A year after the Metrolink crash that claimed the lives of 25 riders, most of whom were from Simi Valley and Moorpark, local leaders are still working to ensure that a rail disaster like the Chatsworth crash never happens again.

Metrolink train 111, en route to Simi Valley and Moorpark, collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train just after leaving the Chatsworth station on Sept. 12, 2008. The crash killed 25 people and injured more than 130 in the worst train wreck in Southern California in 50 years. 

The Metrolink engineer, Robert Sanchez, reportedly missed three signals notifying him of another train on the tracks. It is still unclear how Sanchez, who died in the crash, missed the signals, but he allegedly was text messaging on his cellphone when the wreck occurred.

Sanchez also reportedly allowed young “rail enthusiasts” to ride in the cab with him and man the controls. Complete findings from the National Transportation Safety Board hearings have yet to be released.

In the weeks after the crash, legislators quickly enacted laws to make train travel safer, and the Metrolink board pushed for tougher safety regulations.

The Public Utilities Commission voted to prohibit the use of wireless devices for rail crews, although Keith Millhouse, chair of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink), said an internal ban on cellphone use had existed for years.

“Immediately after the accident, as some evidence was coming to light, the board started looking into what we could do to ensure that our contractors were following our rules,” Millhouse said.

That’s when the board took action to add a “second set of eyes” for trains operating on singletrack systems and also authorized inward-facing cameras.

Metrolink will be the first railroad in the nation to have the cameras.

Millhouse, who has been a Moorpark City Council member for almost 10 years, said the camera installations are nearly complete, although the engineers union has raised objections.

“We feel that having a camera monitor all actions of an engineer will have an effect on their ability to perform,” said Timothy Smith, chair of the state’s chapter of the union, in a letter. “Under added stress, they will be performing for the camera. Their use can only be punitive,” he said.

Smith went on to say that the cameras will “do nothing to prevent an accident from occurring” and worried that hackers would release tapes on YouTube.

Millhouse said the plan for cameras is moving forward regardless of the union’s objections.

A system that automatically halts a train in certain situations has been also been introduced.

The technology has been installed at 43 speedreduction locations and should be activated in the next month or so, Millhouse said.

The National Rail Safety Act, which was approved last year, requires the installation of positive train control on all rail systems in the United States by 2015.

Using global positioning system (GPS) technology, positive train control would allow trains to determine their exact location. The Metrolink board has committed to having the equipment three years early, by 2012.

Metrolink has also made lights brighter on the Ventura County line and moved some signals to better locations. Safety personnel have been added, and efficiency testing of engineers has been increased.

Bea Watts, a Metrolink crash survivor from Simi Valley, said she doesn’t feel enough has been done. She knew an extra engineer was working on the train for a while, Watts said, but the extra staffer was removed later on.

Regarding compensation, Watts said Metrolink has refunded her train pass and sent her a fruit arrangement and get-well card. Metrolink also returned a shoe found at the crash weeks later, which just triggered some of her posttraumatic stress symptoms, she said.

Watts had begun taking the train roundtrip from Simi Valley to her job in Northridge for six weeks before the crash.

She was riding in the second car and sustained major internal injuries. Though she had called her family to say her final goodbyes, she survived after spending her birthday weekend in a coma on life support.

Watts’ pancreas was severed, and doctors were only able to save 25 percent of it. Her liver and kidneys were lacerated, her spleen was crushed and removed, and her back was fractured, among other injuries.

“I’m an emotional mess, especially with the oneyear anniversary,” Watts said. “I had to fight so hard to survive. I’ve been so busy following doctor’s orders and nurturing my body that I haven’t dealt with the emotional issues, which are really just starting to surface.”

Millhouse said he’s met with many survivors and knows they are still struggling.

“I wish there was some way we could go back and unwind time,” Millhouse said. “I wish none of this ever happened. But it did. Seeing the pain people have had to go through is hard. The crash accelerated pieces of vital rail safety legislation, but nothing will be fast enough for me.”

Simi Valley Mayor Paul Miller said the changes will take time.

“That was such a disaster, it kind of woke people up,” Miller said. “Legislation has passed and they are working to correct those problems. But things like that take time, and they can’t do it overnight. I’m happy that they are working toward making the system safer, and I feel like their hearts are in the right place.”

Construction on the Metrolink Memorial Plaza at the Simi Valley train station has been completed, and the monument will be unveiled during a memorial service tomorrow, Sept. 12, the anniversary of the crash.

“Many families of this community were negatively affected by what happened,” said Miller, who plans to attend the service. “A year has gone by, and we still mourn with them.”

The city of Simi Valley’s memorial service is at 4 p.m. Saturday, which has caused some criticism. A train will stop at the station at 3:59 p.m., which could be traumatic for some victims.

Watts said her support group is meeting across the street from the station at Simi’s park and recreation building and will walk across the street after the train passes.

Metrolink officials unveiled on Sept. 8 a bronze plaque honoring the victims at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.