What I do not understand, why Amtrak did not inform those workers that the train was heading there way. I think Amtrak is responsible for the incident. Communication was a big factor here.....

I cannot agree more. How can those people have been on the tracks at the time the train was coming through? This is total negligence on the part of Amtrak! My prayers are with the families of the victims for sure.

Gee, Jess. You might want to have some info and facts out there before you assign blame.

Wow, what a rush to judge without any concrete facts! You might want to think before you open your big yap!

I agree that more information is required. The report was lacking in a lot of facts and I don't think we can just assume anything based on a news account. Of course, here's hoping that everyone and every agency or company involved will, of course, do the right thing and accept responsibility if an error was made. No cover ups, please!

The driver of the train should have been watching for people in the tracks.

I am not sure I understand why you people are focusing on cover-ups and not my friend of over 20 years. He was one of the safest people I know. He knew as we all do in the railroad industry that if you make a mistake people can get hurt or killed. I will miss him dearly.

I did work for a tree service company in New Jersey & worked along side of the tracks. While we were there working a repsentative from the train company had to be there at all times & sound a horn when a train approached so we could get further away from the tracks. Mostly he would let us know ahead of time. I'm inclined to think that Amtrak will have some repercussions later on.

Eric, I assume you have never been in a locomotive cab. Yes, the engineer is constantly on the look out for hazards. The train was doing only 55 MPH, you cannot stop it on a dime.
Amtrak, the Federal Government have rules that govern the protection of track workers.
Somehow someone(s) did not observe them. It takes time to make a full investigation. Tapes of radio and phone conversations have to be listened to; the locomotive "back box" has to be checked out, employees have to be interviewed and drug tested. The paper records will be checked out as well computer records. All of this is done by Federal Railroad Administration. Federal & State Departments of Transportation, railroad police, and the carrier's safety department.
Eric, all railroads place the responsibility of safety of any worker on a track upon that person.
Based on my experience, I have an idea what happended, but only time will tell who failed. I know that it wasn't the engineer.

I think everyone should just pray for the victims!! No one know for sure what has happened yet. I know one of the men hit and he is hurt very badly. My heart goes out to the family that has lost a loved one. Pray for his family and pray for the other 2 men that were hurt!

Have you ever been standing waiting for the train when the Acela comes barreling through?
There is not need for that train to come through a station at such a high speed.
Where was the communication? This is sick and preventable.

I just dont understand it. In a world of bus 'monitors'who check the street, and look under the tires (even if just one kid is getting off),and pot hole,or phone co. workers with 'flaggers' ,,how this kind of thing can happen. like that guy said .. in NJ, a train company person stood sentry,as tree work was done. Thats a VERY prudent measure. New rule: if men have to work on a track, Amtrak has to have a 'watcher'. Perhaps they already have such a rule, if so.. it was ignored.

I KNOW ONE OF THESE GUYS AND I HOPE THAT HE IS DOING OKAY.. SO MY HEART GOES OUT TO ALL OF THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS & FRIENDS..
GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIEND..

hey so I was supposed to get on one of those trains leaving boston south station, and i am seriously wondering how this happened.because they say it wasnt suicide. they were working on the tracks. at all the train stops ive been to, they give you a warning well before we can even see or hear the train, and they didnt do that this time? And even if not, I personally hear the trains horns or whatever, bells, making noise, and can see it like more than 100 feet away, those trains are crazy fast, but they said it was going slower than usual, so even more time, to jump and run out the way right? I am not assigning anyone the blame, i am just wondering how it all happened. also i hope the two injured heal soon, and im praying for the family of the one who was killed. i am aware that not everyone can see or hear the same as i, even though Im near sighted, so idk. this is tragic, and i am trying to understand it.

Obviously, someone is in the wrong here. My first inclination is to put at least some of the blame on Amtrak. They are the one's who send these people out to inspect these tracks. They didn't know these people were out there I highly doubt it.

Secondly, they should have had some kind of warning system in place to inform them that a train was coming.

Amtrak will definetly be partly responsible for this tragedy.

"Have you ever been standing waiting for the train when the Acela comes barreling through?
There is not need for that train to come through a station at such a high speed.
Where was the communication? This is sick and preventable"

Susan, I must comment on your posting first before I make my own comments. First of all, any station that the Acella does not stop at means that the train will continue through the station. They may rreduce speed some, but if every train slowed down to pass every station they were not stopping at, then they might as well stop there. my point is Susan, the trains blow their horns, they have anouncements IN ADVANCE of the train going by the station stating "Train approaching, please stay behind the yellow line". Your statment that "there is no reason the train should come through the station at such a high speed" is not logical and is also not relevent here. The issue at hand is how did the workers get injured. The dispatcher is made aware of when the workers are on or near the tracks doing their job. The railroad has supervisors/foremen on site with radios and in most cases, the upcoming train must call the on scene supervisor and request permission to enter the work area. Additionally, all train crews receive train orders indication work zones or "slow orders" which tell the train that between these 2 points, there is work going on and your speed should be designated as_ _ mph and once you pass that area, you may resume speed. So what happened? I would agree with posters who state that it will be shared responsibility. It could be that the train was early, it could be that the track workers were not in the area where they should have been. it could also be something else completely different. the bottom line is that work is done on railroad track that is alot busier and more dangerous then this stretch in Providence. It will be determined what happened, and what needs to be corrected or changed to prevent that from happening again. It is a very unfortate accident and believe me it takes quite a traumatic toll on the locomotive operator also. We will find out what happened. it just may take time.. please pray for the victims and their families and be patient...