What happened? “On Oct. 14, 2024, about 5:59 a.m., an Alstom employee operating southbound NJ Transit train 207 was fatally injured when the train struck a tree that had fallen across the tracks of the River Line at milepost (MP) 24.53 near Florence, N.J. (see Figure 1, above). Train 207 was a light rail vehicle (LRV) consisting of two railcars with 41 passengers on board. During the collision, a tree branch penetrated the lead railcar’s forward windshield and struck the operator. Twenty-three passengers were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. Alstom estimated damages to equipment to be about $194,000. At the time of the accident, visibility conditions were dark with the train’s headlights providing the only illumination, and the weather was 60°F with no precipitation. “On the day of the accident, the operator reported for duty at 4:48 a.m. at an NJ Transit maintenance facility in Trenton, N.J. She started her scheduled trip from Hamilton Avenue Station at 5:47 a.m., operating train 207. This was the first train to operate on the River Line that day. About 5:55 a.m., the train departed Bordertown Station, the last station north of the accident area. According to event recorder data, the operator initiated an emergency braking application at 5:58:56 a.m. while rounding a right-hand curve north of the point of impact. The train was traveling 65 mph when the braking application began, and the train decelerated for several seconds before striking the tree. The train came to a stop about 880…
