Passenger Trains > Amtrak employee struck on Harrisburg Line was blowing snow

 An Amtrak employee who was killed last month had been clearing snow from a railroad switch when he was struck by a train, according to a safety bulletin issued by the Federal Railroad Administration. 

  Jeremy Charles, 39, of Holtwood, had been using a backpack snow blower on the tracks near Greenfield Road in East Lampeter Township on Feb. 23 as part of a maintenance crew, officials wrote. Charles had been an Amtrak employee for four and a half years.

 Federal railroad officials say at the time of the incident, the maintenance crew had been using train approach warning, a safety system in which lookouts watch for oncoming trains and provide workers with enough warning to leave the tracks safely.    According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the train approach warning method is widely used but is susceptible to human error and has been linked to numerous accidents investigated by the NTSB. 

 “We have long been concerned with the risks of using these systems as the primary form of worker protection, especially because they lack safety redundancy,” the NTSB wrote in a 2022 statement. “Trains travel at deceivingly high speeds, and without proper warning, workers may not have enough time to react.” 

 In the safety bulletin, federal officials said rail companies and employees should ensure that all individuals conducting maintenance work on tracks be provided with comprehensive training on train approach warning, and railroads should conduct regular oversight to ensure compliance. 

 The investigation into the Feb. 23 incident is ongoing, federal officials said. 

 On the web: https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/amtrak-employee-had-been-clearing-snow-off-the-tracks-prior-to-fatal-accident-federal-officials/article_d9c3e901-27a8-40cd-8c9f-4909cad643f3.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/26 06:48 by GenePoon.

I thought PTC was set up to restrict train speeds when MofW crews are registered to be in the area ? 
I thought lesson learned after the Palmetto/Chester PA wreck that totalled a Sprinter with Boardman's "Safe-2-Safer" thing. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/26 07:16 by joemvcnj.

I wonder if the dispatcher notified the engineer that there was workmen clearing switches.  Thus the engineer would have been on the lookout around said switches.  

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>  Federal railroad officials say at the time of
> the incident, the maintenance crew had been using
> train approach warning, a safety system in which
> lookouts watch for oncoming trains and provide
> workers with enough warning to leave the tracks
> safely.    According to the National
> Transportation Safety Board, the train approach
> warning method is widely used but is susceptible
> to human error and has been linked to numerous
> accidents investigated by the NTSB. 

Wait, you mean there was a "maintenance" crew working on/around the tracks, and the dispatcher and train crews had no idea that they were there?

If that is true...

WHAT THE BLEEPING HECK???

In this day and age, that is completely unacceptable.

Interesting, my first thought was a lone worker that had a foul time mixup. 

>
> Wait, you mean there was a "maintenance" crew
> working on/around the tracks, and the dispatcher
> and train crews had no idea that they were there?

Train frequency on the NEC makes formal track posessions for certain types of work cumbersome and in some ways more risky. There is also not enough dispatcher bandwidth to be a clearinghouse for every moving part on the railroad. If you overload the dispatcher with radio calls, do you really think that their mouse clicks on a computer screen to set and remove blocks are going to be any safer? 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/26 07:49 by mbrotzman.

Employees on the right of way should not be "protected" by 19th century technology when much newer systems are available.

Very sad for everyone, and the friends of the deceased employee.

longliveSP Wrote:

> Wait, you mean there was a "maintenance" crew
> working on/around the tracks, and the dispatcher
> and train crews had no idea that they were there?
>
> If that is true...
>
> WHAT THE BLEEPING HECK???
>
> In this day and age, that is completely
> unacceptable.


Working with a look-out means there is someone whose only job is to look down the track
to see if a train is coming and then get the worker in the clear. In some cases a lookout is provided 
in each direction.

Looking both ways for traffic is something that a person should have learned when about 4 years old  when
encountering crossing a street.  Regardless, a lookout gets training in how to perform the duties.  

At some point a worker is responsible for what he or she does.  Do you suggest giving track and time every time
someone wants to cross a track ?  

I don't know if it is wise to operate an extremely loud machine like a leaf blower when depending on getting notification
from the look-out of an approaching train.  

Someone probably cut corners in procedures.  I wonder if amtrak had issued procedures in using the air blower.

