Amtrak Express Train Hits 3 Track Workers

1 Track Inspector Killed, 2 Seriously Injured In Accident Near Providence, R.I.

(AP)  An Amtrak express train has struck and killed a worker who was inspecting tracks just outside a train station in downtown Providence.

Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole says two other workers were seriously injured when they were hit by a northbound Amtrak Acela train at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday.

Two of the workers are Amtrak employees, while one works for a contractor. No other information was immediately available on the person who was killed.

The injured workers were sent to a hospital.

None of the 169 people on the train were hurt. Train traffic was temporarily halted in both directions at the accident site, and the MBTA was running bus service between Providence and South Attleboro.

[flyguy42-2009]

It looks like most of the readers here just don''t understand how things work as far as railroads here. Amtrak workers as well as contract workers depend on the system to keep them safe. I am thinking that the system failed this time aroundas we have one man killed and two other hurt. When your working on track or inspecting them in this case you really don''t think its possible to be hit by a train. You sort of get use to others such as dispatcher''s and flagmen to keep you protected from something like this. When you hear the locomotive horn blowing. Its time to stay clear of the tracks. Somehow these guys did not know the train was in the area. I''m sure we will know the entire story soon when the NTSB gets done . Someone is a fault here

[flyguy42-2009]

First off I would be asking what the Dispatcher in Boston was doing. It would be his job to know where men and equipment would be at all times on Amtrak property. They have to know the exact location by way of mile post markers along the tracks. They would have to relay all that info by way of radio to all trains that would pass through a given area. The would give the train crews orders to be on the look out for men and equipment along that trains path. The dispatcher would also give the train crew orders to sound their horns way before they even get to the area where crews would be working. Plus they shouid have flagmen also in place to protect workers on the tracks. Its the flagmans job to make sure the work crews know when a train is approaching. I don''t know if any of this was in place in Providence at the time of this accident. But thats how things should have went if they were.

[tvgenius]

marymcq: You must not be familiar with the Acelas. Granted, they''re loud, but they approach extremely quietly, and at 150mph. If you were crouched down between the rails, talking with others, by the time you heard it I doubt you''d have time to get fully out of the way. And the fact that it''s on a curve wouldn''t have helped the train or the workers see each other.

[noaanhc]

There is an old railroad saying:

TRAIN TIME IS ANYTIME

My father worked for the railroad for many years and often said those words to me when he heard about persons being hit by a train.

They are words to live by.

[marymcq]

To rharrin1, the train has the right of way, they cannot stop that easily, there are probably no charges at all, and there shouldn''t be.

[marymcq]

These people worked with trains and they didn''t realize this huge loud thing coming down the tracks, not like a train can sneak up on you. I don''t understand how you can get hit by a train, I feel terrible that someone lost their life, and two others are hurt but man, what did think that loud huge thing with the bright light was?

[michellem99-2009]

Did the workers wear vests that they can be sen or colour thst they can be seen in, I meant good not go im last post.

[michellem99-2009]

This is a go time to wake people up. As a rule most can hear well. Saftey first. It is sad that those workers got hurt but they knew what trains can/can''t do. Trains,trucks,buses, don''t handle as a car. They can''t stop on a dime therefore 4 wheelers must keep that in mind. It is bloody dumb to beat them.

[stn_sage]

Condolences to family members of the dead worker. I hope the two injured ones recover soon and return to work.

Obviously, some serious oversight was committed here. When crews are scheduled to work on tracks, precautions are taken to notify train engineers on the affected tracks. Evidently, this didn''t occur?

In terms of the tens of thousands of hours of train travel time, very few of these types of accidents occur. But obcourse, anyone that does, is one to many!

[newsterl]

People try to beat trains, a youtube clip from a train-cam shows a teen in Australia clambering under a slow moving freight train to get to the other side- not realizing there was another set of tracks and that this train with the cam rolling on it was rolling LOTS faster, as the kid emerges from under the slow train he had his back to the oncoming train as he stood up and then tried to adjust his napsack or whatever it was he had, happened so fast he never knew what hit him. The fast train was probably going 50-60 mph, my guess is the noise of the slow train drowned that out or he had a walkman on.

Trains CANT stop on a dime, not even with the wheels locked, for steel wheels rolling on narrow steel rails has very little friction, and the sheer mass/weight of the train takes a lot of energy to stop, there''s a lot of kinetic energy in that movement and Ive seen clips of trains plow right through loaded tractor trailers like they were paper- didn''t even hesitate or slow the train down.