The National Transportation Safety Board said it continues to investigate the death of an Amtrak roadway worker who was struck and killed on Feb. 23 by a non-revenue snow patrol train.
The train was traveling eastbound on the Philadelphia-Harrisburg Line as a maintenance crew worked to clear snow and ice from a switch after a winter storm, according to preliminary information released Tuesday by the NTSB, which said it is working to determine probable cause and develop safety recommendations intended to prevent similar incidents.
The collision occurred about 11:15 a.m. on main track 1 near the High Steel Industries facility in Lancaster, the NTSB said. The three-person Amtrak maintenance group had been assigned to remove snow and ice from a switch, with one employee designated as a watchman, a foreman working at the switch and a third employee in a truck about 700 feet away.
The train involved, identified as Amtrak snow patrol train KP2022, consisted of two locomotives in a push-pull configuration and one passenger car, the NTSB said. It originated in Philadelphia and was operating between Philadelphia and Harrisburg to clear ice from overhead catenary wires ahead of restoring regular passenger service after the storm. The crew included an engineer in the lead locomotive and a conductor in the passenger car.
According to the NTSB, the train departed Lancaster Station about 11:12 a.m. on main track 1. The foreman was clearing snow from the switch using a gas-powered leaf blower on the same track. The maintenance crew was using train approach warning as its on-track safety method, the agency said.
As the train moved through the work area, the engineer observed an individual standing in the foul of the track at the switch, the NTSB said. At 11:15:54, the engineer sounded the locomotive horn and applied emergency braking. Three seconds later, at 11:15:57, the train struck the foreman while traveling about 87 mph, the NTSB said. The maximum authorized speed for passenger trains at the location is 110 mph.
Parties to the investigation include the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division.
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