Two CSX workers struck, killed by Amtrak train

The victims were conductors aboard a CSX freight train that was approaching Union Station from Baltimore and had deboarded to check a mechanical problem.    Two CSX workers who were on tracks near the intersection of Ninth Street and New York Ave. in Washington, DC were killed when they were struck just before midnight Tuesday by an oncoming Amtrak train.
   The victims, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), had been aboard a CSX freight train that was approaching Union Station from Baltimore when an alert was conveyed from dispatch, thus requiring the crew members – one the conductor and the other a conductor being qualified on that route – to disembark the halted train and perform an equipment check.
   At some point, the two CSX workers crossed onto an active track on which Amtrak was operating passenger trains. The southbound Amtrak passenger train, which was en route from Boston to Washington, DC, then struck and killed the two workers around 11:50 p.m. Tuesday, according to CSX.
   “At this time, the names of the involved employees are being withheld out of respect for the privacy of the families,” CSX said in a statement.
   The CSX train, traveling from Baltimore, was carrying mixed freight.
   None of the 121 passengers aboard the commuter train or any of the crew members were injured, according to Amtrak.
   The accident happened in an area where there were two CSX tracks and two Amtrak tracks.
   Both the NTSB and Federal Railroad Administration are investigating the incident.
   NTSB investigators already have evidence from the tracks and are analyzing camera footage and data recorders, as well as interviewing witnesses, NTSB board member Earl Weener said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference.
   “We have few definitive facts at this early stage,” Weener said.
   Passengers remained on the train for hours after the collision before being transferred to another train and taken the rest of the way to Union Station, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
   Service between Washington and Philadelphia was temporarily suspended by Amtrak on the route before being reopened around 10:00 a.m. Wednesday.