One cannot write the about histories of Simi Valley, Camarillo and Moorpark without including the railroad.

It was the creation of train depots at locations such as Santa Susanna at the turn of the century that helped transform Ventura County's fertile valleys into a network of thriving economies.

Residents in these cities have long utilized the rails as a cheaper, safer and less stressful mode of transportation. Each day, scores of passengers buy their tickets and place their trust in the hands of the railroad, believing without hesitation that they will arrive at their destinations safely.

It is a special trust, and last Friday that trust was broken.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board into the Sept. 12 head-on collision between Metrolink Train 111 and a Union Pacific freight train has determined that human error caused the wreck that killed 25 people— including 10 from Simi and five from Moorpark.

According to the findings, the signals and tracks were working properly before the collision, which leaves the responsibility for the wreck squarely on the shoulders of engineer Robert Sanchez, who took his explanation to the grave. While the NTSB still wonders why Sanchez didn't pull his commuter train to the side and let the freight train pass, the families of the victims are searching for the answers to questions of their own, such as why Sanchez was text messaging just moments before the crash, and why Metrolink didn't take advantage of a new technology that can bring a train to a halt if the engineer misses a signal or chooses a wrong track.

City and Metrolink officials would have us move on and put the tragedy behind us, but how can the families ignore their loss when so many questions remain unanswered? Was it a cost factor, for example, that prevented the rail company from implementing better safety measures?

We hope the answers are forthcoming and that proper steps are taken to prevent a similar disaster in the future. Then, and only then, can the healing begin and the relationship between Simi Valley and the railroad be repaired.