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Table 2-39: Railroad System Safety and Property Damage Data(Excludes highway-rail grade-crossing accidents)
KEY: N = data do not exist; R = revised. a 1970 injuries are not comparable to later years due to a change in reporting system. b Train accidents only; excludes highway-rail grade-crossing accidents. c Train-miles in this table differ from train-miles in the vehicle-miles table in Chapter 1. Train-miles reported in Chapter 1 include only Class I rail (see glossary for definition), while this table includes Class I rail, Group II rail, and other rail. In 2005, Group II rail accounted for 78 million train-miles, and other rail for 29 million train-miles. Moreover, the vehicle-miles table in Chapter 1 includes only train-miles between terminals and/or stations, thus excluding yard and switching miles. In 2005, Class I yard/switching train-miles totaled 67 million train-miles. Note that commuter rail safety data are reported in the rail mode and the transit mode. Commuter rail train-miles are included in Class I rail and Group II rail in this table. d 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. NOTE This table includes information for both freight and passenger railroad operations. SOURCES Fatalities, injuries, accidents, and property damage: 1970-90: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Policy and Program Development, Accident/Incident Bulletin (Washington, DC: annual issues), tables 14 and 15. 1995-2000: Ibid., Railroad Safety Statistics Annual Report 2000 (Washington, DC: July 2001), tables 1-1 and 3-1. 2001-07: Ibid., Internet site http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/Query/Default.asp as of May 15, 2008. Train-miles: 1970-90: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC: annual issues), form 406. 1995-99: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, Internet site http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/Forms/Default.asp as of Aug. 22, 2002. 2000-07: Ibid., Internet site http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/Query/Default.asp as of May. 15, 2008. Find this web page at:
http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_02_39.html |