Amtrak Restores Limited Northeast Runs

Amtrak restored limited passenger service Tuesday past the site of a deadly train wreck, while investigators weighed conflicting claims about the operation of signal lights before the collision that killed 15 people and injured more than 170.

Amtrak said its own tests of the signals, conducted shortly after Sunday’s wreck, showed that they were functioning properly and should have prevented the accident in which a 12-car Amtrak train rammed into the back of three Conrail locomotives.

But sources close to the investigation said Conrail engineer R. L. Gates has reported that the first of the two sets of signals gave him no warning to slow down, and by the time he approached the second--and an indication to stop--it was too late.

The accident occurred as the passenger train, packed with more than 600 people, rammed the rear of the locomotives as they pulled from a siding onto the main track.

Engineer to Be Interviewed

The sources, who declined to be identified, said National Transportation Safety Board officials intend to interview Gates today, and have completed their own independent tests of the signals.

There was no official confirmation, and agency spokesman Bill Bush said: “We probably have done most of the work we’ll be doing on the signals out there.”

Amtrak spokesman Clifford Black said that 20 trains were permitted to make the run Tuesday on the busy Northeast Corridor between Washington and New York, rather than the normal 80.

Trains were held to 30 m.p.h. through the area of the wreck, far below the estimated 100 m.p.h. at which the passenger train was traveling when it rammed the diesel engines.

Amtrak crews continued repair efforts on the railbed where four tracks narrow to two in an approach to the Gunpowder River. Black said full service would be restored along the route today.

Amtrak’s Black said that while the signals on the track used by the Conrail train were tested within hours after the accident, other signals that would have advised the Amtrak train crew cannot be tested until the main track is repaired.

Black said the tests, conducted electronically, showed that the two signals were working and properly synchronized so that when the signal closest to the track junction directed “stop,” the earlier signal indicated a speed of no more than 30 m.p.h. and told the engineer to be prepared to stop.

Senate Lauds Residents

In Washington, the Senate approved a resolution praising residents of the community of Chase for their assistance to the wreck victims. Several residents were the first to reach the victims Sunday, helping dazed passengers from the twisted wreckage before rescue personnel arrived.

In New York, a passenger who suffered bruises and broke three front teeth in the wreck sued the train service and Conrail for $101 million Tuesday, accusing the companies of negligence. It was believed to be the first suit filed in the accident.