Amtrak trains moving again in NC after two cars hit in Raleigh

A crash on the railroad tracks in Raleigh stopped train traffic for more than an hour Wednesday afternoon.

Amtrak said Piedmont Train 75, which had just left Raleigh, crashed into two unoccupied vehicles that had stopped too close to the tracks at the Beryl Road crossing near Interstate 440 and Hillsborough Street.

The occupants were able to get out of the vehicles before they were hit shortly, and Raleigh police notified authorities to stop train traffic shortly after 1 p.m., police said.

Raleigh police said they and Amtrak are working to determine how the cars came to be on the tracks.

Piedmont trains 75 and 72 traveling between Raleigh and Charlotte were stopped in both directions.

There were 92 passengers and crew members onboard Train 75, and none were hurt, according to Amtrak.

Train 72, headed toward Raleigh, was stopped between Durham and Cary, with all passengers ordered off the train in Cary around 2 p.m.

“Emergency services are on site and have initiated a hold on the tracks. We are cooperating fully to resolve the situation quickly,” Amtrak informed those passengers.

The conductor said the delay would be “significant.”

“I would recommend everybody hop off (in Cary),” he said. “I cannot say how long it’s going to take.”

Both trains resumed their journeys by 2:40 p.m.