OAKLAND, Calif. — Three people were injured after an Amtrak Capitol Corridor train hit on-track maintenance equipment late Friday morning, disrupting rail service for several hours.
The San Jose Mercury News reports a front-load tractor owned by Union Pacific was working on the middle of three tracks when it was struck by San Jose-bound train No. 531. The operator had to be extracted from the wreckage of the vehicle and was taken to the hospital with major injuries. KTVU-TV reports a passenger on the train was also hurt, while a third person suffered minor injuries and was not transported to the hospital, according to an Oakland Fire Department spokesman.
Fire department hazmat crews were called to address a fuel spill resulting from the collision estimated at more than 100 gallon, but a railroad crew eventually took over the cleanup.
The tracks between Oakland and San Jose did not reopen until more than 9 hours after the accident. Capitol Corridor Managing Director Rob Padgette later issued a message to riders apologizing for train cancellations on Friday, part of what he called “an extremely challenging day” that also included a fatal pedestrian strike and a trackside fire. Efforts to create a bus bridge around the incident in Oakland were unsuccessful, he said, because of driver shortages at local transit agencies.
“In this post-pandemic time, resource constraints continue to prevail, and we will continue to do our best to navigate around them,” Padgette wrote. “We appreciate the patience and flexibility many of you have shown during these unexpected incidents.”
The Mercury News reports the National Transportation Safety Board and state Division of Occupational Safety and Health are investigating the incident, although the NTSB does not list a deployment to the Oakland site on its Twitter feed of responses.
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