Did Metrolink Spokeswoman Do Her Job?

Let's remember everything that was said

Well, to be fair, the Metrolink spokeswoman didn't make her comment until after "Higgins (Kitty Higgins, an NTSB board member) said tests at the crash site showed the signals are working properly and there were no obstructions that may have prevented the engineer from seeing the red light."

Walt of PA @ Sep 17, 2008 19:42:08 PM

Metrolink's former Tyrrell

I was surprised at Tyrrell's statement and thought at the time "Wow, Metrolink is showing some backbone!" I heard her statement as one of compassion and acceptance of responsibility. I did not hear or take it to mean blame. I heard it as an admission that a mistake was made by one of our employees, we accept that responsibility.

I am a routine Metrolink rider and have been a Metrolink supporter, and I take this train just not as far as Chatsworth. It is clear to me that Metrolink is strategizing to avoid the legal issues involved with the federal law which limits total payout for any one accident to $200 million. With 26 dead and 130 injured, more than 80 of whom have serious or critical injuries, you can bet Metrolink is focused on this issue but they should be showing more concern for their customers, their relationships and their public.

Treating people with compassion and fairness is all most of us want. We are humand and we all know accidents happen. Tyrrell stepped up to the plate and did her job. Metrolink reaffirmed their behavior towards their public with their treatment of Tyrrell. You can bet Metrolink will want fix the blame elsewhere. They have started with Tyrrell and in the end it will be Metrolink who will affix the blame to the engineer. This is really a much larger failure on behalf of Metrolink. Metrolink is responsible (see the article by Najmedin Meshkati and James Osborn, "Rail safety's human error excuse" at http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-meshkati17-2008sep17,0,5267226.story).

Now, I have a decision to make. Do I continue to support Metrolink and take their trains or do I go back to driving to work, expending time, money and contributing greenhouse gases to the environment? I wouldn't be asking the question if Metrolink wasn't behaving so badly.

LEL of CA @ Sep 17, 2008 13:49:56 PM

Tyrrell a brave person in my eyes

When I saw Denise Tyrrell standing up in front of all the cameras and making the statement she made I was speechless... The courage of both Tyrrell and the Metrolink to come forward and do what is right restored my faith in my local government and fellow citizen.

What I expected was silence which is common in our society - nobody is willing to step up and say or do what is right because they know their lawyers will prevent them from doing so. It is now obvious that the lawyers had their say and now Denise is gone.

I applaud her one more time for refusing to work another day for an institution that does not share her morals, the same morals that most Los Angelinos would expect from their fellow family members, their next door neighbor, their neighborhood peace officer, their family clergyman, their city, state, or federal government representatives.

One last note – I did not interpret her statement as placing blame on the operator but rather that is was the Metrolink train that failed to stop. She clearly removed any blame from the Union Pacific train but never stated that there was neglect on the part of Metrolink. This leaves the door open to the findings of the NTSB. First class act if you ask me!

Robert Boener of CA @ Sep 17, 2008 02:11:15 AM

Metrolink is wrong

Tyrell was doing what was right. She didn't say anything that was not already evident and did not precipitate any litigation that was not already going to occur as a result of this catastrophe. Metrolink's Board "shame on Denise" approach is typical, apathetic and mediocre.

The agency would have represented it's board members aforementioned traits if it would have been less forthcoming with the situation.

Let's keep this in perspective, 26 people died because of this mistake, most by tortuously being mangled or crushed by a locomotive being swallowed by their train car. Lawsuits are warranted, hopefully the families won't pick the ambulance chasers that I see all over youtube. That is not Tyrell's fault.

TransitLivingSantaAna of CA @ Sep 17, 2008 00:58:59 AM

And Justice for (almost) All....................

It is unfortunate that people - even sincerely motivated and perhaps well intentioned insiders - should speculate, (for speculation is all that it is), as to the cause of an accident before any investigation is conducted and before any of the facts are in.

The dead engineer is an all too easy scapegoat. What about equipment failures? What about operational or procedural or training deficiencies? What about failures of management and/or supervision? What about long reported and unaddressed safety concerns?

History teaches (those who are willing to learn) that no railroad accident is ever the product of a single cause, and an insistance that it was will inevitably lead to a repeat, because in the haste to apportion blame other factors are ignored.

And, what happened to the presumption of innocence?

Or is it a case of Justice for (almost) All?

Tyrell shouldn't have been given even the minimal dignity of a hasty resignation. She should have been fired.

And so should anyone who authorized her to speak in such terms.

Contrast her's, with the professional conduct displayed by the NTSB who quite properly refused to comment while their investigation is underway.

Metrolink, above all others, have a vested interest in determining, ALL of the contributing factors before they speak out. If only they were smart enough to realize it.

J.P.Mountney @ Sep 16, 2008 23:37:37 PM

Metrolink spokesperson a role model

Denise Tyrrell belongs in the Tylenol Crisis Communication "Hall of Fame" for rapidly, humanly, and transparently reporting what her agency's preliminary investigation had found -- and owning her agency's responsibility for the crash.

Even though Tyrrell said the Metrolink engineer "made the error" of passing a red light without stopping, her full statement makes it clear she was not trying to disavow Metrolink's responsibility by "blaming" the engineer. It is understandable that some people heard it that way. But it its totality, her statement is not one of blame; it is a statement of taking responsibility.

And Tyrrell was clear that Metrolink's findings were preliminary, and that NTSB had not yet determined the cause of the crash (implying that the hypothesis about the cause could, of course, change).

Kudos to this brave, forthright woman. A role model to other leaders in disasters. And where has the CEO been? Virtually invisible to date -- unlike the Tylenol CEO from that historical crisis.

Fact checker of NJ @ Sep 16, 2008 17:23:42 PM