SANTA CLARA (KRON/BCN) — An emergency incident that stopped a northbound Caltrain in Santa Clara Saturday morning resulted in a fatality, transit agency officials said. This incident marks the 18th Caltrain fatality in 2015.
Caltrain No. 423 was stopped at the Santa Clara station at 1001 Railroad Ave. due to an emergency, Caltrain officials posted on Twitter at 8:19 a.m.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and determined the incident resulted in a fatality, Caltrain spokeswoman Jayme Ackemann said. Based on the preliminary investigation it appears an adult woman intentionally placed herself in the path of the train, she explained.
“These incidents are tragic, both for their consequences for the suicidal individual and their families and for the impacts they have on our customers and crew members,” said Ackemann.
The northbound train was carrying 125 passengers, she said. Passengers were transferred off the train and crossed the southbound platform to board the northbound 425 train.
Later Saturday morning, the southbound track was cleared for restricted speeds, according to Caltrain officials. In Santa Clara, there was also a third track cleared for operations at a restricted speed.
Service has been canceled on the train involved in the collision and other trains are arriving on time, Caltrain officials said.
Caltrain works closely with members of the mental health community in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties to support efforts for suicide prevention and awareness and the broader issue of mental health treatment that can lead to early diagnosis and prevention, according to Ackemann. During the past two years, she added, Caltrain has sponsored a community symposium on suicide prevention, has participated in the Out of the Darkness Overnight walk and continues to work with communities to address engineering solutions that can restrict access to the tracks.
“Caltrain is committed to advancing rail safety through education, enforcement and engineering solutions,” Ackemann explained. The agency is an active member of Operation Lifesaver, a national organization that provides rail safety education to local schools, civic organizations and other groups, she added.
Furthermore, she said, the Transit Police work with local jurisdictions to conduct targeted enforcement and education activities throughout the corridor, and recently worked with Operation Lifesaver and the City of San Jose to address locations in San Jose where trespassing on railroad tracks was being reported.
“This was done as part of an effort across the country to remind people to stay safe by staying off the tracks,” Ackemann said. The Transit Police have also conducted targeted enforcement activities at the Broadway Avenue crossing in Burlingame where cars have repeatedly stopped on the tracks, or turned onto the tracks illegally, she said.
Recently, Caltrain installed improved fencing in Palo Alto to reduce access to the tracks in that area, according to Ackemann. Other engineering solutions include the construction of grade separations, she explained, such as a project completed last year in San Bruno; a solution being considered by the City of San Mateo for the 25th Avenue grade crossing.
“There is no one answer to this problem,” she said, but any solution requires the support and commitment of a broad coalition that includes Caltrain, the Transit Police, mental health professionals and the communities through which Caltrain operates.