Police say an adult woman was struck and killed by a commuter rail train Tuesday afternoon, making it the 10th death along the tracks in town.
The woman was walking along the right of way just south of the Summer Street grade crossing when she was struck by an inbound train around 4:10 p.m., Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan said in a statement. The woman was pronounced dead as a result of her injuries, he said.
State law prohibits people from walking along the right of way of active rail corridors.
While multiple people have have injured or killed at grade crossings in Abington in recent years, police said this incident happened about 1/8 of a mile south of the Summer Street grade crossing.
“This is a very sad circumstance and our thoughts are not just with the deceased’s friends and family but to those who were aboard the train at the time of the crash” Police Chief John Bonney said.
Service along the rail corridor was suspended for several hours following the accident, with rush hour trains either canceled or terminating service at Braintree.
According to data provided to Abington by the MBTA in March 2025, Abington had recorded nine train-related fatalities since Old Colony Line service was restored in 1997. Tuesday’s incident would be the 10th fatality.
There have been at least 24 fatal and non-fatal incidents involving trains striking people or vehicles in Abington, according to a 2023 analysis commissioned by the town as well as subsequent media reports.
The vast majority of strikes have taken place in the half-mile stretch between the Pine Street and Plymouth Street grade crossings. Five of the fatal strikes have happened in the 200-yard stretch between North Avenue and Birch Street. Three people have been killed at the Pine Street grade crossing.
The MBTA’s data found that since 2017, Abington ranked in the top five statewide for fatalities, alongside Boston, Brockton, Natick, and Weymouth.
More than 40 communities that host commuter rail lines have reported zero fatalities during that same time period including Braintree, Holbrook, and East Bridgewater.
None of the fatalities involved the train leaving the tracks or safety signals not working. More than half the fatalities involved people intentionally placing themselves in the way of oncoming trains.