After it was discovered that train engineer Robert Sanchez, who was driving a Metrolink train that crashed into a Union Pacific train head on killing 25 people last month, was texting on his cell phone seconds before the crash, Federal regulators issued an emergency order on Thursday banning the use of all cell phones and electronic devices by rail workers while on the job.

Preliminary results from an ongoing investigation into the crash were released on Wednesday by National Transportation Safety Board investigators, and they appear to show that Sanchez, who died in the crash, was conscious albeit distracted due to having sent or having been about to send a text message over his cell.

Further investigations by the NTSB have turned up no evidence of mechanical error, signal malfunction or track problems. In addition, Metrolink stated that their records show Sanchez went through the stop light, most likely paying attention to the phone’s screen and not the railroad ahead.

The Railroad Administration, who issued the ban stated that the increasing use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices could distract rail engineers at critical moments, causing catastrophes. They cited six train accidents between 2000 and 2006, four of them ending with fatalities, in which cell phones were involved. "These obviously unsafe practices reflect the powerful influence of pervasive use of cell phones and other electronic and electrical devices," said their report.

Most railroads have internal regulations prohibiting electronic devices being used during work, but they’re not very well enforced according to the Railroad Administration, which is hoping the new federal ban will determine the companies to take the issue more seriously.