According to the Federal Railway Administration's Office of Safety Analysis (FRA), the United States sees over 1,000 train derailments per year. In 2022, the total number of derailments reached 1,734—an increase of 88 compared to 2021.
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Federal data from 2021 and 2022 says an average of about three trains derail in the U.S. a day. While not all derailments are equally as dramatic or dangerous, railroads are required to report any derailment that causes more than $10,700 in damage.
How many trains derail a year in Europe? In 2021, there were 1 389 significant railway accidents in the EU, with a total of 683 persons killed and 513 seriously injured. Since 2010, the number of significant railway accidents has gradually decreased, with 840 fewer accidents in 2021 than in 2010 (-38%).
The accidents are often minor and rarely lead to death or injury, though some have led to major environmental disasters. About 1,000 derailments occur every year across the United States, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
Derailments rank as the most common type of accident involving major freight railroads, federal data shows. Equipment failures are increasingly responsible for derailments, and problems with equipment and train tracks accounted for nearly 60% of derailments nationwide last year.
Compared to other popular forms of travel, such as cars, ships, buses, and planes, trains are one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States.
HOW SAFE ARE TRAINS? Trains are statistically much safer than driving. In 2020, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics recorded 40,867 total deaths from travel, including in planes, in cars on highways and on trains.
A derailment is when a train runs off its rail, either because of a collision with another object, a conductor error, mechanical track failure, broken rails, or defective wheels. A derailment doesn't necessarily mean the train leaves the tracks – some may be minor.
A derailment of a train can be caused by a collision with another object, an operational error (such as excessive speed through a curve), the mechanical failure of tracks (such as broken rails), or the mechanical failure of the wheels, among other causes.
Track Defects are the Most Common CauseTrack defects emerged as the leading cause of train derailments. The significance of continuous infrastructure maintenance and inspections cannot be overstated.
According to a 2022 report on Railway Safety and Interoperability in the EU, railways in Europe remain “among the safest in the world” with major accidents involving five or more fatalities becoming “increasingly rare”.
“Britain continues to have one of the safest railways in Europe, and thankfully, incidents such as those that occurred at Carmont in August 2020 are very rare. “Safety targets are imposed to ensure a minimum level of safety is achieved and it is important our railway continues to strive for better.”