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Published on: December 4, 2016
Fatal train accidents on Europe's railways: 1980-2009.
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom. a.evans@imperial.ac.uk
Accident; Analysis and Prevention
|November 25, 2010
Summary
European train safety has improved significantly, with fatal accidents decreasing by 6.3% annually. Despite this progress, level crossing accidents remain a concern, primarily due to road user errors.
Area of Science:
- Transportation Safety
- Railway Engineering
- Accident Analysis
Background:
- Analysis of fatal train accident rates and trends on Europe's main line railways from 1980 to 2009.
- Utilizes a new dataset for the European Union, Norway, and Switzerland, compiled with the European Railway Agency.
- Examines trends in fatal train collisions, derailments, and level crossing accidents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze fatal train accident rates and trends across European main line railways.
- To identify changes in accident rates and causes over time.
- To compare accident rates and trends between different European countries.
Main Methods:
- Statistical analysis of fatal train accident data from 1980 to 2009.
- Calculation of accident rates per train-kilometre and fatalities per accident.
- Trend analysis using regression models with confidence intervals.
Main Results:
- Estimated overall trend in fatal train collisions/derailments: -6.3% per year (1990-2009).
- Estimated accident rate in 2009: 1.35 per billion train-kilometres.
- Fatalities per accident: 4.10, with no long-term change; 24.6 fatalities annually in 2009.
- Significant country-to-country differences in rates and trends, though with wide confidence limits.
- Accident causes remained unchanged; 'signals passed at danger' is the most frequent cause.
- Serious level crossing accidents rate per train-kilometre unchanged (1990-2009); caused by road user errors.
Conclusions:
- Significant safety improvements in European train operations, with a notable decrease in fatal collisions and derailments.
- Safety improvements appear to be systemic rather than focused on specific causes.
- Level crossing safety requires attention, with a focus on addressing road user behavior.
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