There are a lot if things that go on without the dispatcher having knowledge of it.  That is why there are rules for people to  
follow in such cases.  Too often the people who should be protecting themselves want to slough if off on someone else. So there
is a guy whose only job is to watch for trains and he wants a dispatcher and engineer whose are operating in an already high work load
environment to watch out for him. If that is the case the employee in the field should ask for track and time, exclusive occupancy, etc.
Then the company can lay off the watchman.

 

Was this during the blizzard? If so, maybe the lookout couldn't see the train approaching in time. 

symph1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Was this during the blizzard? If so, maybe the
> lookout couldn't see the train approaching in
> time. 

Yes, during blizzard

Englewood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Working with a look-out means there is someone
> whose only job is to look down the track
> to see if a train is coming and then get the
> worker in the clear. In some cases a lookout is
> provided 
> in each direction.

Sometimes, you kind of wonder, though. A colleague was safety officer for a commuter operation. She had to deal with an incident involving a train hitting and killing a guy operating a snow blower. They were working under the watchman rules, but it turns out the guy who was killed while operating the snow blower . . . 
was the watchman.

TAW

I've frequently seen Caltrain use a watchman with a handheld air horn to warn workers to get in the clear. From what I've overheard the train crews and dispatchers on Caltrain are usually aware that workers are in the area and have to get permission to pass the boards, use bells and whistles, etc. That said, if you're operating a gas powered, backpack style leaf blower with ear protection on in a blizzard, a handheld air horn would likely be inadequate to get your attention. I'd be curious to know how attention for warning of a train was to be provided to the Amtrak MoW crew.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/26 10:01 by broken_link.

symph1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Was this during the blizzard? If so, maybe the
> lookout couldn't see the train approaching in
> time. 

This storm was coastal so I doubt the snow in the Lancaster would have prevented a watchman from seeing the train headlights. (The engineer being able to identify the workers is another matter). If you're looking for an human factors answer its because the outer Harrisburg Line only has trains running every 1-2 hours on a normal schedule and on the day in question I am not sure if much more than Train 43 due to show up. It wouldn't be surprising if a bored watchman was caught unawares by an extra train movement. 

need a flagmanclose enough to do something, have a ten foot pole?

jp1822 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> symph1 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Was this during the blizzard? If so, maybe the
> > lookout couldn't see the train approaching in
> > time. 
>
> Yes, during blizzard

Well, if you can't see the required distance then you can't work under the watchman rules.
Then you would need to contact the DS and get authority that he she could protect.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/26 10:50 by Englewood.

TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Sometimes, you kind of wonder, though. A colleague
> was safety officer for a commuter operation. She
> had to deal with an incident involving a train
> hitting and killing a guy operating a snow blower.
> They were working under the watchman rules, but it
> turns out the guy who was killed while operating
> the snow blower . . . 
> was the watchman.
>
> TAW

I think the first worker fatality after the Roadway Worker Protection rules went into effect was a Watchman.
Couldn't watch out for himself.

I can see a case where the blower operator has a problem with the blower and needs help getting it going again.
Then he should vacate the right of way and the watchman can then help.
Cheating / bending the rules may work most of the time but not always.

I can see how the snowblower operator would not be able to hear a warning call (noise + wearing hearing protection) and have his eyes down on the task.  A sad accident, but you wonder why there can't be better tracking technology (Apple Airtag on the employee?) or some sort of proximity alerter for the employee to wear if a train enters the work territory.  Hopefully an investigation yields some tech or procedure improvements.

-Sean

Amtrak and thier inability to implement PTC on their equipment where PTC was in place. Case in point: December 18, 2017, DuPont, WA. #I WAS THERE

Drew Mitchem
Centralia, WA

amtrak34east Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amtrak and thier inability to implement PTC on
> their equipment where PTC was in place. Case in
> point: December 18, 2017, DuPont, WA. #I WAS THERE

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAN

PTC has nothing to do with this topic of discussion, since it seems very clear that both dispatchers and train crews were unaware that MOW crews were working on/near the tracks.

" ...it seems very clear that both dispatchers and train crews were unaware that MOW crews were working on/near the tracks."

If true, that is totally unacceptable and Amtrak would likely be held to blame.

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> " ...it seems very clear that both dispatchers and
> train crews were unaware that MOW crews were
> working on/near the tracks."
>
> If true, that is totally unacceptable and Amtrak
> would likely be held to blame.

Did the manager of the MOW employee that was hit do their job and notify the Dispatcher that they had people out working on or near the tracks?
Did the employee know that they needed protection before they worked on or near the tracks?

Lot's of questions here but very few answers...