WASHINGTON — A Union Pacific conductor was seriously injured during a shoving move when the car on which he was riding sideswiped a trackmobile on an adjacent track, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary report on the June 23, 2025, incident in Lexington, Neb.
The incident occurred about 12:33 p.m., and involved a yard job consisting of an engineer and conductor operating a train of one locomotive and 25 empty tank cars. That train was being shoved from UP’s Lexington yard to the industry lead track at the Chief Ethanol Fuels facility in Lexington. The cars were being shoved onto industry track 2 when the tank car sideswiped the trackmobile, which had been used earlier in the day and had been left in a position fouling the lead track. The conductor was airlifted to a hospital in Kearney, Neb., by emergency responders.
On-scene investigation by the NTSB included sight distance observations, examination of the track and equipment involved, review of data from the locomotive event recorder and CEF surveillance cameras, a reenactment of the incident, interviews, and request for information from UP and CEF. The ongoing investigation will focus on UP and CEF employee training, operating procedures, and safety oversight.
