Every year, freight railroads analyze millions of miles of operations to understand what’s working, identify emerging risks, and improve safety across the network. In this episode of Coffee Break, AAR Assistant Vice President of Safety and Policy Analysis Brenda Moscoso discusses the industry’s record 2025 safety performance, how safety is measured, the role of technology, and the biggest challenges facing freight rail today. Below are some of the key insights and highlighted responses from Brenda’s conversation, followed by the full interview transcript.
Where does freight rail safety data come from?
The data comes from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). In March 2026, we got our first look at the 2025 data. A big part of my job is analyzing those trends. We look at how we’re doing historically and whether we’re moving in the right direction. The 2025 results were record-setting. We saw a 14% year-over-year decline in the train accident rate, all-time lows in derailments and track- and equipment-caused accidents, and the lowest human-factor accident rate since 1981.
Why does AAR focus on accident rates instead of accident totals?
Traffic levels and employee hours change from year to year, so it’s important to look at rates rather than total numbers. For train accidents, we measure accidents per million train miles. For employee safety, we look at casualties based on employee hours worked. Those rates give us a much clearer picture of how safety is changing over time.
What is driving freight rail’s safety improvements?
The first priority is maintaining the high level of safety we’ve already achieved. We’re also seeing tremendous advances in technology, data analysis, and automation. But those tools work alongside experienced railroad employees—they don’t replace them. Some things technology can detect that people can’t. Other things require human judgment and experience. Together, they provide a much more complete picture.
Railroads use wayside detectors to monitor equipment as trains pass, automated track inspections to evaluate track conditions, and digital train inspection portals that capture thousands of images of moving trains. Artificial intelligence helps identify potential issues so employees can target maintenance before problems become accidents.
Where do most derailments occur?
A derailment occurs whenever one or more wheels on a railcar or locomotive leave the rail. About 70% occur in rail yards or on industry tracks, where trains operate at very low speeds. Think of it like a grocery store parking lot. You might have a fender bender, but they’re generally low-consequence events. The remaining 30% occur on the main line, where trains move across the national rail network.
What are freight rail’s biggest safety challenges?
Our biggest safety challenges are grade crossings and trespassing because that’s where railroads interact directly with the public. At grade crossings, railroads work closely with communities, Operation Lifesaver, and government agencies to educate drivers, improve crossing infrastructure, and install warning devices where they’re needed. When it comes to trespassing, railroads work with communities to encourage better planning around railroad corridors and use landscaping, fencing, and other measures to discourage people from taking shortcuts across the tracks.
What do you wish more people understood about rail safety?
We’re all in this together. There is a tremendous amount of collaboration among railroad employees, local communities, Operation Lifesaver, and every level of government. One example is grade crossing safety. Since 2005, we’ve seen an 11% decline in the number of public crossings because the safest crossing is the one that’s closed. We’ve also seen a 43% increase in the number of public crossings protected by gates. Those improvements represent years of collaboration and investment.
Which 2025 safety milestones stand out the most?
People naturally focus on derailments because those are the incidents that make the news. But the employee injury rate reached an all-time low for Class I railroads in 2025. Track-caused accidents also reached an all-time low, and equipment-caused accidents reached an all-time low. Those are historic milestones.
How is technology changing employee training?
Railroads are using virtual reality and advanced simulators to train locomotive engineers, welders, and many other employees. These technologies let employees practice complex situations in a safe environment, repeat exercises as often as they need to, and experience scenarios they may rarely encounter during traditional hands-on training. It’s another example of technology helping employees build skills before they begin working in the field.
How would you describe the railroad safety culture?
One thing that always stands out to me is the industry’s commitment to safety. There isn’t a shortcut that’s worth the risk. At the end of the day, everyone wants to go home safely. That’s the culture you see throughout the freight rail industry.
Full Video Transcript
Kathy: Hi, everyone. I’m Kathy. I’m one of the editors of AAR’s biweekly newsletter, The Signal, and I’m really excited to kick off our new video series, Coffee Break, where we take short coffee breaks with subject matter experts who really understand the railroads. Today, I’m joined by Brenda, our AVP of Safety and Policy Analysis within the Policy and Economics team. I have some notes here, but this is really just going to be a conversation between the two of us. First, I have to ask you a very important question, and I plan to ask all of our interviewees this: What’s in your cup?
Brenda: Good old H2O.
Kathy: So, you came on Coffee Break with no coffee?
Brenda: Had this been this morning, it would’ve been a fancy latte.
Kathy: That’s fair. It is the afternoon. I’m on my fourth cup, I think, and this is a cold brew that the other editor, Ted, got me. It’s a bit much, so I might shake through this entire thing. Tell us a little bit about what you do within the Policy and Economics team here at AAR.
