Jump to content


Photo

Shut down Brightline for safety review - FL Congressman


  • Please log in to reply
7 replies to this topic

#1 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 19 January 2018 - 07:17 PM

TC Palm, Stuart, FL 1/18/18:
 

Mast wants Brightline shut down for safety review; Nelson calls for federal investigation

 

 

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast on Thursday called for Brightline to shut down its passenger railroad until its "safety flaws" are fixed. 

 

Mast, R-Palm City, weighed in on Brightline safety after a bicyclist was hit and killed by a passenger train Wednesday afternoon. It was the third fatality — and the second death by a Brightline train — on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks within a week.

 

On Wednesday, just hours after the death of Jeffrey D. King, 51, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, called on U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to launch an investigation into the safety of higher-speed railroad crossings.

 

Continue here.



#2 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 19 January 2018 - 07:27 PM

WPEC-TV West Palm Beack, FL 1/18/18:
 

Congressman Mast calls for the brakes to be put on Brightline

 

 

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Representative Brian Mast (R-District 18) wants the brakes to be put on Brightline in the wake of two fatal train strikes during the first week of service.

 

A train struck and killed 51-year-old Jeffrey King of Boynton Beach on Wednesday night. Police said he rode his bicycle around the downed crossing gates as the train approached.

 

SNIP

 

Last week, a train on a test run hit and killed 32-year-old Melissa Lavell near Boynton Beach Blvd. and NE 6th Ave. Witnesses told police Lavell crossed the tracks after the guardrails went down in an attempt to make it across before the train passed through, according to police.

 

Continue here.



#3 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 19 January 2018 - 07:33 PM

Miami Herald, 1/19/18:
 

After two Brightline deaths in one week, Rubio wants a federal review of train safety

 

 

Political pressure continues to mount against South Florida’s newly minted Brightline passenger rail system, with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio the latest to call for a review of safety protocols following two fatal accidents during the commuter trains’ first week of operation.

 

In reaction to a Wednesday incident in Boynton Beach where a Brightline train killed a man riding his bicycle across the Florida East Coast railway, Rubio sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Thursday requesting that she work with state and local officials to monitor precautionary measures around the railroad.

 

Continue here.



#4 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 19 January 2018 - 09:03 PM

Palm Beach Post, 1/18/18:
 

Brightline must act quickly to avert brand damage, experts say

 

 

Proponents hope Brightline’s sleek, fast-moving trains can coax affluent South Floridians out of their cars and onto mass transit.

 

But the train service’s launch has been marred by grisly headlines. Brightline trains struck and killed two people in just a few days, and the latest accident drew national news coverage and Congressional criticism.

 

Experts in crisis communications say Brightline must move deftly to keep the deaths from shaping the nascent company’s public image.

 

Continue here.



#5 Sloan

Sloan

    Member

  • Global Moderator
  • PipPip
  • 12851 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Harrisburg, PA
  • Interests:Light Rail & Commuter Rail<br>Passenger Rail Stations

Posted 20 January 2018 - 08:14 AM

Simple solution; put steering wheels in each locomotive.  That way engineers can drive around trespassers.  :P Sloan



#6 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 22 January 2018 - 04:54 PM

Progressive Railroading, 1/22/18:

 

Brightline steps up safety initiatives in response to rail-crossing deaths
012218-Brightline-press-conference.jpg
Brightline President and COO Patrick Goddard held a press conference last week to announce additional safety initiatives on the passenger-rail service's route. Photo – Brightline

 

Brightline executives are expanding safety outreach efforts following recent deaths on the private passenger railroad's new route in South Florida.

 

SNIP

 

Brightline will use electronic signs and position employees at crossings to urge the public to obey warning signs, lights and gates at grade crossings. Additionally, Brightline will continue to partner with Tri-Rail, the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Agency, local law enforcement and cities and counties along the corridor. 

