Every day dozens of commuter and freight trains share tracks through Sacramento in a tightly choreographed system of switches, lights and side rails.

"That's standard across country," local Capitol Corridor train official Gene Skoropowski said.

That shoulder-rubbing on the rails is under scrutiny this week after a Los Angeles commuter train ran into a freight train Friday, killing 26.

Federal investigators reportedly were looking into whether a Metrolink engineer ran a red signal light, putting his train into the path of a Union Pacific freight train.

The crash has rekindled debate over whether the nation's rail systems, notably in high-density corridors like Los Angeles and Sacramento, should employ costly technology that can stop trains automatically when it detects a problem – such as another train approaching.

Monday, Sacramento riders on popular Capitol Corridor trains said the Los Angeles crash was definitely on their minds, but they consider it a rare incident.

"I feel safe and secure," said Chuck Robuck, a longtime rider between Auburn and downtown.

Fellow passenger Veda Federighi echoed those comments.

"Any train is still safer than the craziness on the freeway," she said.

But the crash made her think. "I could easily imagine being on a train when a horror like that occurs," Federighi said. She decided a few years ago not to sit at the front of the train, where the impact of a crash may be greater.

The Capitol Corridor system, which runs 32 trains a day in the Bay Area and Sacramento regions, has not had a passenger crash fatality during 10 years of service, manager Skoropowski said.

Nevertheless, track-sharing among passenger and freight trains has proved to be logistically difficult over the years. UP dispatchers must control schedules for about 60 trains a day around Sacramento.

Officials relieved some schedule conflicts by adding a second track across the Yolo Causeway. But ridership is increasing on the region's passenger trains, and Union Pacific officials report they are running more freight trains as well. The Amtrak California Zephyr also shares the tracks running through San Jose, Oakland, Fairfield, Davis, Sacramento and Roseville, among other cities.

Many in the rail industry say the next major safety step will be "positive train control systems" that can detect problems and automatically stop trains.

The technology is in place on a handful of train lines, including on higher speed trains between Los Angeles and San Diego. But it is costly and, critics say, hasn't been perfected.

The National Transportation Safety Board has put the system at the top of its "most wanted transportation safety improvements" list.

"We've been advocating it for many years, particularly in these high-density areas," the NTSB's Peter Knudson said Monday.

Officials with the Federal Railroad Administration said they haven't felt they were in the position to mandate it.

But on Monday, FRA officials said it's likely the Metrolink crash would have been averted if such a system had been in place.

"In light of this (crash), all bets are off," FRA spokesman Warren Flatau said. "Questions are going to be raised about how and when railroads will go about implementing (automatic) train control systems."

Capitol Corridor's Skoropowski said the federal government should get serious about the technology now and help railroads pay for it.

"It's standard practice in Europe," he said. "It takes a lot of money, but maybe it's time to scrap the 1920s system we have and go to a 2000 system."

Call The Bee's Tony Bizjak, (916) 321-1059.