Valencia County New Mexico- Officials say they are pushing ahead with a renewed effort to close down private roads that cross Rail Runner Express tracks south of Albuquerque. That comes in the wake of a second fatal crash at one such road. John Bonney, 60 (RETIRED BNSF ENGINEER), was killed Wednesday evening midway between Los Lunas and Belen, about a quarter of a mile from where the train struck a sport utility vehicle last month, killing two people. There are 68 crossings between Belen and Lamy, of which 21 are private. Officials say they want to close some of those and consolidate traffic toward crossings with gates and signals. The Rail Runner inherited contracts giving property holders rights to the crossings when the tracks were purchased from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway, said Lawrence Rael, director of the Middle Region Council of Governments, which operates the trains. Those property rights make closing the crossings difficult, Rael said. "Unilaterally closing them could be very problematic," he said. "But we need to step up the effort." Rael said installing a gated crossing signal costs between $250,000 and $500,000 per intersection. Like many of the crossings, the road where Bonney was killed gives access to only a few homes. "Spending $250,000 for a signal at a road that may only see 7 to 10 cars a day doesn't make a lot of sense," Rael said. "We'd rather try to push traffic toward crossings that are already gated." Rael said residents were mostly opposed to shutting down private crossings during conversations prior to the Rail Runners's opening last year. Augusta Meyers, a spokeswoman for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, which operates the Rail Runner, said the crossing to Bonney's home and four other residences is well marked with signs but it doesn't have lights or guards. "The conductor saw him look south but not north, and he proceeded across," she said. "The train was already blowing and going, from what the engineer says. That put it into an emergency situation, but the impact occurred nonetheless." Meyers said Rail Runner officials believe the veteran conductor did everything possible to avoid a collision. The Rail Runner was traveling south when it crossed paths with Bonney's eastbound red Subaru station wagon, said State Police Sgt. Andrew Tingwall. The crushed remains of the car could be seen at the front of the train as authorities secured the scene and escorted Rail Runner passengers onto buses headed for the train station in Belen. Meyers said there were no injuries among the 85 people aboard the train. Bonney was a retiree of Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway, officials said. He lived just east of the tracks and was on his way home after running an errand, officials said. In light of Wednesday's crash, Gov. Bill Richardson directed the state Transportation Department to review the Federal Rail Administration accident investigation and provide options to increase safety at railroad crossings. Richardson wants the department to report its findings to him before the next legislative session.
These crashes are presenting many problems for the RailRunner project, especially its expansion north to Santa Fe. I have no reason to use it as it runs from Belen to Bernalillo. I would use it every week if it ran to Santa Fe. Very sad.
I think Russell may have something. In my business, seasoned construction workers will sometimes let their attention wander and then forget to latch on and end up falling off a frame or scaffolding. To me it makes little difference whether there is just a sign or a crossbuck. I slow down and look at crossbucks, too, simply because of the possibility of failure.
