Anonymous
By LOSSAN
The Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency, which manages the Amtrak® Pacific Surfliner® service, announces Operation Safe Surfs, a Rail Safety Initiative.
The initiative designed to enhance rail safety awareness and curtail pedestrian and automobile incidents along the railroad, is slated to launch in September to coincide with Rail Safety Month.
Operation Safe Surfs adopts a multi-faceted strategy for enhanced rail safety education and awareness through innovative methods. The initiative will include:
- Rail safety advertisements displayed on internet connected televisions and streaming platforms for individuals residing within the counties where incidents are the most prevalent.
- Geofenced safety messaging distributed through cell phone advertising in areas considered incident hotspots using display advertisements, in-app advertisements, and cell phone notifications.
- Installation of signage along high-risk sections of the railroad, providing resources for suicide prevention and instructions for rail safety.
- Engagement of volunteer groups to provide outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness in proximity to the tracks and offer rail safety information, support, and care packages containing essential items and resources.
“Rail safety is an important priority for our agency,” said Jewel Edson, Chair of the LOSSAN Agency Board of Directors. “With Operation Safe Surfs, we’re not only expanding rail safety, but also providing support to our most vulnerable populations. We are confident that this initiative will save lives and make a meaningful difference for our communities.”
The inception of the initiative follows an in-depth analysis of trespasser incident data along the 351-mile LOSSAN corridor between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The data indicates that specific stations and adjacent sections of track experience higher rates of pedestrian and automobile incidents.
Areas near the Solana Beach, Oceanside, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Carpinteria, and Santa Barbara stations stand out as opportunities to incite positive change. While the root causes of these incidents vary, they often involve unauthorized track crossings for beach access, encampments of unhoused individuals close to the tracks, and mental health challenges.
About the Amtrak® Pacific Surfliner®
The Pacific Surfliner travels along a 351-mile coastal route through San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties, serving 29 stations. It is the busiest state-supported intercity passenger rail route in the United States. To learn more and plan a trip, visit pacificsurfliner.com.
About the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency
The Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency is a joint powers authority overseeing the management of the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service. Comprised of rail owners, operators, and planning agencies along the 351-mile LOSSAN rail corridor, the Agency strives to improve passenger rail ridership, revenue, on- time performance, operational flexibility, and safety along its service area. The Orange County Transportation Authority provides all necessary administrative support for the LOSSAN Agency and its Board. For more information, visit Lossan.org.
I think about this problem a lot, because I lie in bed at night and then hear the train whistle begin, and go on and on and on plaintively and helplessly, and sure enough, the next day I read that somebody else has died on the tracks. I don’t think anybody has died on the tracks right on State near the station, but my blood runs cold when I see how carelessly they move around the tracks and walk up and down on them, and there certainly is an intriguing feeling harkening back to pioneering country times when one walks the train tracks. I would take gallons of fire engine red and paint a yard on either side of the tracks, in many places — the places that seem to attract death attempts or carelessness, and at crossings where the bars come down. And somewhere in the printed material there should be the statistic that when you are worried about your dog on the tracks and go after it, the dog will run off and be safe, faster and fleeter and with more attuned senses, and you will not, so don’t go on the tracks for your dog. I don’t know what to do with the suicides except feel so sorry for the train personnel.
I find it absolutely impossible to believe the statement : “the busiest state-supported intercity passenger rail route in the United States.” Anyone who has traveled on the East Coast has experienced what a real transportation by rail system looks like, with business cars equipped for commuters. And in Europe, the ferry trains! Who doesn’t yearn for the ability to drive your car up into a railcar and leave it securely fastened while you head off to the observation car for a beer and a glide up to San Francisco. Oh, but our tax dollars are spent instead on signage.