NTSB investigating Amtrak train, UP maintenance machine collision

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a collision that occurred July 15 between an Amtrak train and a Union Pacific Railroad roadway maintenance machine in Oakland, California.

The Amtrak train was carrying 31 passengers and four crew members on the Capitol Corridor Service when it collided with an occupied UP Speed Swing roadway maintenance machine at a grade crossing, according to the NTSB's preliminary report.

One train passenger and the machine operator were transported to a hospital and treated for injuries, and two train crew members were treated at the scene.

The crossing is equipped with gate arms and flashing warning lights, and preliminary information indicates the warning system was operating at the time of the collision. The locomotive was damaged, but neither the locomotive nor rail cars derailed. The roadway machine received heavy damage from the impact of the train and was pushed past main track 1 and onto the nearby house track.

The investigation is ongoing, with future activity focusing on roadway worker protections, the NTSB report states. Parties to the investigation include the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, UP, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the California Public Utilities Commission.

To read the full preliminary report, click here.