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CONTACT: Kyle DeVine  213-897-4225    December 18, 1995   CPUC - 563

                CPUC ISSUES REPORT ON TRAIN ACCIDENTS

     The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today reported
that although the number of train and light rail accidents in 1994
increased slightly from 612 in 1993 to 615, the number of fatalities
decreased from 162 to 153 - 102 of these were trespassers.
     The report is compiled annually by the CPUC Safety and
Enforcement Division to assist the Commission and other agencies in
devising ways to reduce accidents.  Findings include:
     0 The number of train accidents, excluding highway-rail grade
       crossing accidents, increased from 138 in 1993 to 144 in 1994.
     0 The number of train and light rail accidents at highway-rail
       grade crossings increased from 301 in 1993 to 306 in 1994.
       Fifty people were killed in 1994; 46 in 1993.
     0 The rate of train accidents per million miles - excluding
       highway-rail grade crossing accidents - is down from a high of
       8.13 in 1990 to 6.17 in 1994.
     0 The rate of casualties to crews per million miles fell, from
       18.5 in 1993 to 13.9 in 1994.  One death and 325 injuries were
       reported resulting in 20,059 work days lost.
     Of the 615 accidents in 1994, 92 were train collisions and 33
were derailments; 239 were train and light rail accidents with
vehicles at public crossings and 32 at private crossings; 20 involved
bicycles, farm tractors or other vehicles.  Fifteen pedestrians and
161 trespassers were injured or killed because they crossed in front
of trains.
     The costliest train accident - $4 million in damages to equipment
and track - occurred December 14, 1994, on the Cajon Pass in San
Bernardino County.  An Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe train's brakes
failed and the train rear-ended a Union Pacific train.  Other costly
accidents include the Southern Pacific derailment in Northridge due to
the January 17, 1994, earthquake and the Southern Pacific derailment
on November 6, in Basset caused by a broken rail.  About 868 feet of
track was damaged in Basset and Valley Boulevard from Puente Avenue to
Vineland Avenue was closed.                       -more-
     The most common highway-rail grade crossing accident involves
drivers who fail to stop for trains, even when crossing gates are
down.  Of those 306 accidents, 89 drivers failed to stop and 52 of
them drove around or through crossing gates.
     Highway-rail crossing accidents occur because drivers misguess
train speed, fail to look in both directions, or cross while a slow
freight train approaches without realizing that a faster train may be
hidden behind it.
     Needless fatalities and injuries occur because drivers, and
pedestrians ignore warnings or take risks, or children play around
tracks.  For instance:
     0  Kern County, Edison Highway: May 24, a vehicle ran into a San
        Joaquin Valley Railroad train tank car.  The vehicle ignited,
        fatally killing the driver.
     0  Los Angeles County, under Western Avenue bridge:  August 18,
        failing to heed the approaching Metrolink train warning
        whistle, three pedestrians trespassed across tracks.  They
        were hit and died instantly.
     0  Riverside County, Jurupa Avenue: August 24, to avoid hitting a
        car that was waiting for a Metrolink train to pass, a vehicle
        swerved into another lane, through the crossing gates and into
        the path of the train. All four occupants and an unborn child
        were killed.
     0  Imperial County, near Holt Avenue: December 28, two children
        tried to jump onto a Southern Pacific train.  One was injured
        so badly that both legs had to be amputated.
     0  Santa Clara County, North First Street: May 25, a pedestrian
        crossed against a red light and was hit by the Santa Clara
        County Transporation Agency light rail. The pedestrian was
        dragged into the Gish Station.
     0  San Diego County, C Street: November 15, failing to stop for a
        traffic signal, a pedestrian crossed in front of a San Diego
        Trolly and was killed.
     An average train weighs 6,000 tons which is 4,000 times heavier
than a car.  At 55 mph a loaded hundred-car freight train takes more
than a mile to stop, that is the length of 18 football fields.
     CPUC participates in Operation Lifesaver, a nationwide safety
program to prevent accidents.  During 1994, CPUC staff assisted
Operation Lifesaver with educational programs and events such as
school presentations, officer on the train programs, presentations to
school bus drivers, and mock crossing accident drills.   -###-