WASHINGTON -- A former Union Pacific engineer told federal investigators Monday that some of his co-workers have worked more than 400 hours in a month.

"I've been on a train 20 hours before," Arturo Cadena said during a National Transportation Safety Board hearing looking into a train collision and chemical leak in south Bexar County in June 2004. The derailment left three people dead, including a train conductor.

"So, there's no telling when you're going to get off of work," he added. "You work so often, so many different shifts, your body really doesn't recuperate."

Cadena recalled the moments after the train derailed, spewing chlorine gas into the air.

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Engineer: 'I've Been On A Train 20 Hours'

"I remember (conductor) Heath (Pape) and I walking into chlorine," Cadena said. "I remember trying to escape it. And I remember Heath's pain, what he was going through."

Cadena, though, said he can't recall what caused the collision near Loop 1604 and Nelson Road because of a medical coma. He also wouldn't say if he and the conductor were fatigued when the derailment occurred.

Cadena was fired months later. Union Pacific blamed him for running a red light prior to the collision. He is now suing his former employer, claiming the tanker carrying the chlorine needed to be replaced.

The hearing is expected to continue Tuesday.

http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0503/3262086_120X90.jpg May 3, 2004 Two Union Pacific train engineers were injured when their train jumped the tracks and plunged into the San Antonio River at Roosevelt and St. Mary's Street. The derailment also spilled 5,000 gallons of fuel into the river. http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0628/3467888_120X90.jpg June 28, 2004 Three people died after a Union Pacific train collided with a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train near Loop 1604 and Nelson Road. Dozens of people were treated for breathing problems at local hospitals after a tanker spewed chlorine fumes into the air. http://images.ibsys.com/2004/0916/3736893_120X90.jpg Sept. 16, 2004 Five Union Pacific box cars jumped the tracks south of KellyUSA as the train switched tracks. No one was injured. http://images.ibsys.com/2004/1110/3907922_120X90.jpg Sept. 24, 2004 Transients were blamed for a 27-car derailment south of downtown involving a Union Pacific train and a Burlington Santa Fe train. Railroad officials said transients, who were riding the Santa Fe train, disabled the brakes in an attempt to get off the train. Several streets near the tracks for closed for several days while crews cleaned up and repaired the mess. http://images.ibsys.com/2004/1011/3800332_120X90.jpg Oct. 11, 2004 A Union Pacific train derailed on Quintana Road near Cassin Road. Seven of the nine of the derailed railcars were transporting Dodge pickups.