NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on Amtrak Worker Fatality in Pennsylvania

Overhead image of the accident site. (Courtesy NTSB)

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– The National Transportation Safety Board this week released its preliminary report on the death of an Amtrak track worker on February 23, 2026.

An Amtrak worker was fatally struck by an eastbound Amtrak snow patrol train running along main track 1 of the Philadelphia-Harrisburg Line in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The accident occurred on Monday, February 23, 2026 at approximately 11:15 a.m.

The deceased worker was part of a three-person Amtrak roadway maintenance work group that had been assigned to remove snow and ice from a switch after the passage of a winter storm. The NTSB reports that the temperature was 35°F, visibility conditions were daylight and overcast, and there was no precipitation.

The non-revenue snow train had originated in Philadelphia and was clearing ice from the catenary between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. It was made up of two locomotives in push-pull configuration and a passenger car. The train was operating to enable the restoration of passenger service along the line after the snowstorm, and the crew consisted of an engineer in the lead locomotive and a conductor in the passenger car. The three-person roadway maintenance work group included a designated watchman, the foreman who was clearing snow from a switch, and a third employee who was in a truck positioned approximately 700 feet from the site.

As the train departed Lancaster Station on main track 1, the foreman of the work crew was clearing snow from a switch with a gasoline-powered leaf blower on the same track. At the time of the accident, the roadway maintenance work group was using train approach warning as it’s method of on-track safety.

As the engineer operated the train through the work area, he observed an individual standing in the foul of the track at the switch. At 11:15:54, the engineer sounded the locomotive horn and placed the train into emergency braking. At 11:15:57, the train was traveling at approximately 87 m.p.h. when it struck the foreman who was clearing the snow.

The NTSB notes that all aspects of the collision remain under investigation while it (the NTSB) determines the probable cause with the intent to issue safety recommendations to prevent similar events.

You can read the entire report, including footnotes, here.