I usually ride in the third car, furthest from the engine. But in the morning, the third car is the lead car as the engine is rolling backwards, pushing the train instead of pulling it. After seeing this wreck, I'll probably start riding in the middle car as it looks to be safer.
The commuter rail here in Salt Lake City opened in June and we were all surprised to see that it has only one track. There are several sidings along the way and you often have to pull over and wait for an oncoming train to pass before you can get back on the track and continue. It has always made me nervous that one bad switch or one miscommunication and both commuter trains would hit each other head-on at 70mph. I don't know if this is a normal configuration for commuter rail. The only thing I have to compare it to is the Metro in Washington, DC and it doesn't share tracks with trains running the opposite direction. One good thing we have though is that we don't share the track with the freight trains and in the areas where we cross most of the freight tracks, we're moving pretty slow - often with the horn blowing loudly.
My heart goes out to the victims of this wreck and their families. I also sympathize with the commuter train riders in L.A. who have to get on the train again Monday morning, despite this tragedy.
Yes, I think I’d adopt your plan if I were in the same situation.
What surprises me most is that some computer preventative measures haven’t been implemented so that trains would electronically be stopped, when on the same track headed toward each other.
It would seem it wouldn’t be all that hard to prevent this sort of thing in this day and age.