TWO women have been hit by a train in Atlanta, Georgia, after one of them was allegedly shoved onto the tracks and the other tried to help.

Police arrested a 28-year-old man at the Midtown Transit station after the pair, believed to be a mother and daughter, were struck at around 4.30pm local time on Sunday.

Witnesses described seeing a man push a woman into the path of an oncoming MARTA train while the other had scrambled to help.

Police didn't release the names of the victims but said a 27-year-old is in a critical condition and undergoing surgery.

A 58-year-old woman was also taken to hospital and is in a stable condition.

Officers said at this early stage it's unclear whether older of the two made contact with the train.

It took nearly 30 minutes to remove the women from under the train but they were “conscious and alert” when transported to a local hospital, according to MARTA police.

One eyewitness, who wasn't named, told Channel 2 Action News: “I saw a girl jumping try to help her mum but the train was right there. It was unavoidable.”

Another said: “Everybody was shook up."