Pay attention to the Pedestrian Crossing Guards

Last week I watched this video about a woman who was hit by a train in Lakeland Florida because she was looking down at her phone.  Lakeland Florida has a 'no train horn' rule to keep things quiet.  They also do not have pedestrian crossing guards to stop the pedestrians from crossing the tracks when trains are near.

 

Yesterday, in the Dania Beach station, the RTA Officer was enforcing the Pedestrian Crossing Guards rule.  He was pretty irate when I crossed the tracks after the train left but before the crossing guards went up.  He caught up to me with a Customs and Boarder Patrol (CBP) officer and said I could not get on 'his' train.  I would need to wait 40 minutes for the next train.  He said if I did not like that then the CBP officer would have me arrested.  So I waited for  the next train and I will wait patiently for the crossing arms to go up from now on...

While on that later train, the passenger next to me did not have a valid ticket.  The RTS officer had to fill out a paper form/ticket that took him about 10 minutes.  He asked for ID and answered a lot of the passenger's interesting questions.  The officer explained that they do not have the right to ID, they are not Law Enforcement Officer, but they can ask you to get off the train.

The officer also explained that a lot of people are surprised to learn that the Tri-Rail is not a free service.  There are no turnstiles at the stations, just these little TAP IN/OUT kiosks, (not sure what their purpose is).  I usually am asked for my ticket 2-3 times per week.  It does seem to entice people to try to game the system.  In a 40 minute ride, the RTA officer can only write up 3-4 tickets for not having a ticket. Tri-Rail works a lot differently than the old SEPTA and Amtrak services that I used when I young.  The Tri-Rail system does require a lot less labor to run though.

Proof of Purchase
Tickets must be purchased before boarding the train. Tickets are not sold onboard trains. Tri-Rail fare inspectors randomly check for proof of a valid fare product purchase. Failure to present valid Tri-Rail fare as proof of purchase is punishable as a criminal offense and violators will be subject to a fine from $50 to $1000, arrest, and/or removal from the train.

All this research on safety and crossings lead me to a lot of articles that are opposed to the new All Aboard Florida (AAF) high speed (125mph) trains running along Florida East Coast rail lines 'at grade' where the cars and pedestrians will be constantly at risk unless everyone starts taking these rules seriously (not likely to happen).  Just stand at the FEC tracks on Old Griffen Road and imagine a train coming by at 125MPH.  It is hard to imagine this not causing an incredible amount of carnage.  

I seriously doubt the trains will run at high speed in these sections with so many crossings.  It would be interesting to map out the FEC lines and measure the distances between crossings and see where there are opportunities to run at higher speed.  Google Maps indicates Public Transportation from Miami to Orlando takes 7 hours.  Driving Miami to Orlando takes 3.5 hours.  So the AAF trains will be traveling a little faster than driving speeds. 

More on this AAF high speed rail later.  There are two videos below, one con and one pro AAF