Deaths Halt Metrolink’s Track Repairs

Metrolink halted maintenance work on its tracks throughout Southern California on Wednesday as investigators sought to discover why two workers were killed by an Amtrak train in Laguna Niguel despite numerous required precautions.

Federal regulations say track workers must devise an escape plan, notify train dispatchers of where they are working and post a lookout with an audible warning device to watch for approaching trains.

Nevertheless, Adam Underwood, 40, of Fountain Valley, and Antonio Almanza, 61, of Los Angeles, died instantly Tuesday afternoon when they were hit by a southbound Pacific Surfliner.

The men were part of a five-member track-inspection team from Herzog Contracting Corp., which does work for Metrolink. Three co-workers were unhurt.

How it could happen “is the million-dollar question,” said Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino. “I wish we had the answer.... It just doesn’t make sense.”

The accident site is on a heavily traveled right-of-way for freight and passenger service.

Every weekday, 22 Amtrak trains and 13 Metrolink trains use the line, some of them traveling at 90 mph.

Paul Schlamm, a spokesman for the federal National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, D.C., said the agency will analyze data from the train’s “black box” recorder.

More interviews will be conducted through the week, he said.

About 10 investigators, including one from the NTSB, were at the location conducting tests to determine what the Herzog workers and the Amtrak engineer could see moments before the accident.

Investigators declined to discuss their findings.

Whether the workers were following safety procedures is among the questions to be answered.

NTSB investigator Mike Flanigon said he noticed substantial freeway noise at the accident site, but declined to speculate whether it could have masked the sound of the approaching train.

The site is immediately north of the junction of the San Diego Freeway and the San Joaquin Hills tollway.

Federal officials said it will take six months to a year before their final conclusions will be released.

The accident is unusual. The latest available statistics from the Federal Railroad Administration show that from 1995 to 2000, only four workers were killed in California while maintaining tracks and railroad structures.

Tracks were open and train service ran on normal schedules Wednesday as the investigation began. But Metrolink halted track maintenance and related construction until Friday and ordered supervisors to review the fatal incident as well as federal safety regulations with both employees and private contractors.

The suspension affects about 200 workers and 388 miles of right-of-way owned by Metrolink and five county transit agencies, including the Orange County Transportation Authority.

“Safety is our No. 1 concern. We want to make sure people are working as safely as possible to keep this kind of thing from happening,” said Sharon McGavin, a Metrolink spokeswoman.

The commuter rail service operates 138 trains that carry about 34,000 commuters every workday in six Southern California counties. In addition to the 388 miles of track owned with other transportation agencies, Metrolink has 124 miles of right-of-way it shares with major railroads. Those tracks are not affected by the work stoppage, McGavin said.

Not far from where Almanza worked, friends had wired a bouquet to the fence along the tracks. “We will always remember you,” a note read in Spanish.