Move It!

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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/m...politan/2912321

Nov. 21, 2004, 7:57PM

MOVE IT!

Rail's safety record takes a hit in crash

By LUCAS WALL

Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

MetroRail has earned several distinctions this month, not all of which officials are glad to keep.

The good news for the Metropolitan Transit Authority last week was that it set a new safety record on its Main Street light rail line, with 26 days of collision-free operation.

That's the longest stretch since trains began carrying passengers Jan. 1, a hefty increase over the previous record of 16 crashless days in August.

The bad news: When a 53-year-old Woodville woman ended the 26-day streak Thursday in the Texas Medical Center by striking a train while trying to move into an improper lane, it marked the 61st collision reported by Metro this year.

That gives our transit authority the honor of being tied for the national leader in light rail wrecks.

San Francisco recorded 61 trolley crashes in 2001, the last year for which comprehensive data is available from the Federal Transit Administration.

So now MetroRail is guaranteed another record by year's end: Either at least one more motorist will strike a train, putting us in sole position to claim the national title, or we'll end the year with a crash-free period of 43 days.

We know which crown the folks at Metro would rather wear.

Wrecks decreasing

After spiking at a high of 11 in March, the number of wrecks on the rail line each month has been trending downward. Since August there hasn't been more than four in a month.

Metro officials have been trying hard to get their message out that crashes are down despite the fact the number of trains running each day doubled in June.

They've struggled to get a skeptical public to understand this. After all, the first quarter of passenger operation was filled with news of a crash every three or four days.

MetroRail quickly became the butt of numerous local jokes, becoming a subject of mockery for participants in events such as sand-sculpting contests and the Art Car Parade.

Video images of numerous drivers obliviously turning right in front of trains, getting their cars crunched and dragged, became part of Houston folklore and highlighted the fact that our region has an automobile collision rate 2 1/2 times the national average.

Those images are starting to fade, however. Now Metro executives have New Year's Day firmly in sight, when the annual crash count resets to zero and something else can take the rail's place as the subject of Bayou City satire in 2005.

Design recognized

MetroRail supporters turned out for a black-tie gala celebrating the Main Street line's success earlier this month.

Aside from the collision problem, the train's ridership continues to grow every month and the service has been warmly embraced by many along the 7 1/2 -mile corridor.

The Rice Design Alliance dedicated its annual banquet to recognizing Metro and Ed Wulfe, the developer and chairman of the Main Street Coalition who led pro-rail forces to victory in a contentious $7.5 billion referendum a year ago authorizing a two-decade expansion of transit services, including 73 additional miles of rail.

Metro hosted the party, which drew some 1,000 attendees, on the 13th floor of its still-under-construction headquarters at the Downtown Transit Center.

Alliance members, mostly architects and design professionals, cited the light rail line as "a remarkable accomplishment. Houstonians are riding on one of the most thoughtfully designed, state-of-the-art rail systems in the country. The trains are sleek, the shelters are unobtrusive, the plantings are varied, and local artists have put their creative mark on the 16 stations."

That's recognition you won't see Metro trying to pass off to another city next year.

Please e-mail comments and questions to traffic@chron.com, call 713-362-6832, fax to 713-354-3061, or mail to Lucas Wall, Houston Chronicle, 801 Texas Ave., Houston, TX 77002. Include your name, city or county of residence, and daytime phone number.