Train Derails at Union Station; No One Is Hurt

A Metrolink train departing from Los Angeles’ Union Station for San Bernardino derailed at the end of the station platform Friday night, but all 120 people aboard escaped unharmed.

Metrolink’s manager of safety, Ed Pederson, said the crew of the 7:35 p.m. train was being interviewed and a thorough investigation would be undertaken in what he described as the commuter line’s first derailment at the station.

All four cars of the train left the tracks at least partially, and the train was leaning slightly to the right, just as the tracks begin to curve at the end of the platform.

Pederson said a central aspect of the inquiry would be to review the train’s recorder, which, as in an airplane, should provide valuable information about speed and crew conversations as well as data about the state of the track, signals, operations and mechanical aspects.

The safety official said the train would be placed back on the rails by daybreak today, and he was optimistic about an early determination of the precise cause of the incident. The passengers were placed aboard another train and left 75 minutes late.