On February 5, 2001 an Amtrak train traveling from Niagara Falls to New York City rear-ended a freight train. 68 people were injured. Of the passengers' injuries, 15 were classified as serious and 4 as critical. Most of the train's passengers suffered minor cuts and bruises. The most seriously injured were riding near the front of the train, an area described as "pretty well mangled." Many of the injured were part of a group of sight-impaired or otherwise disabled passengers.

The Amtrak train carried a total of 102 passengers and crew. The freight train was operated by CSX transportation and was in route to Albany, New York from Montreal. The accident occurred as the Amtrak train barreled into the rear of the freight train just east of Syracuse, New York. Amazingly, the Amtrak train was only traveling between 5-10 miles per hour. "I don't have a speed, but I know they weren't going terribly fast. Otherwise we would have had a lot more serious injuries," said Phil Politano, a spokesman for Rural Metro Ambulance.