This information is preliminary and subject to change.
On November 19, 2024, about 2:55 p.m. local time, a Carolina Coastal Railway conductor was seriously injured during switching operations on the Nash County Subdivision main track near Rocky Mount, North Carolina.[1] The injured conductor was walking beside two coupled railcars that had been gravity-dropped onto the track when the trailing railcar struck him.[2] Visibility was clear at the time of the accident. The weather was 70°F with no precipitation.
The crew involved in the accident comprised an engineer and the conductor. The train consisted of one locomotive and two loaded gondola railcars.
Before the accident, the crew was positioning the railcars to perform a shoving movement.[3] The injured conductor and the engineer had uncoupled the railcars from the locomotive, set them on the main track for the gravity drop, and moved the locomotive to the siding track. The accident occurred during the gravity drop. At the time of the accident, the engineer was in the locomotive and could not see that the conductor had been injured. As the railcars rolled to a stop, the injured conductor radioed the engineer to call 911. Emergency medical services arrived and transported the injured conductor to a nearby hospital.
While on scene, National Transportation Safety Board investigators completed interviews; reviewed training programs; conducted an accident reenactment; reviewed Carolina Coastal Railway’s policies and procedures; and examined the track, signals, locomotives, and railcars.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation is ongoing. Future investigative activity will focus on safety oversight, employee training, and railroad industry procedures for gravity-switching movements.
Parties to the investigation include the Federal Railroad Administration and Carolina Coastal Railway.
[1] (a)
Switching operations involve moving railroad equipment from one track to another or to different positions on the same track. (b) The accident occurred between the Pinecrest Road and Hammond Street highway railroad grade crossings.
[2] (a) Crewmembers couple equipment by connecting one piece of equipment (such as a railcar) to another. (b) Crewmembers perform a gravity drop by setting railcars at the top of a descending grade and allowing the railcars to roll down the grade. In the area where the accident occurred, the grade descended eastward.
[3] A shoving movement is the process of pushing railcars or a train from the rear with a locomotive.
