Number of railway accidents going down
Between 2010 and 2018, the number of significant railway accidents in the EU fell by a quarter to 1 721 accidents, 571 fewer than in 2010. A total of 885 persons were killed and 760 persons seriously injured in these accidents in 2018 (not including suicides).
The most common type of accident involved unauthorised people on the railway tracks that were hit by a train. In 2018, 973 such accidents were recorded, representing more than half (57%) of the total number of accidents. The other main category was accidents at level crossings, including accidents involving pedestrians. With 447 accidents, this category made up 26% of the total accidents in 2018.
The total number of fatalities gradually declined from 1 270 persons killed in railway accidents in 2010 to 962 persons in 2015. In the years 2016 and 2017, the fatalities remained roughly at the same level as in 2015, increasing slightly to 970 persons killed in 2016 and to 974 persons killed in 2017. In 2018, a decrease of 9.1% was recorded with 885 persons killed, 89 persons fewer than the previous year. Over the period from 2010 to 2018, this corresponds to a reduction in the number of persons killed in railway accidents by almost one third (-30.3 %).