Crash Puts Focus on Aging Rail Fleets

The train that rear-ended another in Washington on Monday evening, killing nine people, was made up of some of the oldest cars in Washington

By contrast, the $787 billion stimulus law contains only $8.4 billion for transit capital improvements across the nation.

Outdated equipment does not necessarily mean unsafe trains, and the cause of the Washington crash is still under investigation. But federal safety officials had warned that the Washington train cars could be unsafe in crashes, and called for them to be replaced, or at least strengthened. Transit officials there said they could not afford to replace the cars, which make up more than a quarter of their rolling stock, and added that they were obliged to keep them in service until 2014 because of the terms of a complicated tax shelter.

NY Times