Chicago Metra pays for a mistake

[greyhounds]

Well, there goes some of the my tax dollars.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/09/metra-to-pay-145-million-to-passenger-hurt-in-05-derailment.html

I am not contending that the people do not deserve to be compensated.

[gabe]

I was riding the Metra that day, my family was very concerned that was my train since I very foolishly was not answering my cell phone.

Gabe

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Note that the damages/ payment is $1.45 million for a broken leg and knee replacement, not $145 million as might be suggested by the URL.  There was also an $11 million settlement for the 2 people who were killed.

So - now how much money has METRA saved by not implementing some kind of tighter safety system, or having a 2nd person in the cab, or better training and supervision, etc. ?

- Paul North. 

[richhotrain]

Ever since that day, every darn passenger train goes through that spot at less than 10 MPH, often stopping first.  Very annoying solution to the safety problem.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

The article says the crossing or crossover - both terms are used - near 47th St. has since been removed.  Is that not correct, or is the train slowing/ stopping for some other reason ?  Anyway, there must be a better signalling/ control 'fix' than that . . .

- Paul North. 

[HTower]

I have a hard time believing that Metra has less than a 1.5 million insurance liability coverage.  Our tax dollars are safe.

 

As was reported in the news back in March, Metra is in the process of installing PTC, which would have prevented this accident.  So a solution is in the making.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-03-22/news/ct-met-metra-train-collisions-0322-20100322_1_rock-island-line-positive-train-control-electronic-train-management-system

Metra plans to spend $100 million to install a high-tech system that would keep trains from colliding or prevent a distracted engineer from speeding through a warning signal to slow down or stop.

Such a safety system would have overridden the engineer's error that caused the September 2005 derailment of a Metra train, killing two women and injuring 117 others on Chicago's South Side, federal officials said.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

No, it's more likely that METRA either has a large deductible before the outside insurance coverage becomes effective = 'responds', and/ or is 'self-insured' to a high dollar amount. 

But it's the farebox revenue funds that are usually primarily at risk - the taxes are looked to only as subsidies or supplemental revenues when the fares and other sources - including the present tax levels - are insufficient.  But money is 'fungible' - it all looks the same - so how can you tell which $ came from fares, insurance, old taxes, new taxes, etc. ?

PTC should indeed solve the problem, but that's a system-wide fix that's still several years away from implementation - there must be something simpler that could have been already done at that location by now.

- Paul North.  

[CShaveRR]

I believe a higher-speed crossover was to have been installed to replace the one involved.  However, as you know, not all of the blame could be placed on the track structure in this one.