VERNON (CBS)  — Local first responders are expected to participate in a full-scale emergency preparedness drill in Vernon.

The event got under way at 8 a.m. Sunday at the Alameda Corridor trench — a freight train expressway — where 42 trains are said to travel through daily.

Nine local agencies, including the LAPD, are simulating a railroad fire and toxic gas leak in an effort to hone their disaster training skills.

“We’ll be simulating emergencies within the trench, an emergency inside the locomotive cab, an emergency in containers, an emergency in a liquid container… all at the same time,” said Manuel Hernandez, a member of the Alameda Corridor engineering team.