DEATH TRAIN SHOULD HAVE BEEN AXED; Official safety warning ignored by rail bosses.

Byline: BRIAN WHITE

PASSENGERS killed in a US rail crash horror were travelling on a train which had been condemned by regulators three years ago.

Debbie Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board said the Metrorail transit system "was not able to do what we asked them to do".

At least seven people died and 70 others were injured in the two-train rush-hour crash on the track which carried commuters from Washington into suburban Maryland on Monday.

But it is feared the death toll may rise as three more bodies reportedly found by the District of Columbia Fire Department have yet to be officially confirmed.

Mrs Hersman said investigators expect to recover recorders from the train that was struck, providing valuable information that might help determine why the crash occurred.

But she told a news conference that the train which triggered the collision was part of an old "1,000-series" fleet that was not equipped with the devices despite her office ordering the rolling stock to be phased out or refitted.

After this was not followed up, the investigator said her office had described the lack of action as "unacceptable".

Mrs Hersman told reporters that the NTSB had warned in 2006 that there were safety problems related to trains rolling back on their tracks.

She said: "When the train rolled back, the operator was not able to stop it."

Passenger Maya Maroto recalls hearing the sound of "metal on metal" as the train she was riding on rear-ended the other one.

The 31-year-old witness said: "We were going full speed - I didn't hear any breaking. Everything was just going normally. Then there was a very loud impact. We all fell out of our seats. Then the train filled up with smoke. I was coughing "It sounded like metal on metal. It felt like we hit a car. I couldn't imagine it was another train."

Maroto added there was confusion after the impact because no announcements were made immediately. She said some passengers wanted to climb out, but others were afraid of the electrified third rail.

Tijuana Cox, 21, suffered an arm injury after she was in the train which was hit. She told reporters: "Everybody just went forward and came back with people's knees hitting the backs of the seats in front of them."

Monday's crash was the worst in the 30-year history of Metrorail. The only other fatal crash happened in January 1982, when three people died following a derailment.

In January 2007, 20 people were hurt when a subway train also left the tracks. Firefighters had to rescue 60 other passengers from the tunnel.

Three months earlier, two Metro track workers were struck and killed by an out-of-service train. An investigation found the operator failed to follow safety procedures.

CAPTION(S):

RESCUED Emergency services take injured man from the scene DEVASTATION Wreckage is strewn across the tracks GRIM Body is removed from the carriage TRACK HORROR At least seven people died when train was struck from behind in Washington