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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Table 2-38: Railroad Passenger Safety Data

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Table 2-38: Railroad Passenger Safety Data

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  1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 (P) 2008
Passenger fatalitiesa 3 8 3 58 5 0 12 6 4 14 4 3 7 3 3 16 2 5 24
Injured persons 473 382 411 559 497 573 513 601 535 481 658 746 877 (R) 727 (R) 703 (R) 949 (R) 917 (R) 1,500 1,239
Train-miles, passenger trains (millions) 72 74 74 75 75 76 77 78 78 82 84 88 90 89 89 90 92 95 98
Fatalities per 100 million passenger train-miles 4 11 4 77 7 0 16 8 5 17 5 3 8 3 3 18 2 5 25
Injuries per 100 million passenger train-miles 657 516 555 745 663 754 666 770 683 584 781 850 979 (R) 813 (R) 787 (R) 1,056 (R) 997 (R) 1,573 1,266

KEY: P = preliminary; R = revised.

a In 1993 a barge struck a rail bridge in Alabama causing an Amtrak train to derail into the waterway below leading to 42 passenger deaths.

NOTES
A train-mile is the movement of a train (which can consist of many cars) the distance of 1 mile. A train-mile differs from a vehicle-mile, which is the movement of 1 car (vehicle) the distance of 1 mile. A 10-car (vehicle) train traveling 1 mile would be measured as 1 train-mile and 10 vehicle-miles. Caution should be used when comparing train-miles to vehicle miles.
Passenger fatalities and injured persons include passengers on trains only.

SOURCES
Fatalities and injuries:
1990 - 96: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table 1-2, available at http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Publications.aspx as of August 13, 2009.
1997 - 2008: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety, Railroad Safety Statistics 2008 Preliminary Annual Report (Washington, DC: July 2009 Issue), table 1-2, available at http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Publications.aspx as of October 28, 2009.
Train-miles, passenger trains:
1990-96: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics calculations (sum of all commuter rail train-miles reported to USDOT, Federal Transit Administration, plus Amtrak train-miles).
1997-2007: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety, Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table 2-4, available at http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Publications.aspx as of August 13, 2009.
2008: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety, Railroad Safety Statistics 2008 preliminary Annual Report (Washington, DC: July 2009 Issue), table 2-4, available at http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Publications.aspx as of October 28, 2009.