This information is preliminary and subject to change.
On October 14, 2024, about 6:02 a.m. local time, an Alstom employee operating the southbound New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) light rail vehicle (LRV) 207 was killed when the LRV struck a tree that had fallen across the tracks of the River Line at milepost 24.53 near Florence in Burlington County, New Jersey.1 (See figure.) LRV 207 was composed of two articulated railcars and had 41 passengers on board in addition to the operator.2 The LRV was travelling at 64 mph through a curve in a wooded area of the River Line from Trenton to Camden when it encountered the fallen tree.3 The operator activated the track brakes and the emergency brakes, causing the LRV to decelerate for about 430 feet before striking the tree. A branch of the tree penetrated through the forward windshield of the cab and fatally struck the operator. The LRV came to a stop about 880 feet past the point of impact. Twenty-three passengers were injured, transported to a nearby hospital for treatment, and released. NJ Transit estimated damages to equipment to be about $194,000. At the time of the accident, visibility conditions were dark with the LRV’s headlights providing the only illumination; the weather was 60°F with no precipitation.
While on scene, the National Transportation Safety Board inspected LRV 207, examined the track at the accident site, reviewed NJ Transit operating procedures, conducted sight distance observations, secured LRV 207’s event recorder for data retrieval, reviewed video recordings from the outward-facing camera of an LRV that approached the accident site shortly after the collision, and completed interviews.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation is ongoing. Future investigative activity will focus on NJ Transit’s right-of-way maintenance and inspection practices, dispatcher reporting procedures, and the crashworthiness of the LRV’s design.
Parties to the investigation include:
- the Federal Transit Administration;
- the Occupational Safety and Health Administration;
- the New Jersey Department of Transportation;
- NJ Transit; Alstom; and
- the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.[4]
[1](a) LRV 207 was a Stadler GTW manufactured by Stadler Rail AG of Switzerland. (b) The River Line is a hybrid rail line that runs from Camden to Trenton along the Delaware River in New Jersey. A light rail transit system owned by NJ Transit and operated and maintained by Alstom runs on the River Line.
[2] Articulated railcars are permanently coupled.
[3] According to River Line Timetable No. 8, the maximum authorized speed in the accident area was 65 mph.
[4] The Federal Railroad Administration joined the investigation as a party and participated in on-scene activities but has since chosen to withdraw from the investigation.
