By New York Times

A subway maintenance supervisor was electrocuted early Monday morning while working on track repairs in the Rockaways, the first on-the-job death of a transit worker in three years.

The supervisor, James Knell, 45, a 13-year veteran of the subway system, was assisting on a track replacement project near the Beach 90th Street Station on the A line when he slipped and fell, touching the electrified third rail, officials said. The accident occurred around 4:30 a.m., as workers were preparing to reopen the track for morning rush service.

“It’s never easy to have an employee fatality, but we did have one today,” said Thomas F. Prendergast, the president of New York City Transit, who announced the death at a meeting of the authority’s board. Mr. Knell, of East Rockaway, N.Y., is survived by his wife and two stepchildren, the authority said.

The agency is investigating the accident.