​​This information is preliminary and subject to change.

​On October 19, 2024, about 11:14 a.m. local time, northbound Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) train 402 struck an employee who was performing maintenance work on train approach lights about 280 feet north of a tunnel exit in between the Arts Center and Lindbergh Center Stations in Atlanta, Georgia.[1]​ The employee suffered a below-the-knee amputation as a result of the strike. At the time of the accident, visibility conditions were clear; the temperature was 62°F with no precipitation.

The maintenance crew consisted of a watchman and three roadway workers and was tasked with repairing nonfunctional train approach lights. The maintenance crew was using several forms of protection, including inspection clearance, which notifies train operators of maintenance activities, but does not prevent the trains from entering the work area at track speed. The maintenance crew was also using a form of protection called watchman lookout, in which a watchman is assigned who is responsible for warning the maintenance crew of approaching trains. Also, the maintenance crew was using train approach lights that are activated when a train was detected on the track circuit. At the time of the accident, two employees were actively engaged in repairs alongside the watchman lookout. (See figure.) A fourth employee was in the train control room preparing to de-energize a relay to help identify the malfunctioning lights and possible oncoming trains.

​In an interview with National Transportation Safety Board investigators, the watchman said that he was focused on taking apart a light when the train exited the tunnel. In addition, he said that he had presumed that the train alert lights that were activated at the time of the incident were from the testing the fourth worker was performing in the train control room.

While on scene, NTSB investigators inspected equipment, signals and track; performed sight-distance observations; and reviewed inward- and outward-facing image recorders, event recorders, radio communications, and surveillance cameras. The NTSB also reviewed MARTA’s policies and procedures and completed interviews with the train operator and the members of the maintenance crew.

The NTSB’s investigation is ongoing. Future investigative activity will focus on roadway worker protections, MARTA policies and procedures.

Parties to the investigation include:

• the Federal Transit Administration,
• the Georgia Department of Transportation, 
• MARTA, and 
• the Amalgamated Transit Union​​​