c/turbine/la-b823506311z-1-20150329000529-000g367un6vt-1-20150328" alt="Expo Line train crash" class="trb_embed_imageContainer_img" title="Expo Line train crash" data-content-naturalwidth="2048" data-content-naturalheight="1156"/></figure><div class="trb_embed_related" data-role="lightbox_metadata"> <span class="trb_embed_related_title">Expo Line train crash</span> <div class="trb_embed_related_credit">Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times</div> <div class="trb_embed_related_caption"><p>Emergency crews work to clear the site of a crash between a car and a Metro Expo Line train on Exposition Boulevard near USC.</p></div> <div class="trb_embed_related_credit_and_caption"><p>Emergency crews work to clear the site of a crash between a car and a Metro Expo Line train on Exposition Boulevard near USC.</p> (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)</div></div> </div></aside></div> <div> <div class="trb_ar_by"><figure class="trb_ar_by_i_f"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339im_/http://www.trbimg.com/img-535e5a9c/turbine/la-bio-laura-nelson/70/70x70" srcset="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339im_/http://www.trbimg.com/img-535e5a9c/turbine/la-bio-laura-nelson/140/140x140 2x, https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339im_/http://www.trbimg.com/img-535e5a9c/turbine/la-bio-laura-nelson/210/210x210 3x" alt="Laura J. Nelson" width="70" height="70" title="Laura J. Nelson" class="trb_ar_by_i"></figure><span class="trb_ar_by_nm_pm"><span data-byline-withoutby class="trb_ar_by_nm_au"><a itemprop="author" class="trb_ar_by_nm_au_a" href="/web/20151019195339/http://www.latimes.com/la-bio-laura-nelson-staff.html#navtype=byline">Laura J. Nelson</a></span><span class="trb_ar_by_b"></span><a class="trb_ar_by_cl" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/mailto:laura.nelson@latimes.com?subject=Regarding: "Metro light rail crash near USC renews debate on rail safety"" data-role="socialshare_sEmail">Contact Reporter</a></span></div><div class="trb_ar_sl"><a class="trb_ar_sl_it" data-role="socialshare_information socialshare_container" data-socialshare-context="shareline" data-socialshare-url="/local/la-me-0329-metro-expo-line-crash-20150330-story.html" data-socialshare-title="Metro light rail crash near USC renews debate on rail safety" data-socialshare-thumbnail="http://www.trbimg.com/img-55178dc4/turbine/la-me-0329-metro-expo-line-crash-20150330" data-socialshare-description="Despite warning signs and traffic signals, a car crashes into a Metro Expo Line train; 12 are injured" data-socialshare-slug="la-me-0329-metro-expo-line-crash-20150330" data-socialshare-content="story" data-socialshare-newspapername="Los Angeles Times" data-socialshare-content-id="83172634"><span class="trb_ar_sl_it_item" data-role="socialshare_share" data-socialshare-type="facebook"></span><span class="trb_ar_sl_it_item" data-role="socialshare_share" data-socialshare-type="twitter"></span></a> <div class="trb_ar_sl_text">Despite warning signs and traffic signals, a car crashes into a Metro Expo Line train; 12 are injured</div></div><div class="trb_ar_dateline"><time itemprop="datePublished" class="trb_ar_dateline_time" data-datetime-month="March" data-datetime-day="28" data-datetime-year="2015" data-datetime-clock="10:28 PM" datetime="2015-03-28T22:28:00PDT"></time> </div> </div> <div itemprop="articleBody"> <div class="trb_ar_page" data-role="pagination_page" data-content-page="1"> <p>On a Saturday morning trip to downtown Los Angeles, a Metro Expo Line train pulled out of a station in Exposition Park, its three cars filled with passengers.</p><p>Traffic signals along Exposition Boulevard turned red, and lights flashed to signal the approach of the train, which had "watch for trains" printed in yard-high letters on the front car.</p><div class="trb_gptAd trb_ar_main_ad" data-role="adloader adloader_ad delayload delayload_done" data-state="adloader_unloaded" data-withinviewport-options="bottomOffset=100&topOffset=1000000" data-adloader-position="articleCube" data-adloader-size="300x250" data-adloader-adtype="articlebottomcube" data-adloader-label></div> <p>But the warnings weren't enough.</p><p>Just before 11 a.m., a driver in a silver Hyundai sedan turned left across the tracks toward a USC campus gate and collided with the train. The crash pushed two of the Metro light-rail cars onto Exposition and left 12 people hurt, one critically.