A recent uptick in deadly accidents involving pedestrians on the railroad tracks that pass through Exeter has some local officials sounding the alarm amid calls for increased awareness of rail safety and the dangers of trespassing on the tracks.

Of the seven such deaths reported in Rockingham County over the past 50 years, four have occurred since 2022 — and all were in Exeter.

“I share the sadness of having even one incident,” said Bob Hall, who was instrumental in bringing Amtrak’s Downeaster passenger rail service to Exeter in 2001 and has chaired the town’s train station committee.

Only one of the four most recent deaths was ruled a suicide. The rest were considered accidents in which victims were struck by trains while on or near the tracks.

While trespassing on private railroad p

See Full Page