Worker killed by Amtrak train

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - March 13, 2008 The northbound train was traveling below the area's 55 mph speed limit when it hit two Amtrak workers and a contractor, the railroad said.

No information was available on the person who was killed. The injured workers were sent to a hospital and appeared to have serious injuries, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said. None of the 168 people on the train traveling from Washington, D.C., to Boston was injured.

Roger Kay, a passenger on the five-car train, said it was traveling slowly after leaving the station when it hit the workers.

"I think they had been hitting the horn and trying to slow down," Kay said in a phone interview from the train. "They weren't even going that fast, so there wasn't that abrupt of a stop."

Amtrak trains were halted in both directions near the scene. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which also uses the tracks, temporarily bused commuter rail passengers between Providence and nearby South Attleboro.

Service resumed at shortly before 4 p.m., but some additional delays were expected into the evening.