Weakened Ties Blamed in Train Derailment

Metrolink officials Saturday blamed a minor train derailment at Los Angeles’ Union Station on the weakening of an aging section of track caused by the recent rains.

“As the engine went over, it basically pushed the rails apart a little bit and the wheels went down on the ground,” said Ed Pederson, Metrolink’s manager of safety.

The Friday derailment of the 7:35 p.m. four-car commuter train carrying 120 passengers to San Bernardino caused no injuries. The defective track will be out of commission at least until this morning, by which time the weak ties will be replaced, Pederson said.

In an unrelated development Saturday, sheriff’s deputies shut down Union Station for an hour while searching for a bomb alleged to be aboard a Metrolink holiday train from Riverside.

“Bomb threats are extremely unusual on our trains,” Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo said after the search, which did not find a bomb.

Several hundred people waited outside the station while officials conducted the search, Hidalgo said. In addition, he said, MTA subway service was halted for an hour and three trains--from Riverside, Lancaster and San Diego--were delayed for 15 to 45 minutes.

“Bomb threats are something we take very seriously,” Hidalgo said. “This is the only time I’ve heard of this happening.”

The incident began about 1 p.m. when a member of a cleaning crew found a note in the restroom of the train that had just arrived from Riverside--one of 22 special holiday trains scheduled by Metrolink on Saturday--indicating that a bomb was on board.

Officials immediately evacuated the station and conducted the search. Later, the train left the station with about 300 passengers.

“Their nervousness was that the train was going to leave without them,” Hidalgo said. “We assured them that it wouldn’t.”