WASHINGTON — Freight railroad safety improved last year, with the overall train accident rate down 14% and the industry setting all-time low records for derailments and accidents caused by equipment and track, the Association of American Railroads said today, citing data from the Federal Railroad Administration.
Human-factor accidents declined by nearly 20% in 2025, which the AAR attributed to automation, advanced monitoring systems, and data-driven operating practices designed to reduce risk.
Class I railroads also achieved their lowest employee injury rate ever in 2025, AAR said.
“These results reflect decades of sustained private investment and a relentless focus on data-driven, measurable safety outcomes,” AAR CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement.
Today is the annual Railroad Day on the Hill, a lobbying event where industry representatives meet with members of Congress.
“Looking ahead, continued regulatory modernization can be driven by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which plays a critical stewardship role in ensuring that its regulatory framework keeps pace with innovation,” Jefferies said. “By advancing evidence-based reforms that enable deployment of proven technologies at scale, USDOT can help accelerate the next leaps in safety while strengthening protections for employees, communities, and the supply chains that depend on rail.”
The 2025 data show broad-based improvement across nearly every major safety metric:
- The overall train accident rate was down 14%
- Derailments declined 13.6%
- Human-factor related incidents declined 19.7%
- Equipment-caused accidents declined 12.1%
- Track-caused accidents declined 7.7%
- Mainline accidents declined 2.8% industry-wide and 6.1% among Class I railroads
The only outlier in the FRA 2025 safety data was grade crossing accidents, which were flat for the year.
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AAR lobbyists bring their checkbooks for a bipartisan giving spree, with many willing takers. Watch for NOTHING legislatively happening for Rail Safety or increasing access and competition.