WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on an accident involving an Amtrak train near Washington’s Union Station on (all times local):
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1 p.m.
Two freight train conductors who got out of their train to check out an alert that there was a problem with it died when they walked onto an active track and were struck by a passenger train near Washington’s Union Station.
National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Wednesday at a news conference that the two got off the train to check out a notification about a problem with one or more of the train’s wheels. Weener says an investigation is ongoing and that there are “few definitive facts at this early stage.” Weener says the CSX train that the employees got off of was coming from Baltimore and is the type that carries shipping containers.
The employees were struck by an Amtrak train.
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10 a.m.
Riders traveling on commuter trains in Maryland are being impacted by a fatal accident involving an Amtrak train near Washington’s Union Station.
Riders traveling on MARC’s Camden and Penn lines can expect major delays Wednesday as a result of the incident in which two railroad workers were struck and killed by an Amtrak train.
Transit officials in Maryland said in a statement that MARC train service will be severely impacted throughout the day with possible cancellations on some evening Penn Line trains.
Officials said Wednesday morning that train delays on both lines range from five to 60 minutes.
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9:20 a.m.
Two railroad workers were killed when they were hit by an Amtrak train that was approaching a station in Washington.
In a news release, Amtrak says a train traveling from Boston and New York was approaching Washington’s Union Station around 11:18 p.m. Tuesday when the two people on the tracks were struck. Railroad company CSX confirmed Wednesday that the two people who died were CSX employees.
Amtrak says none of the train’s passengers or crew were injured.
Service was suspended between Washington and Philadelphia while authorities investigated the incident, but Amtrak said in a statement Wednesday morning that service was resuming. Residual delays are expected.
CSX said the names of the employees are being withheld for their families’ privacy. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
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