System is first railroad in the nation to adopt state-of-the-art technology as part of comprehensive rail safety program

Today at the Port of Long Beach, Metrolink Board Chairman Keith Millhouse, Chief Executive Officer Eric Haley and a distinguished group of leaders greeted the arrival of the system’s first two Crash Energy Management (CEM)-enabled cars. Delivered from their manufacturing site in South Korea, the cars are the first of 117 cars the agency will put into service later this year after a rigorous testing program. Metrolink will be the first commuter rail system in the nation to adopt these state-of-the-art cab and passenger cars, which feature a unique collision-absorption technology.

"As the latest technological addition to our comprehensive public safety program, these new CEM cars will help save lives," said Millhouse. "Their arrival on our shore is the result of dynamic collaboration with world-class vehicle safety experts across two continents who share our commitment to passenger safety. On behalf of Metrolink’s thousands of loyal commuters, I want to thank them for their innovative work to enhance the safety of our transportation network."

The CEM program now enters the critical testing phase, which is the most essential part of the procurement. Any elements in need of modification will be identified and corrected during this phase, which will prevent those that do not meet the highest standards from showing up in the entire production run. This will ultimately save time and money, produce a much higher quality product from the start, expedite the successful final testing and acceptance of the cars here in the U.S. and help ensure a successful introduction into regular train service.

Procurement of the cars began more than five years ago when Metrolink contacted the Volpe Institute and the Federal Railroad Administration in order to incorporate collision absorption technology into the system’s cab and passenger fleet that was already on order.

Speaking dockside where the cars were offloaded from U.S. flagged cargo ship, Ocean Charger, Millhouse acknowledged some of the partners in attendance who helped bring this important technology to Southern California. They included: CEM car manufacturer Hyundai-Rotem for providing world-class railway vehicle design and production; Intermarine USA for carrying the cars on their heavy-lift vessel, Ocean Charger; Suntrans International, the oceanic freight forwarder that ensured the safe passage of the cars from Korea; and the Port of Long Beach, leading gateway for Trans-Pacific trade, for their global leadership in goods movement and for hosting the arrival event.

Millhouse also announced that most of the work to assemble the new cars will be done at Metrolink’s Eastern Maintenance Facility in the City of Colton in accordance with the "Buy America" program that requires final assembly of rolling stock take place in the United States.

"Performing the work here will also result in expedited training, quicker access to the cars, the extension of more than 50 jobs and the opportunity to start working on modifications to ready the cars for Positive Train Control in accordance with our accelerated strategy to bring this technology to Southern California," added Millhouse.

ABOUT METROLINK

Metrolink is Southern California’s regional commuter rail service in its 17th year of operations. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority, a joint powers authority made up of an 11-member board representing the transportation commissions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, governs the service. The agency currently contracts with Connex Railroad, LLC for the personnel that operate, supervise and manage Metrolink commuter rails service. Metrolink operates over seven routes through a six-county, 512 route-mile network.

News Release (pdf)

Volpe CEM White Paper (pdf)