How common are train derailments in US? Over 1,000 occur every year, data show

A freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, causing an explosion that released toxic chemicals into the environment on Feb 3.

Since then, derailments have been reported in Texas, South Carolina and Connecticut.

These recent incidents might lead travelers to wonder just how often trains come loose from their tracks. It turns out, the phenomenon occurs fairly regularly, according to federal government data. 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). In 2022, there were 1,044 instances of trains coming off their tracks.

Broken or defective railroads are one of the most common causes of derailments, according to the FRA. Faulty or missing crossties — beams perpendicular to rails — triggered 5.6% of the derailments in 2022, making it the single largest cause of derailments.

Excessive speed, track obstructions like snow, ice or mud, and faulty switch points — sections of the track where trains change direction — were some of the other leading causes of derailment in 2022.

Derailments have decreased substantially over the past five decades. Annual derailments are down from 6,328 in 1975, the first year the Bureau of Transportation Statistics began reporting such data.

Additionally, fatalities associated with railways have long been a rare occurrence. Recently, there have been fewer than 10 per year.

Fatalities caused by derailments, as opposed to collisions or other forms of accidents, are even more infrequent. Between 2017 and 2021, there have only been six fatalities directly caused by derailments, according to data.

In fact, trains are among the safer modes of transportation, according to research by Ian Savage, an economist at Northwestern University.

Savage analyzed transportation fatality statistics between 2000 and 2009 and found commuter rails were associated with 0.43 deaths per billion passenger miles, according to a study published in the journal Research in Transportation Economics. Meanwhile, automobiles had a rate of 7.28 deaths per billion passenger miles.

Buses and commercial airlines were the safest forms of travel, according to the study.

Though derailments rarely result in immediate loss of life, some have caused environmental contamination with long-lasting impacts.

A train derailment in Graniteville, South Carolina, released 90 tons of liquid chlorine into the town in 2005, leaving the community still reeling from its effects years later, according to the Associated Press.

Decreased lung function and increased blood pressure have been documented in the area, among other health issues.

The Feb. 3 train wreck in East Palestine released vinyl chloride, a toxic chemical, into the air, causing health concerns among town residents. Breathing in vinyl chloride can lead to unconsciousness or death, according to previous reporting from McClatchy News.

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