Metrolink's death toll: 244

An L.A. Times investigation found that Metrolink trains have killed 244 people in 15 years, and that unsafe conditions have been allowed to continue at some intersections and rail crossings. From the LAT story, which led Sunday's paper:

Critics say Metrolink leaders have not paid enough attention to safety and have done little to upgrade dangerous intersections where streets cross the tracks. In particular, the public railway has failed to adopt the sorts of safety systems and improvements developed and widely used by its sister agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Some of the clearest examples are in the San Fernando Valley, which includes two of Metrolink's most dangerous crossings -- at Buena Vista Street in Burbank and Sunland Boulevard in Sun Valley.

The MTA comparison brought a complaint from Damien Goodmon, who has been leading a campaign to increase safety measures on the Expo Line. Goodmon wrote in an email to the Times that "MTA operates the deadliest light rail system and line in the country and has been for over a decade."

Patting MTA on the back for not being as horrible as Metrolink is like patting Jeffrey Dahmer on the back for not killing as many people as Ted Bundy.

Inaccurate reporting of this type is exactly what allows MTA to continue operating the deadliest light rail system in the country and repeating the design on new systems like Expo and Eastside Extension. It is a far drop from the days in the '90s when real investigative reporting and stats and statistics were cited by LA Times reporters as they picked apart the MTA rail safety culture and the always political CPUC.