Shopping carts? Good Heavens! What Next?

I received a report the other day from a fellow NARP* board member hailing from California that’s worth sharing.

“There are growing threats to both passenger and freight rail safety from shopping carts. That’s right, shopping carts! The current hazards have come mostly from a shopping center in Herndon, just north of Fresno, but other locales have seen shopping carts on the tracks. As yet damage to the trains has been light to moderate and delays brief, but Amtrak’s General Superintendent, Southwest Division, Joe Yannuzzi explains that under the right circumstances a serious derailment can occur …”

Nothing specific mentioned about how or why this latest problem is occurring, but I suppose vandalism is the most probable answer.

The trains in question are the San Joaquins, which run from Sacramento and Oakland south through Fresno to Bakersfield. Ridership on those trains has continued to increase over the last couple of years despite the lousy economy.

By the way, it’s not commonly recognized outside of California, but there is quite an extensive transportation system running throughout that state, with heavy emphasis on rail, supplemented with connecting buses. Most of it is operated by Amtrak with subsidies from the state.

*National Association of Railroad Passengers