Engineer didn't brake, NTSB says

LOS ANGELES — Investigators say the commuter train engineer in Friday's deadly rail collision in Los Angeles did not hit the brakes before crashing into a freight train.

The National Transportation and Safety Board also announced that both engineers had only four to five seconds to react to the sight of other train coming around the bend.

Commuter train officials have blamed its engineer for running a red light and crashing into an oncoming Union Pacific freight on Friday in Chatsworth. The NTSB says the freight engineer hit the brakes about two seconds before the impact, which killed 25 people.

The NTSB announced details from its investigation after conducting a visibility test Tuesday to determine when the engineers would have been able to see each other.

Investigators say the commuter train engineer in Friday's deadly rail collision in Los Angeles did not hit the brakes before crashing into a freight train.

The visibility test involving stand-in engines is part of the ongoing investigation into the crash that the Metrolink commuter-rail service has blamed on the failure of its engineer to stop for a red signal.

In the moments before Friday's collision in the Chatsworth section of Los Angeles, a Union Pacific freight train had exited a tunnel, while the commuter train was rounding a horseshoe bend.

NTSB officials said the test would be the final one conducted at the crash site. Officials hoped to open the newly repaired tracks to freight and commuter service by Tuesday afternoon.

The collision between the Metrolink train and a Union Pacific freight was the deadliest rail disaster in the U.S. in 15 years.

In the nation's capital Tuesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation requiring the installation of technology to prevent train crashes and warned that there would be more disasters without it.

The Utah Transit Authority's FrontRunner trains already have the device, called "Positive Train Control System." It would brake trains before a collision and prevents engineers from exceeding speed limits, according to UTA spokeswoman Carrie Bohnsack-Ware.

Feinstein hopes to nudge Congress to pass her requirement for so-called positive train control before recessing at the end of next week. The House and Senate have already passed separate legislation to implement the technology but time is running out to reconcile the differing versions.