How safe are UK trains?

Rail is the safest form of travel in Britain. For every million journeys made on the railway, only 16 crimes are recorded. The chances of you becoming a victim of crime while using the railway are extremely low. But if you need to, you can contact British Transport Police (BTP) by calling sending a text to 61016.



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The estimated accident rate in 2019 is 0.85 fatal collisions or derailments per billion train-kilometres, which represents a fall of 78% since 1990.

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There were eight non-workforce fatalities (passenger or public) in the year April 2022 to March 2023: three occurred in mainline stations and two at the platform-train interface; two passenger fatalities at stations on the London Underground; and one fatality from a collision between a member of the public and a tram.

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Travel safe
  1. Buses. Sit downstairs or close to the driver on a double-decker night bus, where they can see you. ...
  2. Tubes and trains. Always try to avoid sitting in an empty carriage where you are more vulnerable.
  3. Cycles. ...
  4. Walking. ...
  5. Taxis. ...
  6. Minicabs. ...
  7. Pedicabs (rickshaws)


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Train tracks in UK are electrified so that they can provide power to the electric locomotive our the electric traction motors of the train.

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Trespassing on the railway is illegal and dangerous. You could be taken to court and face a £1,000 fine.

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There are only 0.5 deaths per billion miles traveled on Amtrak and commuter rail lines put together. When you compare that to the six deaths per billion miles for car and truck travel, railroads are looking generally safe.

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Most trains don't have sewage tanks so anything in the toilet is dumped straight onto the tracks.

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Worst accidents The worst accident was the Quintinshill rail disaster in Scotland in 1915 with 226 dead and 246 injured. Second worst, and the worst in England, was the 1952 Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash, which killed 112 people and injured 340.

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