Union Pacific worker struck, killed by Metra train

Commuter train arrives at platform with another train stopped on adjacent track — A Metra Union Pacific-North train arrives at the Kenosha station in December 2018. A Union Pacific worker was killed in an accident involving a Metra train just south of the station on Wednesday, Sept. 4. David Lassen

KENOSHA, WIs. — A Union Pacific worker was struck and killed today (Wednesday, Sept. 4) by a Metra commuter train in Kenosha, WISN-TV reports.

The incident occurred about 12:17 p.m. near 13th Avenue and 69th Street, about a half-mile south of the Kenosha Metra station. The worker killed has been identified as 34-year-old Austin Scott Raysby of Burlington, Wis.

Union Pacific said in a statement that it was “saddened by the loss of a Union Pacific family member” and “extends its deepest sympathies to his family and the employees who worked alongside him.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said this evening in a post on X.com that it will investigate the incident. Investigators are en route to the scene and are expected to arrive on Thursday.

Operations on the Union Pacific North Line were disrupted temporarily by the incident. Passengers on the train involved were returned to the Kenosha station to exit the train.

The North Line is one of three Metra lines operated by Union Pacific under a purchase-of-service agreement, and the only Metra line to extend outside of Illinois. Union Pacific is in the process of transferring operation of those lines to Metra [see “Union Pacific announces start of transition …,” Trains News Wire, March 30, 2023].