{{Redirect|Train wreck|other uses|Train wreck (disambiguation)}} {{short description|Disaster involving one or more trains}} [[File:A. Provost - Versailles - Railroad Disaster.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Versailles rail accident in 1842, 57 people were killed including the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville.]] [[File:Train wreck at Montparnasse 1895.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Montparnasse derailment with one fatality at Gare Montparnasse in Paris, 1895]] [[File:Chandler-Arizona Railroad museum-Engine Tender Wheels-1907.JPG|upright=1|thumb|Wheels from Engine Tender#013 which was destroyed in a wreck in 1907 on a bridge over Village Creek between Silsbee and Beaumont, Texas. The wheels are on display in the Arizona Railway Museum.]] A '''railway accident''' (also known as a '''train accident,''' '''train wreck''', and '''train crash''') is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, for example when a moving train meets another train on the same track, when the wheels of train come off the track, or when a boiler explosion occurs. Train accidents have often been widely covered in popular media and in folklore. A head-on collision between two trains is colloquially called a "cornfield meet" in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of CORNFIELD MEET|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cornfield+meet|access-date=2021-07-19|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en}}</ref> Railway accidents can result from a combination of technical failures, human factors, infrastructure conditions, and organizational or regulatory issues. Modern safety research often treats railway systems as complex socio-technical systems in which accidents arise from interactions among multiple components rather than a single cause.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hong |first1=Wei-Ting |last2=Clifton |first2=Geoffrey |last3=Nelson |first3=John D. |title=Railway accident causation analysis: Current approaches, challenges and potential solutions |journal=Accident Analysis & Prevention |date=June 2023 |volume=186 |article-number=107049 |doi=10.1016/j.aap.2023.107049 |pmid=36989961 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
The classification of railway accidents—both in terms of cause and effect—is a valuable aid in studying railway accidents in order to help to prevent similar ones occurring in the future. Systematic investigation for over 150 years has led to the railways' excellent safety record (compared, for example, with road transport).
Ludwig von Stockert (1913) proposed a classification of accidents by their effects (consequences) – e.g., head-on-collisions, rear-end collisions, derailments. Schneider and Mase (1968) proposed an additional classification by causes – e.g., driver's errors, signalmen's errors, mechanical faults. Similar categorisations had been made by implication in previous books e.g. Rolt (1956), but Stockert's and Schneider/Mase's are more systematic and complete. With minor changes, they represent best knowledge.
== Types of accidents ==
=== Collisions === In comparison to other types of railway incidents, collisions are very rare, with about one in 24 crashes being collisions between multiple trains.{{r|CrashAnalysis|p=4}} There are several types of train collision, such as head-on, rear-end and side collisions. The three most common causes of collisions in freight trains are all types of human error: failure to obey or display signals, speeding, and violation of mainline rules. Of these, the misuse of signals accounted for over half of the total damage costs.<ref name="FreightCollision">{{cite journal|first1=Tejashree|last1=Turla|first2=Xiang|last2=Lu|journal= Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0954409718811742 |page=9 |title=Analysis of freight train collision risk in the United States |date=2019 |volume=233 |issue=8 |doi=10.1177/0954409718811742 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Collisions are the most severe type of train accident, causing on average 21 casualties in passenger trains.{{r|CrashAnalysis|p=7}}
=== Derailments === {{main|Derailment}} Apart from incidents at grade crossings, derailments are the most common type of train accident, accounting for approximately 18 percent of all train accidents between 1996 and 2017<ref name="CrashAnalysis">{{cite journal|first1=Chen-Yu|last1=Lin|first2=Mohd Rapik|last2=Saat|title=Quantitative causal analysis of mainline passenger train accidents in the United States|journal= Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit|date=2020 |volume=234 |issue=8 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0954409719876128|page=4 |doi=10.1177/0954409719876128 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> According to a 2018 study, the most common causes of derailments include, in order of frequency: broken rails and welds, track geometry, bearing failure, and wheel failures.<ref name="DerailAnalysis">{{cite journal|first1=Xiang|last1=Lu|first2=Rapik|last2=Saat|title=Analysis of Causes of Major Train Derailment and Their Effect on Accident Rates |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275853718|journal= Transportation Research Record |date=2012 |volume=2289 |page=6 |doi=10.3141/2289-20}}</ref> Speed is an important factor in determining the most common types of derailment, with human error common below 25 mph, but rare elsewhere, and mechanical issues peaking at higher speeds.{{r|DerailAnalysis|p=8}} Because the majority of derailments are caused by rail problems, rail maintenance and track geometry inspection have been found to be some of the most effective strategies to prevent derailment.{{r|DerailAnalysis|p=10}}
=== Other === Other forms of train accident include: * Fires, explosions and release of hazardous chemicals (including sabotage/terrorism) * People falling from trains (including as a result of train surfing), collisions with people on tracks * Attack, shooting or bombing on a train.
