Train camera captures near-misses due to signal malfunctions

Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Transportation officials in Illinois released footage of trains nearly colliding with cars in a town where crossing signals malfunctioned.

The videos released by Metra included a train's perspective of a near-miss with a police car that was also caught on the patrol cruiser's dashboard camera in Mokena.

The rail service said its analysis of the crossing malfunctions, which resulted from a problem with an electrical circuit that controls track signal and gates, uncovered footage of another incident an hour and 20 minutes before the near-miss with the police car.

The video shows three cars just barely making it through a crossing before the train arrives, without being heralded by any signals or gates.

"Our highest priority is to make sure that the entire railroad system, not just the gates, are operating properly," Jim Derwinski, chief executive officer and executive director of Metra, told WLS-TV.