Characteristics of Train-Pedestrian Collisions in Southwest China, 2011-2020

Although train-pedestrian collisions are the primary source of railway casualties, the characteristics of this phenomenon have not been fully investigated in China. This study examined such collisions in the Greater Sichuan-Chongqing area of China by conducting a thorough descriptive analysis of 2090 incident records from 2011 to 2020. The results showed that such collisions have declined gradually over the past decade, but the fatality rate remains high. We found that such collisions were more likely to happen to men, senior citizens and people crossing the tracks and that they occurred more frequently in the morning. While collision rates dropped in February, collisions were more likely to occur in December. In contrast to the situation in Western countries, weekends were not related to increased occurrence. The absence of a protective fence led to a higher collision rate, but level crossings are no longer a concern since most such structures in China have been rebuilt as overpasses. Mild slopes and extreme curvatures were also found to increase the occurrence of such collisions. Freight trains were most likely to be involved in train-pedestrian collisions, and collisions caused by high-speed trains were rare both absolutely and relatively. However, when collisions did occur, higher train speeds were linked with higher fatality rates. The findings suggest that patterns of train-pedestrian collisions in China differ from those in the Western world. This difference might be caused by differences in culture, geography, weather and railway development policies. Future research directions and possible preventive measures are also discussed.