Several people were injured as a MARC commuter train on its way to Union Station from Baltimore was hit by a rail yard locomotive while the passengers were getting off the train. Seven people suffered minor injuries, Alan Etter, spokesman for the D.C. fire and emergency services department said.

When asked about the incident and those who suffered from it, the Amtrak officials described the injuries as "bumps and bruises.'' Amtrak, which operates MARC's Penn Line, said through its MARC spokeswoman Sharon Wicker that the cause of the accident could be the delays during this afternoon's commute

The train involved in the collision was MARC Train 419, a six-car, bi-level train, which stopped at its usual platform location at 10:03 a.m. today when an Amtrak locomotive designated to move the train's locomotive to a maintenance facility "came in too fast" and struck the train while its passengers were disembarking, Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero said.

The impact caused two wheels of one of the passenger cars to derail.

The locomotives and trains are regularly moved around the train yard for maintenance or other positioning, said Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black.

Several people who complained about minor head and neck injuries were taken to the hospital, District of Columbia fire department spokesman Alan Etter said.

No major service delays were expected following the accident, Amtrak officials said.