</p><span class="trb_ar_cont" data-ar-cont="Article continues below"></span> <aside class="trb_ar_sponsoredmod" data-adloader-networktype="yieldmo" data-role="delayload delayload_item" data-screen-size="mobile" data-withinviewport-options="bottomOffset=100" data-load-method="trb.vendor.yieldmo.init" data-load-type="method"> <div id="ym_1082601812867266781"></div> </aside><p>The crash is renewing a decades-long debate about whether more safety measures are needed in Los Angeles County's growing rail network where drivers, pedestrians and light-rail trains share the roadway.</p><span class="trb_ar_cont" data-ar-cont="Article continues below"></span> <aside class="trb_embed" data-content-id="83169986" data-content-key="1eb2d8f508f7b00a820608cfc88b361e" data-content-size="large" data-content-type="gallery" data-content-subtype="photogallery" data-content-slug="la-me-metro-expo-line-train-crash-20150328-pictures" data-role="carousel lightbox_container imgsize_ratiosizecontainer" data-carousel-options="outer&removePagesOnClose"> <div class="trb_embed_modalBox" data-role="carousel_view"> <span class="trb_embed_media_close" data-role="lightbox_close"></span> <div class="trb_embed_media "> <span class="trb_embed_media_next" data-role="carousel_transitionadnext carousel_nextpage lightbox_next"></span> <span class="trb_embed_media_prev" data-role="carousel_transitionadprev carousel_prevpage lightbox_prev" data-state="carousel_hidden"></span> <aside class="trb_embed trb_embed_thumb" data-content-id="83169986" data-content-size="large" data-content-type="image" data-content-subtype="photo"> <div class="trb_embed_media "> <figure data-role="lightbox_open delayload delayload_done imgsize_item" class="trb_embed_imageContainer_figure"><img itemprop="image" data-baseurl="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/http://www.trbimg.com/img-5516ff45/turbine/la-me-metro-expo-line-train-crash-20150328-pictures" alt="Metro Expo Line crash, derailment" class="trb_embed_imageContainer_img" title="Metro Expo Line crash, derailment" data-content-naturalwidth="2000" data-content-naturalheight="1125"/></figure> <span class="trb_embed_media_open" data-role="lightbox_open"></span> </div> </aside> <div class="trb_embed_related trb_embed_gallerywhole"> <div class="trb_embed_related_credit_and_caption"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </aside> <p>Three of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's six rail lines sometimes run along surface streets, and collisions at crossings are not uncommon: Saturday's crash is at least the 18th in the last 12 months between Metro trains and cars, according to a survey of agency service alerts and news reports.</p><p>At least four of those occurred on the Expo Line. But it's the Blue Line that has raised the most concerns. The route between downtown L.A. and Long Beach has seen more than 120 people die in accidents involving either pedestrians or drivers since it began service in 1990, making it one of the deadliest light-rail lines in the United States.</p><span class="trb_ar_cont" data-ar-cont="Article continues below"></span> <aside class="trb_embed " data-content-id="83171464" data-content-size="small" data-content-type="image" data-content-slug="la-me-g-expo-line-crash-web" data-content-subtype="photo" data-role="socialshare_item imgsize_ratiosizecontainer lightbox_container " data-state=" " data-embed-id="83171464"> <div class="trb_embed_modalBox"> <span class="trb_embed_media_close" data-role="lightbox_close"></span> <div class="trb_embed_media "> <span class="trb_embed_media_info" data-role="embed_info lightbox_info"></span> <figure data-role="lightbox_open delayload delayload_done imgsize_item" class="trb_embed_imageContainer_figure"><img itemprop="image" data-baseurl="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/http://www.trbimg.com/img-551743de/turbine/la-me-g-expo-line-crash-web" alt="Map shows location of Saturday's Metro crash" class="trb_embed_imageContainer_img" title="Map shows location of Saturday's Metro crash" data-content-naturalwidth="1300" data-content-naturalheight="730"/></figure> <span class="trb_embed_media_open" data-role="lightbox_open"></span><div class="trb_embed_related" data-role="lightbox_metadata"> <span class="trb_embed_related_title">Map shows location of Saturday's Metro crash</span><div class="trb_socialize" data-role="socialshare_information socialshare_container" data-socialshare-context="page" data-socialshare-url="/visuals/graphics/la-me-g-expo-line-crash-web-photo.html" data-socialshare-title="Map shows location of