SEPTA Inspector Killed By Train

Train service from some northern suburbs into Philadelphia was suspended Thursday morning when a track inspector was struck and killed along the Regional Rail tracks.

The inspector was struck by a passing inbound train between the Melrose Park and Fern Rock stations at 8:42 a.m.

The incident unfolded on the third day of a SEPTA union strike that has already halted most buses, trolleys and subways in the city.

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The 34-year-old rail inspector and a flagman were walking the northbound tracks when the inspector was hit from behind by a southbound train, SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said. The train was running on different tracks than normal because of equipment problems with another train.

The identity of the worker who was killed has not been released, but sources tell Fox 29 News he worked for SEPTA for seven years.

More than 625 people on the train that struck the worker were stranded at the Melrose Park station as three of 13 regional lines -- the R2 Warminster, R3 West Trenton and R5 Lansdale-Doylestown -- were shut down.

Normally, when regional rail lines are shut down due to an accident, SEPTA buses arrive to take passengers to their destinations, spokeswoman Jerri Williams said. But that's not possible because of the strike. Regional Rail operators are members of a different union and are not on strike.

Passengers on other affected trains at that time were sent back to their original destinations.

Service on all lines was later restored.

The accident is the second in two days on Regional Rail, which has seen a surge in ridership due to the strike.

On Wednesday, the first car in an R5 Paoli train caught fire around 7 a.m. as it headed downtown, causing delays and confusion. There were no serious injuries; SEPTA said neither accident was believed to be strike related.