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Authorities were investigating the death of a rail conductor who was hit by a passing train in Montana on Sunday National Transportation Safety Board Said.
The conductor worked for BNSF Railway, the agency said in a post on the social media site X. BNSF Railway operates one of the largest freight railway networks in the US.
The incident happened around 9:40 am COLUMBUSA town of about 2,000 people 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Billings.
Nick Jacobs, assistant chief of Columbus Fire Rescue, said emergency response officials were not sure what happened other than that a person was between the two trains. He said, one train was standing on one track and the other train was running on the other track.
“And the moving vehicle somehow hit him,” Jacobs said.
NTSB and Federal Railroad Administration officials were at the scene, Jacobs said.
A BNSF spokesperson said the company is referring all questions to the NTSB.
The identity of the deceased was not immediately released.
A report by the Federal Railroad Administration last year found that BNSF was generally attempting to improve safety on a consistent basis, but that the message did not always reach front-line workers, who often did not feel comfortable reporting safety concerns for fear of being disciplined.
The agency prepared the report as part of an effort to review all major railroads to address safety concerns following the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine. ohio,