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“Miracle in Rockville” a teachable moment wasted
Friday, May 15, 2009
On Friday, May 8, around 4:50 PM, a car was stopped in traffic at the Randolph Road crossing in Rockville, Maryland. A MARC train (the first one after Amtrak’s Capitol Limited) hit the car, forcing it into a crossing gate which impaled the car through the rear and front windows, coming within inches of the pregnant driver’s head (see link below for dramatic photo). Media attention apparently focused exclusively on the fact that the driver was miraculously unhurt (except for minor air-bag-related injuries):
She didn’t think to jump out of the car—although, if she had, she might have been hit by the train, Valencia said. It all happened in a matter of seconds, and when she opened her eyes after the collision, the gate arm was touching her head.
Here was an opportunity to avoid future accidents by imploring viewers not to enter a railroad crossing until the next vehicle ahead if far enough to let you clear the tracks quickly.
Motorists who fail to use common sense in this regard risk their own lives and their passengers’ lives. Such accidents also traumatize the engineer (incorrectly referred to here by NBC Channel 4 as a “conductor”) and wreak havoc on the schedules of (in this case) 3,000 MARC train commuters, many of whom have day care pick-ups and other commitments, as well as any motorists whose normal route takes them across this crossing.
It is wonderful that the woman and her unborn child were so lucky. But the fact that her driving error caused the accident, and that it is an all-too-common error, obligates the media to make use of this teachable moment rather than to focus exclusively on one lucky motorist.
—Ross Capon, NARP President
Posted by NARP
Tags: crossing, marc, safety,David Johnson: MARC’s Gain, NARP’s Loss
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
A final tribute to NARP’s former Vice President.
Prompted by publication of David R. Johnson’s early-May move to MARC in our latest newsletter, I’d like to share what I said to our Council of Representatives in Washington on April 22:
Since we’ve given out a lot of certificates the past few days, pretend that I’m reading from another certificate, although it’s a little verbose because it’s only a virtual certificate.
The Hard Working Passenger Train Advocacy Award is presented to:
David Johnson
To thank him for five and a half years of tireless work for the members of NARP and for rail passengers in general and to tell the world that MARC Train Service’s gain is NARP’s loss.
David is the ultimate self-starter. I’d be a rich man if I had a dollar for every time I asked him to do something and he responded, “I’m three steps ahead of you. It’s already done.”
He is the energizer bunny. He reviews incredible volumes of incoming e-mail and exercises great judgment about which ones need my attention. He taught himself how to do layout for the newsletters, the posters you see displayed at Board and now Council meetings, the use of Constant Contact the handsome messages that now go to our members, and acquired countless other technical skills that you might not associate with a “Vice President,” but in a small organization everyone pitches in.
Thanks to his outgoing personality he knows and is respected by more front-line railroaders than you could imagine, including the conductors who have known him riding the Newport News line since he was a child. So he has an impressive knowledge of what is actually going on out there.
I always try to think of a silver lining. As a Maryland taxpayer, I’m happy that MARC with David is about to get a pretty big bang for the buck. And we all should be proud of the growing number of passenger train professionals—going back to Dr. Anthony Perl and Amtrak’s Jonathan Hutchison (Government Affairs/West)—who have done part of their learning about the industry while working for NARP.
But I really did not look forward to losing David. David, thank you for all you have done, for your work and your friendship.
Given this 21st Day of April, 2009 at the NARP Council of Representatives Meeting, Washington, DC.
—Ross B. Capon
Posted by NARP
Tags: dave johnson, marc, office, staff,Cleaner Locomotives: Coming to a railroad near you?
Monday, March 08, 2010
Maryland’s MARC has become the first US passenger railroad operator to purchase the latest innovation in clean locomotive technology: MotivePower Inc.‘s MP36, which does not consume fuel while idling (as many locomotives do for extended periods) thanks to an electric auxillary power unit. Trains, already the most fuel-efficient form of land transportation on a per-passenger basis, are becoming even more green thanks in part to their growing stature, which in turn is partly due to travelers’ increased recognition of the environmental impact of getting around. Eliminating idling removes a significant amount of particulate matter from areas around railroad terminals, making the air in places like Washington’s Union Station noticeably purer.
MARC expects lower fuel costs and increased customer satisfaction to come from its investment. Should these predictions prove true, operators around the country should follow suit.
Check out Clean Skies TV’s look at MARC’s new power:
Thanks to former NARP Vice President David Johnson, now Trainmaster at MARC, for bringing this to our attention.
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: clean air, clean skies tv, efficient, green, idling, locomotive, marc, maryland, motivepower, mp36, particulates,©2009 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website
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