(The following story by Francisco Vara-Orta appeared on the Los Angeles Times website on April 3.)
LOS ANGELES — Metrolink riders on the Los Angeles to Riverside line are likely to experience short delays today as railroad officials continue efforts to realign a freight train that derailed late Tuesday in the City of Industry.
Sixteen Union Pacific cars and one engine rolled off the tracks at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, though none of the cars fell over, said Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell.
Tyrrell said there were no injuries, damages or leaks of hazardous materials. Officials on the scene believe that a switch was misdirected, causing the cars to come off the tracks, said Lt. Mark Relyea of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Industry Station.
This morning, one of two main tracks going through the area was blocked by the derailment, requiring commuter trains passing through the area to slow down, Tyrrell said. Commuter trains have been delayed only about five minutes due to the incident, she said.
Officials said the engine and train cars should be realigned by the afternoon and the scene cleared for regular Metrolink service by about 3:30 p.m., Tyrrell said.
City of Industry is 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.