More Train Accidents Are Human-Caused, Happen In Rail Yards

Following the derailment of a train in East Palestine, Ohio and the subsequent explosion of vinyl chloride, Department of Transportation (DOT) head Pete Buttigieg claimed the incident was not a major concern as it was only one of around a thousand derailments that happen each year.

A thousand derailments is still a lot. In total, train accidents cost around $310 million a year based on DOT data. While the number of accidents has gone down over time—derailments, highway-railroad crashes, signal issues, and others—the largest portion of those are human-caused with little sign of decline.

While hazardous material leaks are uncommon, they can be expensive to clean up. A crash in Oneida, New York in 2007 caused by a broken rail led to a leak of vinyl chloride and around $6.73 million in cleanup costs.

There were 755 human-attributed accidents in 2022 according to DOT data, which is about the same number as there were in 2013. The only cause to see a noticeable increase is highway-rail crossings—where roads cross train tracks and vehicles often get hit. Highway-rail incidents are also the largest source of deaths and injuries in rail crashes.

The most common sub-cause listed since 2010 is “switch improperly lined,” with “highway user inattentiveness” (e.g. highway-rail crossings), “defective or missing crossties,” “shoving movement,” “absence of man on or at leading end of movement,” and “failure to comply with restricted speed” close behind. “Switch improperly lined” is by far the most common secondary cause of accidents, representing 23 percent of all incidents.

Derailment Or Human Error Or Both

According to a 2020 CRS report, “derailment is the primary type of rail accident, in general, accounting for over two-thirds (1,285) of all U.S. train accidents in 2019” and that “the leading cause of derailments is a flaw in a steel rail.”

But there may be some discrepancy in reporting. The DOT data only lists 507 track-related derailments that year. While there were more track-related derailments than any other cause in 2019, that may have been an anomaly.

Human-attributed derailments are regularly the most common cause, and they are the most common cause for all train accidents, representing 33 to 41 percent a year. Track-related issues are more along 20 to 25 percent.

Additionally, the CRS report states that while hazmat accidents are rare—0.69 times for every 100,000 hazmat carloads—99.9 percent of hazmat carloads reach their destination without the release of a dangerous substance.

Cost Per Accident

While more accidents are attributed to human error, the cost incurred by each accident is more likely higher from mechanical and track issues—or what’s termed “rock, roadbed, and structures.”

While that’s at the general level, the most expensive specific cause of accidents are related to flag and signaling errors, with other causes like roadbed, environmental conditions, and employee physical condition further behind.

Hazmat The Most Expensive Independent of Cause

But hazardous materials may be the true determiner of total accident costs. Since 2010, the average cost of an accident where hazardous materials were damaged and/or leaked was almost 10 times that of other accidents—$1.3 million per accident. The most common specific cause of hazmat accidents: loading procedures (5,877).

Debate Over Technological Improvements

There have been a number of attempts to levy technology to limit accidents in the railroad industry, including advanced braking and positive train control (PTC)—effectively computer-controlled train management.

The DOT during the Obama administration attempted to require advanced pneumatic braking on more trains, but the so-called brake rule was thrown out during the Trump administration. A 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the issue said new braking technology had marginal benefits, and the DOT study used to justify the rule “lacked transparency” to justify its conclusions.

PTC is also contentious as, according to a 2018 CRS report, it is estimated to cost in excess of $14 billion and may only fix around 2 percent of accidents as most train accidents happen in rail yards.

A previous Investigative Economics story highlighted how highway-rail accidents were increasing despite the partial adoption of PTC, which was ostensibly intended to limit some of those incidents.

Longer Cars, Fewer Railmen

Labor groups have regularly pointed to the declining workforce as a source of train incidents. Fewer railroad workers having to run longer and longer trains with more to haul. The accident data confirms this as more accidents occur with fewer employees and more cars.

Yet with fewer railmen on board, the number of total accidents has been stable despite the smaller workforce onboard.

Additionally, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data for the railroad industry shows steady employment levels for the last twenty years except for during the pandemic. If fewer railroad workers are needed to run the trains, the other employees have yet to be laid off.

While there has been little change in recent years, current employment levels are a far cry from what they were in the 50s, when there were ten times as many employed on the rails.