July 17, 2008
Los Angeles Times: Jury spares the life of killer in Metrolink crash
A California jury has decided that Juan Manuel Alvarez should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the deaths of 11 people killed after he parked his jeep on the railroad tracks in Glendale, California on January 26, 2005.  Alvarez testified in his criminal trial that he parked the jeep on the tracks to commit suicide, but changed his mind and tried to move the jeep off the tracks.  After the jeep became stuck he fled the scene.  Shortly afterwards a Metrolink passenger train being pushed by a locomotive slammed into the jeep, causing a deadly chain of events involving another commuter Metrolink train and a Union Pacific rail car parked on the tracks next to a Costco.  Eleven people were killed and almost 200 passengers were injured in the wreck.  The jury handed down this sentence after concluding that Alvarez was guilty of 11 counts of first degree murder.  Alvarez will be officially sentenced on August 20, 2008.

June 26, 2008
Long Beach Press-Telegram: Man convicted in train deaths
On January 26, 2005, Juan Alvarez drove his jeep onto train tracks in Glendale, California.   In the moments following, a Metrolink train crashed into the Jeep, derailed, and smashed into another commuter train.  Eleven people were killed and 180 were injured.  On June 26, 2008, Juan Alvarez was found guilty on 11 counts of first degree murder and one count of arson.  He was acquitted on the single count of train wrecking.  Alvarez claimed during his trial that he was trying to commit suicide because he was despondent over his estrangement with his wife.  He had admitted responsibility for the derailment, but over five days of testimony, he claimed he was only trying to kill himself and that he had doused the jeep and himself with gasoline and had planned to be sitting inside when the train hit.  He changed his mind at the last minute and supposedly was unable to move the jeep before he abandoned it.  The trial lasted approximately two months.  The penalty phase will begin on July 7, 2008.  He is facing the death penalty.

December 3, 2007
Chicago Tribune: Crashed Amtrak train was going 25 m.p.h. too fast, officials say
The Amtrak train that slammed into a freight train on November 30, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois, was traveling at more than double the speed limit when it crashed. A signal light indicated that another train was on the same track, however, the Amtrak train did not slow down. Sixty passengers were injured. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, when the engineer of the Amtrak train noticed the Norfolk Southern freight train ahead, he applied the emergency brakes, skidding about 400 to 500 feet. The Amtrak train slammed into the freight train at a speed of 35 mph. Part of the investigation will include why the signal was not obeyed and why two trains were on the same track.

November 30, 2007
AFP: Passenger train crash injures 30 in Chicago
An Amtrak train crashed into a freight train today, injuring at least six people. The crash occurred this afternoon on the Southside of Chicago, Illinois. The Amtrak train was carrying about 150 passengers to Chicago from Grand Rapids, Michigan. The engine from the Amtrak train was knocked off its track and fell on top of the freight train. About 100 passengers characterized as "walking wounded" were examined at the scene. The critical and seriously injured were transported to the hospital.

October 20, 2007
PilotOnline.com: Sweeping railroad safety overhaul passes House
The House of Representatives passed The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act on October 17, 2007.  The Federal Railroad Administration will be reorganized into the Federal Railroad Safety Administration.  For fiscal years 2008 to 2011, $1.1 billion is authorized for expenses.  Norfolk Southern Corp., among other large railroads, are now required to develop plans for installing "positive train control" technology.  The new safety bill requires more railroad inspectors, heavier penalities for violations and puts limits on work hours for railroad workers.  

September 21, 2007
LA Times: Gold Line train hits vehicle; 6 injured
Shortly after 7 AM this morning, a Metro Gold Line train, which opened in 2003, was traveling from downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena when an SUV crashed into the side of it.  The impact caused the train to catch fire, which was quickly extinguished. Six people were injured.  This was the second accident involving the Metro Gold Line in the past two weeks.