This information is preliminary and subject to change. Release Date 6 March 2024
On February 13, 2024, about 1:38 p.m. local time, a CSX Transportation (CSX) maintenance-of-way (MOW) employee was struck and killed by a ballast regulator near milepost 81.61 on a CSX Northend Subdivision industry spur track in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.[1] The MOW employee was the foreman of a CSX team that was using the ballast regulator and other equipment to perform track resurfacing and tie replacement. The ballast regulator, facing south and located to the north of a highway–railroad grade crossing (grade crossing) at 10th Street, reversed north and struck the foreman in the gage of the track.[2] Visibility conditions at the time of the accident were clear, and the temperature was 52˚F.
Preliminary information indicates that just before the accident, the operator of the ballast regulator was planning to cross south over 10th Street. The ballast regulator operator called the foreman on the radio to request flaggers at the grade crossing so the regulator could cross.[3] The flagging crew was located in a CSX pickup truck east of the track, along with the foreman. After exiting the truck, the crew moved into position to stop motor vehicle traffic on 10th Street, and the foreman approached the track to the north of the grade crossing and the ballast regulator.
Audio recordings from nearby radio scanners obtained by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicate that just after the ballast regulator operator called for flaggers, he stated he was ready to cross south over 10th Street and was waiting for the flagging crew to get into position. In postaccident interviews with the NTSB, a motorist who was stopped at the grade crossing at the time of the accident recalled seeing the ballast regulator strike the foreman before stopping. The motorist alerted the flagging crew, who found the foreman deceased about 61 feet north of the crossing.
While on scene, NTSB investigators completed interviews, conducted sight distance observations, examined the ballast regulator involved in the accident, and reviewed CSX policies and procedures for employees working close to MOW equipment.
The NTSB’s investigation is ongoing. Future investigative activity will focus on additional examination of the ballast regulator and CSX procedures for working around MOW equipment. The NTSB will also examine line-of-sight restrictions and change of direction alarms and will conduct noise-level measurements related to the operation of the ballast regulator.
As a result of this accident, on February 13, the Fatality Analysis of Maintenance‐of‐Way Employees and Signalmen Committee issued an alert reminding MOW employees to establish clear communications between MOW machine operators and ground workers, maintain proper distance from and awareness of machines, and to address in safety briefings the risks associated with machine movements.[4]
Parties to the investigation include:
- the Federal Railroad Administration,
- CSX, and
- the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division.[5]
[1] (a) All times in this report are local times. (b) A ballast regulator is a piece of MOW
equipment that evenly distributes ballast, or crushed stone, along a railroad track bed.
[2] Gage is the distance between the heads of rails. Standard gage in the United States and
Canada is 4 feet 8.5 inches, measured 0.625 inches below the top of the rail.
[3] A flagger is a person who provides temporary traffic control for motor vehicles. The CSX team
included a three-person flagging crew. Although the 10th Street grade crossing had track circuit–
activated warning lights and gates, these had been disengaged to allow the resurfacing operation to proceed without constant activation of the lights and gates.
[4] The Fatality Analysis of Maintenance‐of‐Way Employees and Signalmen Committee, formed by the Federal Railroad Administration in collaboration with railroad labor and management representatives, analyzes fatalities and other incidents to identify risks, trends, and factors affecting roadway worker safety. The alert can be found at
https://railroads.fra.dot.gov/elibrary/fames-alert-6.
[5] The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division spells the word “Employes” in its
name with one final e.
