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Caltrain is back on schedule after experiencing major delays this morning after a train fatally struck a man on the tracks in Palo Alto, an agency spokeswoman said.
The regular schedule resumed shortly after 9 a.m. with trains No. 134 and 135.
As of 8:15 a.m., trains were bottlenecked at the Charleston Avenue crossing, where northbound train No. 103 struck and killed the man at about 5:35 a.m., Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said.
Northbound trains were running up to 90 minutes behind schedule, and southbound trains were about 45 minutes late, Dunn said. All express service was canceled this morning.
A preliminary investigation indicates that the man intended to be struck by the train, but the Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office will make the final determination about whether it was a suicide, Dunn said.
No injuries were reported among the 55 passengers aboard the train. The passengers were taken to East Meadow Drive to get off the train and then board another one, according to Dunn.
The fatality is the 11th on the Caltrain right of way so far in 2012, five of which have been determined to be suicides, Dunn said. There were 16 Caltrain-related fatalities in 2011.
By Palo Alto Online staff/Bay City News
By Palo Alto Online staff/Bay City News
By Palo Alto Online staff/Bay City News
Erase top post and replace with this one please.
Eleven (11) deaths in 11 months for 2012 and sixteen (16) deaths in 2011? Something seriously needs to be done to stop this. A few ideas come to mind, install a fence that cages the entire train and track, like a tunnel, or install a 12′ high electrical fence with a 10′ high concrete wall 4′ away. If they choose to still commit suicide, then it’s better they don’t involve the engineer and a train full of innocent people. Do it in stages, like the Stevens Creek Trail. Any ideas out there anybody?
Nothing will ever stop this. Sad but true.
Yet another sensless pedestrian fatality. No doubt caused by the reckless driving and excessive speed of the engineer.
It would be impossible to stop suicide by trains. You could enclose all of the tracks, but there is no way that you can screen off the intersections. It is a sad thing when individuals kill themselves, but difficult to stop.
As with the post that followed, facetiousness sometimes does not come across in the written word. Some will say it has no business on the thread of such a serious incident, but that is how many people deal with their discomfort on the subject.
I will never forget a time back in the mid 80’s, a bunch of us were hanging out talking about life, love our futures, etc. One friend brought up suicide, don’t remember exactly why she did but, another friend said “I would jump in front of a train.” EEEWWWW, WTH would you do that for? and he said “It’s quick, 99.999% guaranteed & there’s no time for regrets.” We all laughed, agreed & didn’t think anything of it… a few weeks later, he did just that – at that same intersection.
ALWAYS take someone seriously when they talk about suicide!!
My previous comment was sarcasm, echoing the minority but most vocal response to our pedestrian/vehicle problems here. I’m actually stunned that it wasn’t deleted!
The young man involved was really genuine. It’s sad that people are thinking about the commuters. He deserved love