Maintenance Error Sends Empty Light-Rail Train Rolling Through Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Regional Transit officials admitted on Thursday that an unoccupied train with no conductor on board took off at more than 40 mph last week.

The unmanned train came through a station at Del Paso Boulevard and Arden Way, eventually losing power and coasting to a stop after traveling more than a mile.

It was originally thought to be a huge headache, with a disabled light rail train in the middle of the street blocking traffic, but it wasn't just a regular maintenance failure.

Riders who walk on the platforms at the Del Paso and Arden stop can't believe nobody was hurt or even killed as the train was at times barreling down the tracks in early rush-hour traffic.

"Obviously leaving without a person on board is very serious event for us and one that we take very seriously," said RT chief operating officer Mark Lonergan.

He says the train was being worked on by a maintenance technician at a facility a mile and a half from where it stopped.

"Actually disabled some safety devices in error and stepped out of the car to check a device on the outside of the car," he said.

That's when the train took off, with no one on board traveling through three guarded crossings and three light-rail stations before losing power. It reached a top speed of 43 mph.

"In the time frame that it took from beginning to end, it was over before we had much of an opportunity to notify anybody," he said when asked if they notified police.

RT says the maintenance worker is on leave and the incident continues to be under investigation. Surveillance video shows the crossing guards did operate and stopped traffic for the train.

This is the first such incident in the system's 28-year history.