The collision, blamed on the engineer operating at unsafe speeds for the conditions, killed 13 people and injured 283.
The diesel locomotive was scheduled to depart Portsmouth at 6:40 a.m. and make 10 stops before arriving in Boston at 8:14 a.m.[3] However, due to a blizzard and power-failure problems, Train 214 had made three unscheduled stops, the final of which occurred just short of the Swampscott station.
[6] The accident was investigated by the Boston and Maine Railroad, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU).
If he was unable to see these signals due to the storm, the operating rules of the railroad required him to stop the train.
[5] The Interstate Commerce Commission's investigation found no mechanical issues with the Buddliner and determined the train shouldn't have been traveling that fast.