Metrolink train strikes RV in Santa Fe Springs, shutting down several trains to Los Angeles

Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish a blaze that ignited after a Metrolink commuter train collided with a recreational vehicle in Santa Fe Springs before dawn Friday.

The crash occurred just before 6 a.m. near Rosecrans and Marquardt avenues, said Eric Ortiz, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The commuter train, RV and an adjacent freight train all caught fire.

Metrolink spokesman Scott Johnson said 120 passengers were on the Orange County 681 Line train headed toward Los Angeles at the time of the crash. No passengers were injured and everyone was evacuated safely, Johnson said. The train operator, who was closest to the collision, is also safe, he said. It was not immediately clear whether anyone in the RV was injured.

All trains that run along the same tracks, including the Perris Valley 91 Line and Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner trains, will experience delays. Johnson said Metrolink does not have an estimate for how long delays will be.

Passengers aboard the 681 Line and the trains that followed, including the 601 and the 603, can receive a voucher for ride-hailing services because of the delays. Evacuated passengers were being bused to Union Station.

“Passengers who typically take one of those lines into Los Angeles may want to consider alternate transportation this morning,” he said. “We don’t anticipate this to be a quick clearance.”

Johnson said he did not have details about the circumstances of the collision. The Whittier Police Department is investigating.

By 6:35 a.m., the flames had been extinguished, leaving behind the charred RV. Video showed fire officials entering the front of the Metronlink train, which was significantly damaged in the blaze.

An investigation is underway after a Metrolink commuter train collided with a recreational vehicle in Santa Fe Springs before dawn Friday.

(Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)