Surfliner ‘train versus pedestrian’ accident kills two: It happens ‘more than people think’
Two people were struck and killed by a northbound Amtrack Surfliner train Friday night near a beach campground in Ventura County, officials said.
Around 9:45 p.m. Friday, rescue workers were summoned to the tracks for a “train versus pedestrian” call at Faria Beach Park near Pacific Coast Highway, said Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Tony McHale. He said two people were pronounced dead at the scene, and law enforcement authorities took over.
“Unfortunately, this does happen more than people think,” McHale said. “In the course of my career, I’ve been on a number of calls. Sometimes it’s suicide. Sometimes it’s homeless people that live alongside the tracks. In this case, we just don’t know.”
He said the train was stopped at the scene but no one on board was injured.
The 351-mile-long Amtrack Pacific Surfliner route links San Diego, Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo and carries an estimated 2 million riders a year.
According to California Operation Lifesaver, a rail safety nonprofit, California has the highest number of fatalities from railroad trespassing and rail grade crossings in the country.
From 2021 to 2025, there have been 20 fatalities on the Pacific Surfliner route, 19 of them as a result of trespassing and one at a grade crossing, said Nancy Sheehan-McCulloch, the executive director of the nonprofit.
