WASHINGTON — A Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority light rail vehicle was traveling about 11 mph when it struck an end-of-track bumping post, injuring eight passengers and the operator in a May 11, 2025, incident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The NTSB released the preliminary report on its ongoing investigation today (June 4, 2025).
Fifteen passengers were on board the train when it hit the bumping post in Norristown, Pa., at about 9:45 a.m. on May 11. Two of the passsengers were seriously injured; damage was estimated at $920,000.
The operator had reported to work about 4:46 a.m. and began making trips between the 69th Street station in Philadelphia and Norristown about 5:30 a.m. The collision occurred on the third trip after two earlier round trips went off without incident.
During a visit to the scene, NTSB investigators inspected the track at the site, evaluated braking performance of the vehicle involved, recovered information from the train’s onboard cameras, and reviewed signal, event recording, and radio communications information. The agency indicated the continuing investigation will focus on operator performance; SEPTA operating and training procedures; speed enforcement technologies; and emergency response plans.
Quibble: 69th Street station is in Upper Darby, just west of the Philadelphia city limit.
Thanks. Corrected.
Engineer failure or equipment failure? Wasn’t there a similar event in Hoboken some years ago where an incoming train hit the stop barrier? Hope there is follow-up on this story.
The preliminary reports just set out the basic facts of an incident, although sometimes that is enough to indicate a cause. Since that’s not the case in this incident, that information will come out in the final report, which could be a year or more away.