Whether they run on an elevated guideway or on city streets, trains are by far a safer way to travel than automobiles.

As Honolulu debates the relative merits of a commuter rail line on an elevated track or at street level, the question of safety has surfaced. Increased safety was one factor behind the city's decision to build a planned 20.5-mile East Kapolei-to-Ala Moana train to run exclusively on an elevated guideway. Faster speeds and higher ridership are other factors supporting the higher cost of elevated trains, according to the city.

However, the assertion that an elevated train is safer than street-level trains has come under fire from some who want the city to build a portion of the train at street level. The American Institute of Architects Hawaii chapter cites aesthetics and cost concerns for pushing its position. Now the group has added safety to its list.

Trains operating on elevated exclusive right of way and at street level have been involved in accidents that injure and kill. However, proponents of each type of train system claim their choice is safer.

In either train system — elevated and street-level — the chances of being injured or killed by rail were relatively remote.

City Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka said trains that operate on an elevated right of way are clearly safer.

"You're elevated. You're completely separated from the roadways (and) you're in a protected environment," he said. "What incidents are we going to have as opposed to an at-grade transit that's crossing active streets? That doesn't make sense to me."

Overall, automated trains running on an exclusive right of way — a system planned for Honolulu — were involved in seven fatalities in the United States from 1998 to 2007, according to the Federal Transit Administration. That's far fewer than the 211 fatalities associated with street-level, or at-grade, rail cars during that period. Both figures exclude suicides and trespassing-related deaths.

However, when the statistics are adjusted to account for the far greater passenger miles carried by street-level rail lines, the safety record for at-grade trains appears to improve. That's because trains that operate on an exclusive right of way logged just 12.6 million passenger miles in 2007, versus nearly 1.9 billion passenger miles generated by at-grade trains.

On a passenger-mile-basis, street-level rail had fewer reported injury incidents than elevated rail in all but one year between 1998 and 2007, based on FTA data.

9 KILLED IN D.C.

Those national safety statistics exclude an accident on the Washington, D.C., Metro last June when two trains collided, killing nine and injuring 70 people. The Metro operates on an exclusive right of way that does not mix with automobile traffic.

"I think what the (city) administration is saying is that there are no accidents with an automated, elevated metro system and there are a lot of accidents with light rail at grade because you're conflicting with traffic," said Honolulu architect and AIA transit task force member Peter Vincent. "That's a skewed perspective. There are accidents each way."

The AIA said safety data supports their argument that street-level trains aren't too dangerous for Honolulu. The safety of street-trains is supported by a decision by more than two dozen U.S. cities to build commuter train systems that operated at least partially at street level since 1984, according to the AIA. Only two U.S. subsidized train systems — one in Miami and the other in Puerto Rico — were built entirely elevated during that period, the group said.

One of the most recently opened light rail train system is in Phoenix. In December the Phoenix Metro marked its first year of service. No fatalities were reported during its first year of service, although the train was involved in several major accidents with autos. Those include an accident in September when a sport utility vehicle knocked a train off the tracks and brought down a power pole.

The AIA cites the relative safety of street-level trains as one reason why the city should consider building portions of the rail line at grade. City officials argue that the added safety of an elevated train is one more justification for the project's relatively high costs.

The AIA and the city are on opposing sides of another rail safety issue. The architects have criticized the city for not planning to include automatic safety doors at stations to keep people from accidentally or deliberately falling onto the partially electrified train track. The doors are not included in current station designs and are not a requirement in the current train system and control contract bidding process.

SAFETY BARRIERS

The Vancouver SkyTrain, which is a model for Honolulu's planned train, also does not have such platform safety barriers. Overall, 54 people have died on SkyTrain tracks and platforms since 1985 — a figure that includes 10 people who died after accidentally falling onto the tracks, according to a November 2008 story in the Vancouver newspaper "24 Hours."

A 1994 SkyTrain safety review found that the $40 million to $50 million cost of installing safety barriers systemwide was too prohibitive, according to the newspaper.

The city may add platform safety doors to plans for Honolulu's train at a later date, Yoshioka said.

William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association, said the safety benefits of platform screen doors likely don't offset their cost.

"How much money do you want to spend?" said Millar, who agreed with the city that an elevated rail is safer than street-level trains. "They can certainly be added. Will they bring a little bit more safety? Yeah. They'll also increase your maintenance costs.

"I wouldn't think they'd add enough additional safety to warrant the expense."