Saturday's Metro crash" data-socialshare-thumbnail="http://www.trbimg.com/img-551743de/turbine/la-me-g-expo-line-crash-web" data-socialshare-slug="la-me-g-expo-line-crash-web" data-socialshare-content="photo" data-socialshare-newspapername="Los Angeles Times" data-socialshare-content-id="83171464"><span class="trb_socialize_item" data-role="socialshare_share" data-socialshare-type="facebook"></span><span class="trb_socialize_item" data-role="socialshare_share" data-socialshare-type="twitter"></span><span class="trb_socialize_item" data-role="socialshare_email" data-socialshare-type="email"></span></div></div> <div class="trb_gptAd" data-role="adloader adloader_ad" data-state="adloader_unloaded" data-withinviewport-options="bottomOffset=100" data-adloader-position="lightBoxCube" data-adloader-size="300x250" data-adloader-adtype="cube" data-adloader-positionoverride="lb" data-adloader-label></div> </div></div></aside><p>How best to protect drivers and riders has taken on new importance as Metro faces a record building boom: Of the five rail lines currently under construction, three will have at-grade sections running through neighborhoods in the San Gabriel Valley, South Los Angeles and the Westside.</p><p>"Building more light rail is not a bad thing, but we need to do a better job of ensuring that it's safe," said Najmedin Meshkati, a USC engineering professor who studies rail safety and has criticized the design of crossings along the Expo Line, which links downtown Los Angeles to Culver City and will begin service to Santa Monica sometime next year.</p><p>The Expo Line cars involved in Saturday's crash were wrapped in vivid yellow banners with large lettering reading, "Hear bells?" and "Heads up, watch for trains" — part of a recent public awareness campaign to reduce collisions along portions of the 87-mile Metro rail network.</p><p>Brightly colored banners and flashing lights are better than nothing, Meshkati said, but the only way to protect pedestrians and cars from trains is by separating them, either with crossing arms and gates, or train tracks that run under or above traffic.</p><p>Metro trains run through tunnels and on overpasses in some areas, a decision the agency makes based on the geography of the street and the surrounding area. But separating tracks from traffic is often cost-prohibitive, Metro spokesman Marc Littman said.</p><p>Surface-street crossings are safe when drivers and pedestrians follow traffic signals, Littman said, adding that, "All over the world, there are trains operating safely in dense, urban areas. You can't build a bubble around the rail system."</p><p>Meshkati said that while that may be the case, it's easy for pedestrians and drivers to get confused in unfamiliar areas or after dark, so Metro should aim to make intersections as foolproof as possible.</p><p>During the Expo Line's design process, Meshkati and five other academics recommended including gate arms that block off all lanes of traffic in both directions as trains approach. So-called four-quadrant arms prevent drivers from maneuvering into the opposite lane and trying to beat the train.</p><p>Along Exposition Boulevard, trains run down a broad median, separated from traffic by a wrought-iron fence. Traffic signals remind drivers not to turn into the path of a train. But the wide intersection where Saturday's crash occurred does not have gate arms.</p><p>After the Expo Line began service in 2012, Meshkati sounded the alarm again, saying three crossings along the 7.9-mile route were "woefully inadequate." Those intersections didn't include the crossing near USC and the Exposition Park Rose Garden, where Saturday's crash took place, but, he said, he wasn't surprised.</p><p>Accidents between cars and Metro trains tend to be less severe than crashes involving commuter rail lines such as Metrolink, because light-rail trains weigh less and travel at slower speeds. Still, the crashes sometimes cause significant damage: Last March, a dozen people were sent to the hospital after a minivan driver pulled into the path of an oncoming Metro Blue Line train.</p><p>Derailments on the Metro system also are rare, Littman said. In 25 years working for Metro and its predecessor agency, he said he could recall "less than a handful of times" when a crash involved a derailment, but the "impact was strong enough" to cause one Saturday.