Man hit, killed by train; service stalled

A man died this morning after a train hit him on the tracks in East Falls.

The 6:09 a.m. incident on SEPTA's Manayunk/Norristown line between Scotts and Indian Queen lanes is being investigated as a suicide, said police spokeswoman Officer Jillian Russell.

About 46 passengers were aboard the train, but none were injured, SEPTA spokeswoman Kristin Geiger said. Service is "operating on an extremely limited basis," Geiger said.

The dead man, whose name hasn't been released, was in his 20s, Russell said.

Pedestrian fatalities on SEPTA's regional rails are down, from 11 in 2012 to eight last year, said Scott Sauer, director of system safety. This morning's death is the fifth this year, Sauer said.

"Trespassing on railroad property is a national epidemic, but we're not unusual in that regard," Sauer said.