ORLANDO, Fla. — SunRail trains were back on schedule Tuesday morning after weekend storms caused a power line to fall on the tracks, melting parts of the metal and knocked out signal boxes along some parts of the system.

Florida transportation officials said earlier that it could be into Wednesday before the trains were running on time, but the system was running without delays Tuesday morning.

Thousands had faced delays after weekend storms damaged SunRail's system, causing delays along the entire 49-mile route from 15 minutes to 2 hours.

During weekend storms, a power line fell onto the track, not only melting part of it but also electrifying the tracks. That damaged signal boxes that control railroad crossings.

“It pretty much fried a lot of the equipment inside, and then you have to go inside to each signal crossing and grade crossing to make sure these rails are all working," Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Olson said.

SunRail says it has lightning surge protection installed on the rail system to protect against that, but the lightning protection can't protect against isolated incidents such as the high voltage line falling on the tracks.

As of Tuesday morning, FDOT was still working on a couple of crossings, though that work was not affecting timetables.

The storm damage and delays come at a crucial time for SunRail, which is pushing ridership. It has now been in service for five years, and this year for the first time surpassed 1 million riders.

One question for SunRail that will be asked is what systems are in place, if any, that could have protected this equipment from an energy surge.