This information is preliminary and subject to change.
Release date 4 June 2025
On May 11, 2025, about 9:45 a.m. local time, northbound Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) light rail vehicle 153 (LRV 153) operating on track 1 of the M Line collided with an end-of-track bumping post at the Norristown Transportation Center Station (Norristown Station) in Norristown, Pennsylvania. [1] (See figure.) There were 15 passengers and 1 operator on board the LRV at the time of the accident. Eight passengers and the operator were injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment; two passengers were seriously injured. SEPTA estimated damage to equipment to be about $920,000. At the time of the accident, visibility conditions were clear and sunny; the weather was 68°F with no precipitation.
On the day of the accident, about 4:46 a.m., the operator reported for duty at the 69th Street Transportation Center Station (69th Street Station, the southern terminal). About 5:30 a.m., the operator began making scheduled trips between the 69th Street Station and Norristown Station (the northern terminal). The operator completed two round trips without incident and began the third trip about 9:05 a.m. During this trip, about 9:45 a.m., the operator entered Norristown Station but continued past the designated stopping point and struck the bumping post while traveling about 11 mph. The maximum authorized speed at the terminal stations on the M Line was 15 mph. [2]
While on scene, National Transportation Safety Board investigators inspected the track at the accident site; evaluated the braking performance of LRV 153; conducted sight distance observations; reviewed data from the signal system, the LRV’s event recorder, inward-facing cameras on the LRV, and radio communications between the operator and SEPTA’s Regional Rail Operations Control Center in Philadelphia; recovered the inward-facing camera in the operator’s cab and outward-facing cameras on the LRV; requested recordings from the surveillance cameras at Norristown Station; conducted a reenactment of the accident; and completed interviews.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation is ongoing. Future investigative activity will focus on the operator’s performance on the day of the accident and SEPTA’s operating and training procedures, speed enforcement technologies, and emergency response plans.
Parties to the investigation include:
- the Federal Transit Administration;
- the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation;
- SEPTA; and
- the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.
[1] (a) All times in this report are local times. (b) LRV 153 is an N-5 railcar built by ABB in the 1990s. (c) SEPTA’s M Line was formerly known as the Norristown High Speed Line. (d) A bumping post is a device placed at the end of a track to prevent railcars from going beyond the designated stopping point.
[2] The maximum authorized speed was set by SEPTA’s Surface Operations Suburban Victory District Special Instructions, effective on November 3, 2019.
