Cameron on Transportation
Faster Trains Are More Dangerous Trains, and When They Have a Lot of Railroad Crossings …
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Much has been written in praise of Brightline, the modern, stylish privately owned railroad serving Miami to West Palm Beach to Orlando with fast, comfortable trains. But the railroad also has the highest death rate of any railroad in the U.S., having killed 108 people since it began operations in 2017 — not its passengers but people crossing the railroad’s tracks. Last week alone at one grade crossing in Melbourne, Florida there were two accidents causing three deaths in as many days. Those “accidents” are under investigation by the NTSB, the National Transportation Safety Board. But all indications are these deaths, like the others, were caused by stupidity: people driving around the crossing gates that lower before the train roars through.