</p><p>Any statistics about crashes must be put in perspective, Littman said, emphasizing that crashes with cars can range in severity from "a clipped mirror" to what happened Saturday. He added that the rate of crashes is relatively low, given the hundreds of thousands of miles that Metro trains cover per year.</p><p>Major grade-crossing projects, such as building an overpass, can cost more than $20 million, a price-tag that poses difficulties for transportation agencies across California.</p><p>Since a series of deadly accidents a decade ago, Metrolink has pushed to make improvements to the 451 street-level crossings in its six-county system. But some funding disparities remain: The Ventura County crash last month that killed a Metrolink train operator occurred at a grade-crossing that had worried regulators in the past. A $30-million grade separation planned for the Rice Avenue crossing, which saw three accidents in the five years before February's crash, languished without state and federal funding.</p><p>The cause of Saturday's Metro crash and related factors, including speed, are still under investigation. The speed limit along Exposition near USC is 35 mph for both cars and trains, but the train had just pulled out of the station and was probably not going that fast at the time of the crash, Metro officials said.</p><p><em><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/mailto:laura.nelson@latimes.com">laura.nelson@latimes.com</a></em></p><p><em>Times staff writers Jack Dolan and Jason Song contributed to this report.</em></p><div class="trb_eg" data-role="base_eg delayload base_expandable" data-load-event="base_loadjointeg" data-eg-type="embedRelated"></div></div> </div> <div class="trb_nls_c" data-role="nls" data-nls-successmsg="" data-nls-options="esp=mc&sn=article&listid=6e35f7f85b&allurl=http://newsletters.latimes.com/"><div class="trb_nls_h" data-nls-header="Get essential California headlines delivered daily."></div><form data-role="nls_form" class="trb_nls_f"><input type="email" autocomplete="on" name="email" class="trb_nls_e" placeholder="Enter your email" data-role="nls_email delayload delayload_done" required/><input type="submit" value="Sign up" class="trb_nls_s" data-role="nls_submit"/></form><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/http://www.tribpub.com/privacy-policy-and-your-privacy-rights/" class="trb_nls_p" target="_BLANK">Privacy Policy</a></div> <div class="trb_ar_cr">Copyright © 2015, <a class="trb_ar_cr_a" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/http://www.latimes.com/">Los Angeles Times</a></div> <ul class="trb_ar_rt"> <li class="trb_ar_rt_li"> <a class="trb_ar_rt_a" title="Public Transportation" href="/web/20151019195339/http://www.latimes.com/topic/transportation/public-transportation/T51001001-topic.html#navtype=taxonomy-article"> Public Transportation</a></li> <li class="trb_ar_rt_li"> <a class="trb_ar_rt_a" title="LA Metro" href="/web/20151019195339/http://www.latimes.com/topic/transportation/public-transportation/la-metro-ORGOV000936-topic.html#navtype=taxonomy-article"> LA Metro</a></li> <li class="trb_ar_rt_li"> <a class="trb_ar_rt_a" title="Metrolink" href="/web/20151019195339/http://www.latimes.com/topic/transportation/public-transportation/metrolink-ORGOVV0000365-topic.html#navtype=taxonomy-article"> Metrolink</a></li></ul> <div class="trb_socialize" data-role="socialshare_information socialshare_container" data-socialshare-context="page" data-socialshare-url="/local/la-me-0329-metro-expo-line-crash-20150330-story.html" data-socialshare-title="Metro light rail crash near USC renews debate on rail safety" data-socialshare-thumbnail="http://www.trbimg.com/img-55178dc4/turbine/la-me-0329-metro-expo-line-crash-20150330" data-socialshare-description="On a Saturday morning trip to downtown Los Angeles, a Metro Expo Line train pulled out of a station in Exposition Park, its three cars filled with passengers. Traffic signals along Exposition Boulevard turned red, and lights flashed to signal the approach of the train, which had "watch for trains"..." data-socialshare-slug="la-me-0329-metro-expo-line-crash-20150330" data-socialshare-content="story" data-socialshare-newspapername="Los Angeles Times" data-socialshare-content-id="83172634"><span class="trb_socialize_item" data-role="socialshare_share" data-socialshare-type="facebook"></span><span class="trb_socialize_item" data-role="socialshare_share" data-socialshare-type="twitter"></span><span class="trb_socialize_item" data-role="socialshare_email" data-socialshare-type="email"></span></div> <div class="trb_gptAd trb_ar_main_ad" data-role="adloader adloader_ad delayload delayload_done" data-state="adloader_unloaded" data-withinviewport-options="bottomOffset=100" data-adloader-position="pageBottomCube" data-adloader-size="300x250" data-adloader-adtype="articlebottomcube" data-adloader-label></div> <div class=" trb_cm" 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Nelson'; trb.data.pages[pathname].background = '<p>On a Saturday morning trip to downtown Los Angeles, a Metro Expo Line train pulled out of a station in Exposition Park, its three cars filled with passengers.