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Cell Phone Use Could Include Train Operators

The state's top rail safety regulator is seeking an emergency order banning train operators from using cell phones. The order was spurred by Friday's deadly train collision in the San Fernando Valley

Cell Phone Use Could Include Train Operators

The state's top rail safety regulator is seeking an emergency order banning train operators from using cell phones. The order was spurred by Friday's deadly train collision in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more.

The California Public Utilities Commission says some railroad operators may have policies prohibiting the personal use of such devices, but they may be ignored.

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The commission is scheduled to vote on the order Thursday.

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

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board did not find the cell phone belonging to engineer Robert Sanchez in the wreckage.

But two teenage train buffs who befriended him told KCBS-TV in Los Angeles they received a text message from him a minute before the crash.

The NTSB has issued a subpoena to get the engineer's cell phone records.

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Verizon Wireless has five days to respond to the demand.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.