How safe is high-speed rail?

High Speed Rail is the world's safest form of transportation proven by decades of operations all around the world. Japan was the first nation to build high speed rail in 1964, and has since transported 10 billion passengers without a single injury or fatality!



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High-speed rail is one of the safest modes of transportation; since service started in 1964, there have only been fatalities in high-speed operation in a 2015 derailment. Today TGV trains accumulate of the order of 50 billion passenger-kilometres per year on lignes à grande vitesse (high-speed lines) alone.

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High Speed Rail is the world's safest form of transportation proven by decades of operations all around the world. Japan was the first nation to build high speed rail in 1964, and has since transported 10 billion passengers without a single injury or fatality!

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Rail, high speed or not, is one of the safest ways to get around. According to a National Safety Council review of 10 years of transportation fatalities, for every mile traveled, car drivers and passengers are more than 10 times as likely to die in accidents as passenger rail riders.

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Traveling by train in Europe is generally safe, provided you take the same precautions you would take when traveling through any unfamiliar place. Tourists are usually busy sightseeing or simply trying to make sense of signs in other languages that it makes them easy pickpocketing targets while traveling.

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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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“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.”

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A lot cheaper. That high-speed train ticket would cost about $75, compared to more than $200 to fly or drive. Ready to ride?

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Track Defects are the Most Common Cause Track defects emerged as the leading cause of train derailments. The significance of continuous infrastructure maintenance and inspections cannot be overstated.

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Equipment failures are increasingly responsible for derailments, and problems with equipment and train tracks accounted for nearly 60% of derailments nationwide last year.

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According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), since 1975, there has been an average of 1.3 train accidents per year involving fatalities. Compare that with 2,584 aviation accidents and 700 bus accidents over the same time period.

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