== Causes of accidents == ===Driver error=== [[File:Jokelan-junaonnettomuus-sumu.jpg|thumb|The Jokela rail accident was caused by overspeeding through a slow-speed turnout in Jokela, Finland. Four people were killed and 75 injured.]] Driver error is the most dangerous cause of passenger train derailments and collisions, with 21 deaths occurring on average when driver error is involved. Driver error can take several forms, the most common in passenger trains being disobeying signals, speeding, and disregarding mainline rules.{{r|CrashAnalysis|page=7}} Freight trains follow a similar pattern, with the top three types of driver error accounting for over 75% of all freight collisions.{{r|FreightCollision|p=8}} Human factors, including driver error, are most prevalent in the 81-100 mph range. Features such as positive train control help prevent the most common types of human error, such as speeding and disregard of signals.{{r|CrashAnalysis|p=8}} Human factors relating to automation, such as unsupervised use of automated systems and ignorance of alarms, are also known to have caused several train accidents.<ref name="HumanFactors">{{cite book|first1=Mona Ahmadi|last1=Rad|first2=Lianne M.|last2=Lefsrud|title=HAZARDS 31 |chapter=Human-Factors and Automation-Related Accidents in the Railway Industry|date=2021 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360010256 |series=SYMPOSIUM SERIES |volume=168 |doi=10.7939/r3-p2qb-9051}}</ref>
===Signalman error=== Errors caused by the actions of signalmen include: * Allowing two trains into same occupied block section * Incorrect operation of signals, points or token equipment
===Rolling stock failure=== Issues with rolling stock include: * Poor design * Poor maintenance * Undetected damage * Overloading or freight that is not adequately secured. * Fire starting from combustion motors, electric cables or equipment, leaking fuel or cooling oil
===Civil engineering failure=== Issues with the civil engineering of the railway include: * Track (permanent way) faults * Bridge and tunnel collapses * Poor track or junction layout
===Other people=== Reasons other people accidentally cause a train accident include:<ref>{{cite web |date=20 July 2018 |title=Train Wrecks and Track Attacks: An Analysis of Attempts by Terrorists and Other Extremists to Derail Trains or Disrupt Rail Transportation |url=https://transweb.sjsu.edu/research/1794-Train-Wreck-Train-Attacks}}</ref>
* Accidental track obstruction, e.g., with road vehicles or by working construction vehicles
People can break, place something, intentionally set the switch to a collision course, destroy tracks, and this is called rail sabotage.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 February 2023 |title=Are the railroads being sabotaged causing derailments? |url=https://irate4x4.com/threads/are-the-railroads-being-sabotaged-causing-derailments.393145/}}</ref> Reasons other people deliberately cause a train accident include:
* Deliberate track obstruction, e.g., with road vehicles or (heavy) objects * Intentional damage to infrastructure like tracks, points or signals * Intentional misalignment of switches to send the train to a collision course * Level crossing misuse * Trespass * Riot * Terrorism
===Natural causes=== * Track obstruction or damage by landslides, avalanches, floods, trees * Fog or snow that obscure signals or the current position of the train * Wet leaves (or their remains) making the tracks slippery.
===Contributory factors=== * Strength of rolling stock * Fire hazards or dangerous goods in the train, in involved road vehicles or the vicinity * Effectiveness of brakes * Inadequate rules
==See also== {{Portal|Trains}} *Lists of rail accidents ** List of accidents and disasters by death toll ** Bridge disaster ** Level crossing crashes ** Runaway ** Signal passed at danger ** Tram accident ** Wrong-side failure * The crash at Crush, Texas, an intentional train wreck conducted as a publicity stunt * Railway accident deaths
== References == {{reflist}}
=== Bibliography === * Ludwig von Stockert (1913), Eisenbahnunfalle (Railway Accidents – a contribution to railway operating technology). Leipzig 1913. * {{cite book | first=Wolfgang | last=Schneider |author2=Armand Mase | year=1968 | title=Katastrophen auf Schienen. In German, English translation 1979 by E.L. Dellow as Railway Accidents of Great Britain and Europe. | publisher=Orell Fussli Verlag (German), David and Charles (English) | sbn=7153 4791 8}} * {{cite book | first=L.T.C. | last=Rolt | year=1956 | title=Red for Danger | publisher= Bodley Head / David and Charles / Pan Books }} Later editions available.
== Further reading == * Aldrich, Mark. ''Death Rode the Rails: American Railroad Accidents and Safety, 1828–1965'' (2006) [https://www.amazon.com/Death-Rode-Rails-Accidents-1828-1965/dp/0801894026 excerpt] * {{cite magazine|title=Trains in trouble - the early years|magazine=Hornby Magazine|first=Alan|last=Earnshaw|pages=114–117|issue=7|date=January 2008|location=Hersham|publisher=Ian Allan Publishing|issn=1753-2469|oclc=226087101}} * Vaughan, Adrian. ''Obstruction Danger: Significant British Railway Accidents, 1890–1986 '' (Motorbooks International, 1989). [https://archive.org/details/obstructiondange0000vaug online]
== External links == {{commons category|Train wrecks}} * [https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3650835.stm BBC News: World's worst rail disasters] * {{cite book|last=A signalman|title=A voice from the signal-box: or, railway accidents and their causes|year=1874|publisher=Longmans, Green, & Co.|location=London}}
{{Rail accidents}}
Category:Railway accidents and incidents Category:Causes of death