On Monday, July 8, 2019, about 5:21 p.m. local time, northbound Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) train 46 struck two SEPTA roadway workers on express track 3 on SEPTA’s Broad Street Subway Line in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One worker was killed, and the other was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. Prior to the accident, a southbound SEPTA train (train 41) was operating on express track 2 (track 2) just north of SEPTA’s Erie interlocking and passed the workers. Simultaneously, northbound train 46 struck the roadway workers as it departed the Erie Station on track 3.
We determined that the probable cause of this accident was Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority’s decision to use train approach warning for roadway worker protection while performing maintenance in an area with multiple main tracks where trains could approach from either direction at full track speed.
