California railroad tests use of quake alerts to stop trains

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California regional passenger rail service is testing technology that will use the West Coast’s earthquake early warning system to automatically slow or stop trains before shaking begins. The five-county Metrolink system said Thursday that the technology is an advancement of a previous version that sends automated messages instructing train crews to slow or stop but does not have automated braking. The new technology is an interface between the ShakeAlert system and a system called Positive Train Control that is designed to prevent train-versus-train collisions, derailments due to excess speed and other dangerous situations.