In their March 11 press release the Association of American Railroads announced that 2012 was the safest year in the rail industry history according to the newest statics released by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The previous record was set in 2011. The train accident rate per million train miles was down 19 percent, the employee casualty rate was down 9 percent, and the grade crossing collision rate was down 8 percent in 2012 compared to 2011.
FRA data shows that from 1980 to 2012 the U.S. train accident rate fell 80 percent, the employee injury rate fell 85 percent, and train collisions per million train-miles fell 87 percent. Since 2000, the train accident rate has gone down 45 percent, the employee injury rate dropped 52 percent, and the train collision rate went down 36 percent.
The FRA’s accident/incident report can be found on the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis website.
