RobotRisk › Nordco (Wabtec) › ~Dec 2021
Roadway worker killed by Nordco spike machine with non-functional alarm
S5 · ~Dec 2021 · Nordco (Wabtec) · Norfolk Southern rail line near Reed, PA, USA
Record
| Company | Nordco (Wabtec) |
| Industry | Rail suppliers |
| Type(s) | fatality |
| Date | ~Dec 2021 (month precision) |
| Time of day | 11:20 ET |
| Location | Norfolk Southern rail line near Reed, PA, USA |
| Severity | (fatality or catastrophic loss) |
| Scale | 1 fatality, 1 machine |
| Confidence | high |
| Verified flag | Yes - independently re-checked against the cited source |
Summary
A contract roadway worker assisting a Norfolk Southern rail-maintenance crew was struck and killed on Dec. 8, 2021 when a Nordco NXV spike-driving machine reversed direction near Reed, Pennsylvania; NTSB found the machine's horn and change-of-direction alarms were non-functional and that Nordco had allowed the spikers to leave the factory without verifying the alarm worked.
Primary source
NTSB (Railroad Investigation Report RIR-23-14)
Publisher: NTSB (Railroad Investigation Report RIR-23-14) · Retrieved: 2026-09-16
Supporting source rows (1)
| Date | Supporting source row | Publisher | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~Dec 2021 | Roadway worker killed by Nordco spike machine with non-functional alarm | NTSB (Railroad Investigation Report RIR-23-14) | NTSB |
Rail suppliers context
fatality context
Nordco (Wabtec) industry position
Related incidents
Other Nordco (Wabtec) entries
- None on file.
Report a correction
Also from Critical Systems Analysis: CSA - functional safety engineering · Company directory · FSTalent - functional safety jobs