A man crossing the tracks at the railroad station in Aberdeen was struck and killed by an Amtrak train yesterday afternoon, an Amtrak spokeswoman said.

The man, whom Amtrak declined to identify, was climbing a fence separating tracks running through the station when the southbound Acela train sideswiped him at 2:56 p.m., said Karen Dunn, an Amtrak spokeswoman.

"There is no information at this point to indicate what he was doing there, why he was on the tracks," Dunn said. Amtrak is investigating.

Aberdeen police responded to the accident, but a department spokesman refused to release information last night.

The train, which originated in Boston and was heading to Washington, then stopped, and the 250 passengers on board were transferred to another southbound Acela train at 4:10 p.m., Dunn said.

Other trains were delayed 10 to 20 minutes because they were required to run at low speeds through the site, Dunn said. The trains used other tracks.

The fatal accident occurred a day after an Amtrak and a Maryland Rail Commuter train collided outside Penn Station in Baltimore, injuring six people and causing significant delays.