I guess if we could figure out how to keep vehicles off railroad tracks when a train is coming and how to keep trains traveling at the posted speeds, the numbers might improve. But 2 Amtrak accidents in one week should, at a minimum, cause some serious concern. Both were the results of vehicles on the tracks. Obviously, we have a malfunction at the junction. Do we need the barriers to be further away from the tracks? Do they need to be stronger? Perhaps double sets on each side, or triple? The assumption being that a driver would get the point after 2 or 3? Is the problem speed? Is it safe to have large vehicles speeding across the paths of autos and trucks? Has our need for speed put a lot of people in danger?
These accidents are costly in life, limb and dollars. This is not rocket science. It is train science. We are only a few years from the 200th anniversary of the first train. Surely there are some statistics available that might point to the root problem. With that solutions could be devised.
I can't help but wonder how our government run rail system stacks up against other countries and private systems.
