National Passenger Rail Corporation Maintenance-of-Way Employee Fatality
Executive Summary
On October
29, 2014, at 10:56 a.m. eastern daylight time, National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (Amtrak) train A280 struck and killed an Amtrak signal helper. Earlier that morning, the Amtrak employee had provided protection for a contractor who was installing cable earlier
near milepost 100.9 in Clermont, New York.
At the time of the accident, the sky was overcast with
occasional rain; the temperature was 58° F. There were 128 passengers on board the train.
An
engineer and an engineer who was qualifying for a new territory were in the locomotive cab; a conductor and an assistant conductor were in the passenger cars. No one on the train was injured.
Probable Cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause of the accident
was that the signal
helper was occupying main track
1 without securing on-track
protection.