Amtrak Accident Reportedly Caused by Maintenance Mistake

Two construction workers were performing maintenance on an active line that was not the line on which they were supposed to be working, according to a report.

An April 3 fatal accident in Chester, Pa., involving an Amtrak train may have occurred when two Amtrak construction workers made a mistake and were working on the wrong line, according to a new report and a CNN report. The two workers died when the train collided with a backhoe; NTSB has said that it is still gathering all of the facts.

A total of 37 people aboard the Amtrak train suffered minor injuries. Amtrak said the accident in Chester, Pa., disrupted its service for hours, with limited service being restored between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del., by 2:30 p.m. local time. The train involved was Amtrak's Palmetto, which offers service between New York City and Savannah, Ga. Amtrak reported it is working with the NTSB to investigate the cause of the incident, which caused the train's locomotive to derail.

Another passenger train accident occurred April 3 in Plymouth, England, with 18 passengers injured there in a collision of two trains at the Plymouth rail station. UK authorities reported the collision occurred about 3:35 p.m. and was a "low-speed" collision on platform six of the station. The 18 injuries included the driver of one of the trains, with most sustaining minor injuries.

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