Aerial view of the accident scene. (Courtesy of Google Earth.)
​​Aerial view of the accident scene. (Courtesy of Google Earth.)

CSX Transportation Conductor Trainee Fatality

What Happened

On June 26, 2023, about 8:06 p.m. local time, a CSX Transportation (CSX) conductor trainee in phase II of conductor training was killed when he fell from an intermodal railcar during a shoving movement and was struck by the train he was riding at Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland.​​​

What We Found

​We determined that the probable cause of the Baltimore, Maryland, accident was the conductor trainee, who CSX Transportation sent into the field without performance-based verification that he could safely ride an intermodal railcar, riding the intermodal railcar in an unstable position that left him vulnerable to slipping and falling into the train’s path. 

Contributing to the accident were:

  1. deficient CSX Transportation operating rules, which did not provide adequate protection against the risk of slipping; 
  2. deficient CSX Transportation training, which did not provide sufficient training on how to ride intermodal railcars; and 
  3. the lack of research-based federal guidance for the safe use of railcar safety appliances when riding equipment.

What We Recommended

​​​As a result of this investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board makes the following new safety recommendations:

To the Federal Railroad Administration:

  • Conduct research on the effects of foot and hand placement on all railcar safety appliances, taking into consideration the effects that slack action and other railcar movements have on the human body’s center of gravity, to determine where railroad employees can place their feet and hands on these appliances to safely and securely ride equipment, and make the research publicly available. (R-25-1)
  • Issue guidance on the proper use of railcar safety appliances based on the results of the research described in R-25-1, and encourage railroads to review and revise their operating rules and training for riding equipment based on the federal guidance. (R-25-2)

To the Class I Railroads:

  • Prohibit employees from riding railroad equipment with their feet on railcar safety appliances that restrict foot placement. (R-25-3)

To CSX Transportation:

  • Revise your operating rules to instruct employees on how to safely ride all the types of railcars that you have in various situations that employees might encounter, such as riding across highway-railroad grade crossings. (R-25-4)
  • After completing the action described in R-25-4, provide initial and annual recurring training to all employees on the revised operating rules. (R-25-5)

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