(The following story by Adolfo Flores appeared on the San Gabriel Valley Tribune website on July 15, 2010.)
INDUSTRY, Calif. — Railroad officials determined a broken rail caused a Union Pacific freight train to run off its tracks and damage three intersections along Valley Boulevard, officials said Thursday after a two-day investigation.
The last two of 93 cars derailed at 10:53 p.m. Monday.
The cars ruined asphalt at South Lemon Avenue, Fairway Drive and Fullerton Road and wiped out about two miles of track.
Officials finished repairing the two miles of track and intersections Wednesday evening.
No one was injured by the train, which was headed from Los Angeles to Illinois, officials said.
Union Pacific officials aren’t sure what caused the rail to break, said Aaron Hunt, spokesman for the company. Summer heat can sometimes cause the rail to swell, he said.
The day after the derailment, business owners in the area complained about Fullerton Road being closed.
But things were back to normal Thursday.
“I came in to work in the morning and it was business as usual,” said Eldaa Orosco, who works Jack in the Box on Gale Avenue a block from the tracks.
The cost of the repairs has not been determined, Hunt said.
“We don’t know what the cost of the damages is yet,” Hunt said. “We’re waiting on the invoices to come in.”