A man was struck and killed by a Philadelphia-to-Atlantic City NJ Transit train on Saturday near a railroad crossing on Atco Avenue in Waterford Township, Camden County, officials say. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to NJ Transit officials, and the agency suspended Atlantic City Rail Line service in both directions between Hammonton and Lindenwold while crews responded.
Train Was Bound for Atlantic City When It Struck Man
The train had departed Philadelphia's 30th Street Station around 2:30 p.m. and was carrying roughly 80 passengers along with several crew members when it struck the man near the Atco Avenue crossing, according to NJ.com. None of the passengers or crew members were injured, the outlet reported. Atco Avenue is a main street running through Atco, a section of Waterford Township, and the crossing sits roughly two miles southeast of the Atco train station off Route 73.
NJ Transit's own travel alert confirmed that service remained suspended in both directions between Hammonton and Lindenwold due to what the agency described as a trespasser fatality near Atco, according to NJ Transit. The agency said substitute bus service was being provided for stranded riders, and train 4679, the scheduled 4:06 p.m. arrival into Atlantic City, was canceled because of the strike near Atco.
Conflicting Reports on Whether Service Has Resumed
As of NJ Transit's alert, the suspension between Hammonton and Lindenwold was still in effect. However, NBC Philadelphia reported separately that service had since resumed in both directions following the investigation into a person struck and killed by a train on the Atlantic City Rail Line near Lindenwold. It is not clear from available reporting whether that incident is the same strike near Atco or a separate event; NJ Transit told NBC Philadelphia that the person was trespassing on the tracks when the train hit them.
Authorities had not released the man's identity as of the latest reporting, and the circumstances surrounding why he was near the tracks remain under investigation by authorities. The man died after being struck by the passenger train in Camden County, officials said, and NJ Transit began dispatching buses for displaced passengers shortly after the suspension took effect.
A Recurring Problem on New Jersey's Rail Lines
Saturday's fatality echoes earlier incidents on the same corridor. The Press of Atlantic City previously reported that a Camden County woman was killed by an Atlantic City Rail Line train near the Lindenwold station, identifying her as the victim of a fatal strike the week prior, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
Pedestrian strikes have long been a persistent safety issue across the state's rail network. By March 2021, at least three pedestrians had already been killed by NJ Transit trains that year, and in 2020 alone, seven pedestrians were struck at New Jersey rail crossings with three fatalities, according to Federal Railroad Administration data cited by NJ.com's earlier reporting. That same year, 33 people were hit while walking along New Jersey tracks — classified as trespassers in industry terms — and 14 of them died.
Nationally, the trend has also worsened: incidents involving pedestrians struck by trains at crossings across the United States rose 25% to 189 between 2015 and 2019. The figures underscore the continuing risks pedestrians face at rail crossings.
