Track fixes underway after Amtrak train derailment, collision in Moorpark
Train service through Ventura County was expected to resume Thursday evening after damage was repaired from Wednesday's derailment of an Amtrak train that hit a county water truck in Moorpark.
The tracks are owned by Union Pacific and are also used by Amtrak and Metrolink, the regional commuter rail service. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Union Pacific said Thursday morning that repairs "are underway and we expected the track to reopen to commuter traffic sometime this evening or early tonight."
Amtrak's Coast Starlight train 14 had been on its way from Los Angeles to Seattle when it hit a Ventura County water truck late Wednesday morning. The truck had been crossing the railroad tracks on a dirt farm road west of Gabbert Road, about 250 yards north of Highway 118, near the west end of Moorpark city limits.
A crew from the Ventura County Watershed Protection District had been in the area cleaning out a debris basin. The truck was there to spray water to keep dust down, said Glenn Shephard, director of the watershed district, which is part of the Public Works Agency.
The driver, 34, was the only person in the water truck. He suffered major injuries and was taken to the trauma center at Los Robles Regional Medical Center. On Wednesday, he was said to be in stable condition. Authorities declined to provide an update Thursday, citing medical privacy laws.
The driver has worked for the county since September 2021 and is currently a maintenance worker III with the watershed district, said Jeff Pratt, the county public works director.
The train had roughly 200 people aboard, including 13 crew members. Fifteen passengers were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries. Three of the train cars derailed, but all remained upright.
Investigation into Moorpark train derailment continues
The circumstances of the crash remained unclear Thursday.
Joan Araujo, director of central services for the public works agency, said it was impossible to tell from the wreckage which direction the truck was facing or whether it had been stopped on the tracks when it was hit.
The crash is being investigated by the Federal Railroad Administration, which sent personnel to the scene on Wednesday, the agency announced on Twitter. The federal agency does not issue preliminary findings before its investigations are complete and does not make determinations as to the cause of an accident, an agency spokesperson said.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which does issue preliminary findings and investigate the cause of accidents, had not disclosed whether it will investigate the Moorpark derailment.
Until the tracks open, Metrolink service will stop in Moorpark, said Metrolink spokesman Scott Johnson. Service to Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura is scheduled to resume Friday evening with the 117 train from Los Angeles, which leaves Moorpark at 5:37 p.m.
Amtrak also planned to resume service through Ventura County on Friday.
Trains along the Coast Starlight route from Seattle to Los Angeles were scheduled to stop in the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday.
Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner trains, which typically run from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, were stopping in Los Angeles on Thursday. Updates to Pacific Surfliner service disruptions are posted online and on a Twitter account.
This story may be updated.
Tony Biasotti is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tbiasotti@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California train derailment 2023: Moorpark track fixes start