</p> <p>Traffic signals along Exposition Boulevard turned red, and lights flashed to signal the approach of the train, which had "watch for trains"...</p>'; trb.data.pages[pathname].thumbnailURL = 'https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/http://www.trbimg.com/img-55178dc4/turbine/la-me-0329-metro-expo-line-crash-20150330'; trb.data.pages[pathname].ads = trb.data.pages[pathname].ads || {}; trb.data.pages[pathname].ads.options = trb.data.pages[pathname].ads.options || {}; trb.data.pages[pathname].ads.options.slug = trb.data.pages[pathname].ads.options.slug || 'la-me-0329-metro-expo-line-crash-20150330'; })(); }); </script> <script id="ar452ddf-d95d-7802-c985-re649c3cw215">trb.run.push(function(){ !window.gigya && i$.require(trb.data.gigyaUrl); });</script> <script id="5b9b136d-595b-45a7-97a5-621b89f95336">trb.run.push(function(){i$('gallery');});</script> <script id="c8b39649-8f47-4166-a02b-57ed4284be85">trb.run.push(function(){i$('lightbox');});</script> <script id="embed_1eb2d8f508f7b00a820608cfc88b361e">trb.data.embed['1eb2d8f508f7b00a820608cfc88b361e']={"gallery" : '<span class="adcontainer" data-role="carousel_adcontainer" data-carousel-adoffset="7"> <div class="trb_gptAd" data-role="adloader adloader_ad carousel_ad" data-state="adloader_unloaded" data-withinviewport-options="bottomOffset=100" data-adloader-position="index" data-adloader-size="320x50" data-adloader-adtype="photobanner" data-adloader-positionoverride="photo" data-adloader-label ></div > <div class="trb_gptAd" data-role="adloader adloader_ad carousel_ad" data-state="adloader_unloaded" data-withinviewport-options="bottomOffset=100" data-adloader-position="index" data-adloader-size="300x250" data-adloader-adtype="photocube" data-adloader-positionoverride="photo" data-adloader-label ></div > </span> <aside class="trb_embed " data-content-id="83179936" data-content-size="large" data-content-type="image" data-content-slug="la-me-metro-expo-line-train-crash-20150328-pic-001" data-content-subtype="photo" data-role="socialshare_item carousel_page " data-state=" carousel_activepage "> <div class="trb_embed_media " > <figure data-role=" delayload delayload_done imgsize_item" class="trb_embed_imageContainer_figure"><img itemprop="image" data-baseurl="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/http://www.trbimg.com/img-55199d76/turbine/la-me-metro-expo-line-train-crash-20150328-pic-001" alt="Expo Line train crash" class="trb_embed_imageContainer_img" title="Expo Line train crash" data-content-naturalwidth="2000" data-content-naturalheight="1125" /></figure><div class="trb_embed_related" data-role="gallery_item lightbox_metadata" data-pageNumber="1" data-pageCount="5"> <span class="trb_embed_related_galleryToggleCaption" data-role="gallery_toggleCaption">Caption</span> <span class="trb_embed_related_title" >Expo Line train crash</span> <div class="trb_embed_related_credit">Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times</div> <div class="trb_embed_related_caption">Mangled metal of the silver Hyundai sedan sits in front of the train. The crash was at least the 18th between a car and Metro train in the last 12 months.</div> <div class="trb_embed_related_credit_and_caption" >Mangled metal of the silver Hyundai sedan sits in front of the train. The crash was at least the 18th between a car and Metro train in the last 12 months. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)</div><div class="trb_socialize" data-role="socialshare_information socialshare_container" data-socialshare-context="page" data-socialshare-url="/local/lanow/la-me-metro-expo-line-train-crash-20150328-pic-001-photo.html" data-socialshare-title="Expo Line train crash" data-socialshare-thumbnail="https://web.archive.org/web/20151019195339/http://www.trbimg.com/img-55199d76/turbine/la-me-metro-expo-line-train-crash-20150328-pic-001" data-socialshare-description="Mangled metal of the silver Hyundai sedan sits in front of the train. 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