This information is preliminary and subject to change. 

​On August 5, 2025, about 12:11 a.m., a BNSF Railway (BNSF) conductor was seriously injured in a raking collision between a moving train and standing railcars at the BNSF Globeville Yard in Denver, Colorado. [1] The crew of train BNSF H-LINDEN1-02A was performing a shoving movement to place the remainder of their train into another track when the train traversed a crossover switch lined for an adjacent track and collided with standing railcars.[2] Three of the standing railcars and five railcars from train H-LINDEN1-02A derailed. The train’s conductor was thrown from the railcar he was riding, and it toppled onto him. BNSF estimated property damages to be about $397,000. At the time of the accident, visibility conditions were clear and dark; the weather was 68°F with no precipitation.

​Composed of 2 locomotives and 103 railcars, train H-LINDEN1-02A originated in Lincoln, Nebraska, on August 2. Its crew consisted of one engineer, one student engineer, and the conductor. As the train terminated in the Globeville Yard on August 5, it entered track 104 from the north. About 12:05 a.m., the crew separated a cut of 54 railcars and left them in that track. Train H-LINDEN1-02A continued south, pulling the remaining 49 railcars in the train over the switch that led into the adjacent track 103.[3] The conductor then instructed the engineer to reverse the train and shove the remaining railcars into track 103. The conductor was riding the west side of an empty hopper car on the leading end (the first railcar) of the shoving movement.

As the train reversed into track 103, the railcars progressed through a crossover switch that facilitated movement between track 103 and the adjacent track 102.[4] The crossover switch was not lined for the intended route. The north switch of the crossover was lined for straight movement into track 102 (occupied with standing railcars) and the south switch, into track 103, was lined for crossover movement from 103 to 102. Train H-LINDEN1-02A diverged into track 102 and collided with the standing railcars, derailing the three standing railcars and five railcars from the train. The accident conductor was thrown from the equipment, and as the empty hopper car derailed, it toppled onto him, resulting in severe injuries. ​​

While on scene, NTSB investigators conducted sight distance observations; reviewed data from surveillance video cameras and train H-LINDEN1-02A’s event recorder and inward- and outward-facing image recorders; tested radios and reviewed radio communications; and conducted interviews.

The NTSB’s investigation is ongoing. Future investigative activity will focus on industry hazard identification and mitigation strategies, training on the proper use of switches to establish track protection, and operating procedures related to riding shoving movements.

Parties to the investigation include:

• the Federal Railroad Administration; 
• BNSF; 
• the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; and 
• the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.