Train Accidents By State

Trains are a crucial aspect of the United States' transport and logistics sector, making our daily commute easier and facilitating goods' swift movement from one region to another. However, the complex network of tracks crisscrossing the country also give rise to an unwelcome statistic: train accidents. From 2018 to 2021, a substantial number of train accidents were logged across 43 states, painting a cautionary scenario of safety in our railways, as tracked by the Federal Railroad Administration.

While over the years a downward trend in the total number of train accidents is observed, it is concerning to note that the number of injuries and fatalities remains relatively constant. 

Key findings from the data include:

• The top five states with the highest number of train accidents during the 2018-2021 period were Georgia (277), Texas (262), Ohio (255), Illinois (217), and Alabama (204).
• Unfortunately, train accidents often resulted in personal injuries, with Georgia reporting the highest number at 33. It's followed by South Carolina (15), Texas (13), New Mexico (12), Pennsylvania (10), and Indiana (10).
• Despite a high number of accidents, several states reported zero injuries, suggesting accident severity varied substantially across states. These include Montana, North Dakota, Michigan, South Dakota, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Oregon, Delaware, Connecticut, and Utah.
• The bleak reality of train accidents is the occurrence of fatalities. Georgia again leads with nine deaths during this period, while twenty-one states reported between one to four deaths, and the same number of states reported no fatalities.
• Seven U.S states, namely Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maine, did not report any train accidents during this period.