LOS ANGELES – (INT) – Metrolink is taking a giant safety step into the future.

Utilizing a 1-point-3 million dollar federal grant, Metrolink will develop a pioneering track intrusion detection system. It would identify and validate track intrusions, including individuals trespassing on the right of way, vehicles, or large objects and debris. When paired up with an existing Positive Train Control (PTC) system, trains would be automatically slowed or stopped approaching that section of the rail line.

The new intruder detection system will be concentrated along a 1.5-mile stretch of Metrolink’s Ventura County Line in the City of Los Angeles.

During the last half of 2023, passenger and freight trains operating on Metrolink service lines across the Southland were involved in 53 vehicle and pedestrian strikes. That represents a 39% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Nearly half of all the incidents last year were determined to be suicides. with nearly half of all strikes in 2023 ruled as suicides.

The rail industry continues to battle a challenging mental health landscape and a growing unhoused population, which often contribute to unsafe behavior near train tracks.

Story Date: April 10, 2024