Metrolink introduces an earthquake system that stops trains

If you use Metrolink to get around Southern California, your trip may be safer during an earthquake.

The rail transit system announced this week that it is equipping some of its trains with a new earthquake warning system that can automatically slow or stop travel during an earthquake.

The first trains to receive the new technology are on the Metrolink Line 91/Perce Valley between Riverside and Peris. Officials said this route was chosen due to its relatively low passenger count as well as its proximity to several major fault lines.

Metrolink plans to roll out the system to all trains along its 538-mile rail system, which spans across six counties.

It’s an extra thing in their toolbox that helps Metrolink protect its passengers and train crew,” said Robert Michael de Groot, a spokesperson for the US Geological Survey’s ShakeAlert system.

An earlier system implemented in September sent notifications based on ShakeAlert data to Metrolink engineers operating a train during the earthquake.

Under the new system, if the earthquake is expected to shake strongly enough, automated technology will start the train and slow down or stop the train altogether.

Before last year, Metrolink relied on a phone game, in which dispatchers receive an alert about the size and location of an earthquake, then relay it manually to train engineers, said Luis Carrasquero, Metrolink’s interim vice president of operations.

This system was used after the 7.1 earthquake centered in Ridgecrest that shook Southern California on the 4th of July weekend in 2019. Metrolink halted service that day while it checked the line for damage.

“With earthquake warning, time is the primary currency,” de Groot said. “Machines can run much faster than people.”

Automatic braking systems are nothing new to Metrolink. They were added to trains after the 2008 collision at Chatsworth that killed 25 people when a passenger train engineer was distracted and ran head-on for Union Pacific freight.

The new system combines automatic brakes with ShakeAlert warnings.

The machine will not take over unless the vibration is severe enough.

Using a so-called modified Mercalli densitometer, the system will send notifications to train engineers when shaking during an earthquake is weak or mild, similar to what happens in a passing truck and can be observed by someone inside a train.

When the vibration builds toward the level of getting up at night, or when windows and doors begin to vibrate, the system will automatically reduce the train’s speed.

If the vibration is severe enough to break windows, empty dishes from cabinets, and drop unstable objects, the system will stop the train.

Carasquero said the USGS will also send Metrolink a report on any parts of the railroad, bridge, bridge or tunnel that might be damaged so crews can examine those areas before travel resumes. The automated system will avoid stopping the train under any of those compromised structures.

De Groot said the new Metrolink system is also of importance to the region’s resilience and recovery after the serious earthquake.

“You need trains and highways to get people and first responders to where they need to go,” de Groot said. “And one of the main pathways to recovery is to open your transmission lines so you can get supplies to people.”

After the Northridge earthquake in 1994 damaged major highways, including Routes 10 and 5 and Interstate 14, transportation officials added more trains and buses, including Metrolink routes to and from Santa Clarita, to ease transportation needs.

Although the earthquake warning system will eventually make its way to all railways owned by Metrolink, its trains also run on tracks owned by other companies. Metrolink owns about 60% of its railways, while the remaining 40% is owned by Union Pacific, BNSF Railway, and the North County Transit District.

If a Metrolink train is traveling during the earthquake on another company’s tracks, the system will send warnings and notifications to train engineers, but it won’t slow or stop the train.

Since adding the initial warning system to the Pires Valley trains last year, Carrasquero said, there have been no earthquakes large enough to activate it.

After several months of testing the system on Perris Valley trains, Metrolink will begin adding it to nearby lines.

Since 2020, Bay Area Rapid Transit in Northern California has used a similar automated ShakeAlert technology that stops or slows trains.

The Los Angeles County Transportation Authority also uses ShakeAlert warnings to notify its employees, rail operators and maintenance crews of earthquakes, but it does not have an automated break system.

Like many public transit systems, Metrolink ridership has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the spring of 2020. Prior to that, the average daily ridership on weekdays was 45,000, said Karen Bakkar, a spokeswoman for Metrolink. Last month, the average daily passenger number was only about 15,000.

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