U.S. Prohibits Cellphone Use By Rail Crews

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- Federal regulators issued an emergency order Thursday banning the use of cellphones and other personal electronic devices by rail workers, a day after investigators said an engineer on a commuter train was sending text messages moments before a deadly crash last month.

Violators could be fined or removed from their jobs under the Federal Railroad Administration rule, which comes as the National Transportation Safety Board investigates why Metrolink engineer Robert M. Sanchez ran through a red light and into a freight train, killing 25 people.

Preliminary evidence released Wednesday by the NTSB on the timing of the messages appears to rule out the possibility that he was unconscious at the time and could show that Sanchez, who was among the dead, was distracted at the time of the crash, experts said.

"They know what's probable, that he was distracted while sending a text message or getting ready to send one," said Ronald L. Schleede, who retired after 28 years as an NTSB accident investigator.

NTSB investigators have found no indication of mechanical error, signal malfunction or problems with the track. While the NTSB has not made a finding about the cause of the crash, Metrolink has already said Sanchez went through the stoplight.