 

SNIP 

 

As part of an expanded outreach plan that began in early 2017, Brightline will continue working with Operation Lifesaver Inc. to create an additional public-service announcement campaign, including materials in English, Spanish and Creole; installing additional signage that warns motorists and pedestrians to stay off the tracks at grade crossings along the corridor; activating safety ambassadors; and attending community events and passing out rail safety information along the corridor.

 

More here.



#7 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 29 January 2018 - 09:44 PM

AAR news release:

 

 

 

There's Only One Message: Stay Off the Tracks!

 

Anti-Rail Campaign Puts Agenda Above Public Safety

 

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 29, 2018 –  In light of recent tragic incidents in Florida—and an unhelpful political campaign targeting the Brightline rail service—the Rail Passengers Association, the Association of American Railroads and the American Public Transportation Association are coming together to educate the public on the importance of safe behavior around railroad tracks: it is never ok to use tracks as walking paths, and tracks should only be traversed using properly marked grade crossings.

 

Unfortunately, some local political action groups have attempted to use these incidents in a campaign to impose new government regulation on railroads. Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida (CARE-FL) issued a press release suggesting it is ok and normal for kids to use railroads as a walking path. The fact is, the only safe place to cross rail tracks is at a designated public crossing, which are marked by flashing lights, a gate, crossbucks, or a combination of these safety signals.

 

New regulation would not have changed any of the recent tragic yet avoidable incidents that occurred in Florida. Education does work. Crossing railroad tracks at other points and walking alongside the track is not only unsafe—it's illegal, and trespassers can be ticketed or fined.

 

“These tragic accidents are opportunities to teach pedestrians how to avoid dangerous situations, and we are committed to helping spread that message," said Jim Mathews, President and CEO of RPA. “What CARE-FL has done in endorsing railroad rights-of-way as a way to get to and from school is equivalent to telling kids it's ok to play in traffic."

 

“All of us have a role to play in preventing these tragedies, including discouraging reckless behavior on and around railroad tracks," said AAR President and CEO Ed Hamberger. “Tracks are not playgrounds or shortcuts. When you see tracks, you need to think train."

 

“The American Public Transportation Association joins with these concerned organizations to emphasize that rail trains and tracks are safe,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “We sincerely hope that the recent tragic loss of lives will lead to greater public awareness on how to safely proceed in or around rail tracks. Pedestrian accidents at railroads are preventable if commonsense rules are followed.”

 

Public transportation is one of the safest ways to travel in the country, and higher speed rail is a tremendous benefit to Florida, generating thousands of jobs and billions in economic impact. Passenger trains will take millions of cars off the road and connect our state in new ways.

 

For more information on how to properly educate children and teenagers on how to stay safe around trains, you can find a number of resources at Operation Lifesaver.  
 

###

 

 



#8 CNJRoss

CNJRoss

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPip
  • 43390 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fairfax, VA

Posted 02 February 2018 - 07:26 PM

Palm Beach (FL) Post,  1/29/18:
 

To stem rail train deaths, West Palm paints sidewalk safety signs

 

 

newsEngin.21100778_013018-WPB-TRAIN-SAFE

West Palm Beach city employees paint safety signs to downtown sidewalks near a Brightline railway crossing. (Damon Higgins / The Palm Beach Post)

 

 

Highlights
West Palm Beach rail safety signs to be painted near Tri-Rail, Brightline crossings, starting downtown

 

 

WEST PALM BEACH — West Palm Beach rolled out a “See Track? Think Train” sidewalk sign campaign Monday to wake up pedestrians to the dangers of trains trisecting the town at high speed.

 

Mayor Jeri Muoio delivered the news during a drizzle at Clematis Street and Quadrille Boulevard, near the city’s new Brightline station, announcing the additional safety measure in the wake of deaths that followed the service’s start-up this month. City workers stenciled the first slogan on the sidewalk in an area where barricades lower to stop cars but don’t extend to block pedestrians.

 

Continue here.






1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users