While the tracks that the Amtrak trains run on are separate, the commuter rail lines in the Boston area share tracks with freight trains in a number of places. In fact, it's one of the issues for the commuter rail line that services my city. The trains are often held up by CSX, the company that owns the rails and sometimes puts their own freight trains ahead of the commuter trains. (The MBTA is looking into purchasing tracks from CSX to end this problem)Zazu wrote:Untrue. Passenger and freight trains share the tracks almost everywhere they operate. I believe the Northeast Corridor, from Washington to Boston, is the only place they do not.
There was also an accident earlier this year where a freight car broke free from a lumber yard and rolled free down the tracks. It collided with a commuter train coming in the opposite direction. Luckily, the engineer saw the sudden red stop signal (without the usual preceeding yellow signal in the previous block zone) and was able to engage the emergency brake on his train, slowing it considerably before the colision. He most likely saved many lives (I don't believe there were any deaths in that accident).
On the Green Line of the MBTA subway, they drive streetcar-type trains. I believe the rule on those trains is that when the driver encounters a red signal, they must come to a complete stop, but then are allowed to proceed at a safe, slow speed after a set period of time. (I've seen it happen. My guess is that the system malfunctions to a fail-safe red fairly easily/frequently). The only exception is a double-red signal, which is usually found at track switches. They cannot move against a double-red without radio clearance or a yellow or green light.
I still haven't heard if they have issued a final report on the cause of the Green Line train collision a few months back, where one train rear-ended the other at about 40MPH. The driver had run a red or yellow signal, and should have been doing at most 10 MPH. The driver who ran the red signal was the only one killed in the crash (though there were a few serious injuries)
-Rob
