Questions Raised on Signal Lights in Train Crash Probe

As federal investigators on Friday delved into possible causes for Thursday’s collision of a Metrolink commuter line and freight train, rail union officials said the track through Fullerton is notorious among engineers for weak signal lights.

Rail officials said the condition of the lights would be part of a federal investigation of the collision, which injured 19 people and snarled rail traffic until the track reopened about 11 p.m. Thursday.

One union official speculated that the Metrolink engineer, identified as Harvey Wong of Oceanside, might have had trouble seeing the signal.

“The signal lights down there are very dim,” said Richard J. Weigle of Pomona, an Amtrak engineer and secretary/treasurer of the Brotherhood of Electrical Engineers, Local 20. “And [the Metrolink engineer] was operating with the sun in his eyes.”

Weigle said the weak signal lights were a problem throughout the older legs of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail system, some of which are 50 years old.

Lena Kent, a spokeswoman for the freight line, said she is unfamiliar with the condition of signal lights in the area and referred questions to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is handling the inquiry.

“That would be part of their investigation,” she said.

Jim Southworth, the federal board’s lead investigator, on Friday declined to provide details of the inquiry.

The crash occurred as the Metrolink train entered a “switch over” section of track still in use by the freight train. The most serious injuries were two broken limbs.

United Parcel Service officials said about 2,000 packages were destroyed and hundreds more damaged as UPS tractor-trailers tumbled from derailed flatbed cars.

Officials for Metrolink and Amtrak, whose crew was operating the commuter train under contract with Metrolink, also referred questions to federal officials.

Police investigators said earlier that the Metrolink engineer told them he thought he had a clear track ahead of him because of his reading of train signals. By the time he saw a red signal, the investigators said, Wong was too close to the switch to stop.

Wong, who is off duty, could not be reached for comment.

Weigle said Wong became an Amtrak engineer in November 1986 after working for Santa Fe railroad, and was familiar with that area of tracks.

“He is one of the best that we have,” Weigle said.