Muni drivers now must stay in auto mode after crash
July 23, 2009
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| New rule: Muni operators who use manual mode without consent from central control will be punished by the transit agency. (eXaminer file photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Drivers who break the safety procedure that’s being investigated as a cause of the Saturday light-rail crash will be punished, Muni said.
That announcement by the transit agency came just as federal investigators completed their on-site probe of Saturday’s light-rail collision at the West Portal station that injured 47 people.
Muni has also implemented an “immediate action plan” since the crash that aims to boost safety by setting guidelines and issuing reminders of policy.
Muni trains are supposed to remain in automatic mode, not manual, when approaching a station. Union officials say prematurely switching to manual mode was common practice, condoned by management because it increases on-time performance.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators found that the operator involved in Saturday’s crash switched his L-Taraval
train to manual 24 seconds before the light-rail vehicle plowed into a K-Ingleside train stopped in the station.
As of this past Monday, train operators will be written up if they are observed in manual, or cutout, mode without authorization from central control.
Additionally, if a train is seen moving in manual without central control permission, the train controller will stop the train and contact its operator. Hourly announcements started Monday to remind operators that they must not go into manual mode or bypass any vehicle function, or change operating modes, without approval from central control.
Meanwhile, federal investigators wrapped up their probe into the crash Monday, finding no mechanical problems on the L-Taraval
and no problems with Muni’s signaling system. They will now probe the medical records of train operator Henry Gray, who says he blacked out just before the crash. They will also investigate his phone records, though investigators say they have no reason to believe Gray was using his mobile phone at the time of the crash.
Nathan Ballard, spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom, said Newsom told Muni chief Nathaniel Ford to conduct a separate investigation to determine the accident’s cause.
“We expect him to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible,” Ballard said. “We fully expect to get all the answers from Muni as soon as possible about this accident, because it was unacceptable.”
City supervisors have also called for a hearing into Muni’s safety procedures.
Rider injuries steadily rising
The passenger injury rate on light-rail trains in San Francisco has steadily increased since 2003, a trend that seems likely to continue after a weekend crash that injured 47 people.
Accidents involving Municipal Transportation Agency trains injured 21 passengers in 2003. By 2008, that figure had grown to 70, according to data provided to The Associated Press by the Federal Transit Administration.
The 47 people injured Saturday when a moving train collided with a parked train at a station brought the 2009 total to 67 passengers.
Judson True, spokesman for the transit agency, did not immediately respond to calls or e-mailed questions about the federal injury statistics.
The injury rate in San Francisco was almost identical to that of Boston and slightly higher in the past five years than rates for comparable light-rail systems in San Diego, Dallas, St. Louis and Portland, Ore.
The last time a Muni passenger died in a train accident was in 2000, according to the federal transit administration. The data did not include pedestrians injured or killed by light-rail trains.
San Francisco cable cars and light-rail trains have killed eight pedestrians since 2006, according to Muni
statistics.
— AP
tbarak@sfexaminer.com
Bay City News contributed to this report.
