NTSB releases preliminary report on incident when MARTA train struck maintenance worker

WASHINGTON – A Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority maintenance worker suffered a below-knee amputation after being struck by a MARTA train in an incident on Oct. 19, 2024, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary investigative report released on Wednesday, November 6th.

The incident occurred around 11:14 a.m. in a tunnel between the Arts Center and Lindbergh Center stations. The injured worker was part of a four-person team working to replace non-functioning train approach lights; This group used various forms of worker protection, including a security guard to warn the other three workers of approaching trains, and a system called inspection clearance, which notifies train operators of maintenance work but does not prevent trains from entering the work area at track speed. At the time of the incident, a worker was in a control room preparing to turn off a relay to identify the broken lights and possible oncoming trains. Two others were busy with repairs alongside the guard.

The guard told NTSB investigators that he was focused on dismantling a lamp as the train entered the tunnel and that he believed the train alarm lights activated at that time were due to testing by the worker in the control room.

The NTSB’s ongoing investigation will focus on worker protections and MARTA policies and procedures.