LINCOLN Federal officials investigating the site of a collision between two freight trains in Lincoln on Wednesday announced Friday they had discovered an equipment malfunction they say may or may not have led to the accident.Agents with the National Transportation Safety Board were at the wreck site Friday investigating the accident. NTSB officials announced Friday they found a misaligned switch on a safety signal near the site.
The safety signal usually gives a green or red light to let train engineers know whether the rail is clear ahead. NTSB officials would not say if the misaligned switch caused the signal to display a green signal when the line was not clear.
"Whether a green light was up has not been determined yet," said NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said.
Susan Terpay, spokeswoman for Norfolk Southern, told the Associated Press the two trains were headed for Atlanta when the first train, which was carrying vehicles from the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant in Vance, pulled into a siding along the main tracks to let the second train pass, but not all of the 81 cars of the first train had cleared the main track. When the second train came through, it struck the first train that was mostly on the siding.
The second train was carrying sodium cyanide, which led to the evacuation of parts of Riverside and Lincoln. Holloway said the NTSB investigation found no signs that any hazardous chemical had been released in the accident.
Trains were able to roll again Friday on the section of rail destroyed by the collision. The wreck site was cleared and rails were mended, allowing the route to reopen at 6 a.m. Friday, according to officials with the Talladega County Emergency Management Agency and Norfolk Southern, who owns the rail line.
Deborah Gaither, deputy director of the Talladega County EMA, said air monitoring continued Friday evening in the area, "just to be safe."
Gaither said all residents in the area were able to return home Friday. The road leading to two homes remained blocked Thursday, but was cleared Friday morning, she said.
U.S. 78 between the Riverside Bridge and Oxford Road was open only to local traffic Friday evening.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