Brenda: Primarily, I look at safety, performance, and trends. It’s really important for railroads to know how they’re doing. We look at three areas. We look at employee safety because employees are our most valuable asset. We look at train accidents—what are the causes and what are the types? And then we look at grade crossing and trespass incidents, where the railroads intersect with the public and communities.
Kathy: The freight rail safety record just recently came out. Can you tell us a little bit more about it? Where does the data come from?
Brenda: The data comes from the Federal Railroad Administration. The FRA releases the data every month. This March, we got our first look at the 2025 data.
Kathy: Is that part of your work? Do you actually analyze that data and pull out the trends? “Here are the stats. Here’s how things have improved.”
Brenda: Yes. It’s very important to look at the trends and understand how we’re doing historically. Are we trending in the right direction?
And 2025 was a really good year. It was record-setting. We saw a 14% year-over-year decline in the train accident rate. We had all-time lows in derailments and track-caused and equipment-caused accidents. Human factors saw a 20% decrease in the rate year over year—the lowest we’ve seen since 1981.
Kathy: A lot of times when we think about this, we just think about a train accident. What are the leading causes, and what are railroads doing to improve them?
Brenda: The leading causes are human factors, track, and equipment.
I should have said earlier that when we look at performance, we’re actually looking at the rates because traffic levels and employee hours worked change from year to year. Those changes can affect the total number of accidents and casualties.
So it’s important to look at the rates. For train accidents, we look at the rate per million train miles. On the employee side, we look at the number of casualties per employee hours worked that year.
Kathy: And like you said, the rates are improving over time. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you also compare today’s numbers back to 2005.
Brenda: Oh, yeah. That’s where we see the greatest improvement. We saw a lot of improvement early on in some areas, and in others it’s been a steady improvement over time.
Kathy: So that begs the question: What are railroads doing to continually improve safety and achieve these numbers?
Brenda: The first thing is maintaining the safety levels they’ve already reached. Beyond that, we’re seeing a lot of technology—tons of technology. A lot of data analysis. Big data. And all of that works in concert with human inspections.
Kathy: I think that’s a really important point. A lot of conversations today focus on technology, but it’s really people plus technology. It’s skilled, experienced employees using these tools to help them see things they normally wouldn’t be able to see or to go beyond what they could do on their own.
Brenda: It works both ways because there are things the machines can’t see. Some things the machines can pick up, some things the humans can pick up, and together we get a better picture.
We’ve got detectors along the right of way checking the health of equipment as trains roll by. We also have automated track inspections that are constantly making sure the track is in good shape. The goal is to catch issues before they turn into an accident.
Kathy: I really like the digital train inspection portals. They’re basically structures where trains pass through at speed while 360-degree cameras capture images. Then AI analyzes those images, and people come in and determine, “Okay, we need to take this railcar out,” or “We need to fix this.” That’s pretty cool.
Brenda: Tons of data is coming in. As you said, railroads can use those trends to understand wear and tear, identify emerging issues, and begin adjusting their maintenance plans. They can target the areas that need attention.
Kathy: And like you said, it’s about preventing problems before they arise.
Brenda: Exactly.
Kathy: I don’t think we can have this conversation without talking about derailments. When people see a derailment in the news, it’s easy to think, “This must be happening everywhere.” Can you explain derailments a little more? How are they defined, where do they actually happen, and what are railroads doing to reduce them?
Brenda: Sure. A derailment happens any time one or more wheels on a railcar or locomotive leave the track. They’re reportable if there’s $12,600 or more in damage to the track or equipment. With trains, that’s actually pretty easy to reach, even with what amounts to a small fender bender.
Kathy: Those things are expensive, right?
Brenda: They sure are.
When it comes to derailments, roughly 70% occur in yards and on industry track. Think of that environment like a grocery store parking lot. Trains are moving at low speeds. You might have a fender bender, but they’re generally low-consequence accidents.
The other 30% occur on the main line, which is basically the highway for trains. That’s where people are more likely to see trains moving across the network.
Kathy: Just to clarify, a yard is where trains are being switched and railcars are being sorted. When you say industry track, you’re talking about tracks that serve customers directly?
Brenda: Yes, basically.
Kathy: What is the biggest safety challenge when we look at all of the data, and what are railroads doing to address it?
Brenda: I’d say our biggest safety challenges are really in two areas: grade crossings and trespassing. It’s where the railroad intersects with the public. When it comes to grade crossings, we’ve seen the highest levels of registered vehicles in recent years. Everybody has a car. We’ve also seen record numbers of licensed drivers. People of all ages are out driving, and population levels are the highest they’ve ever been. That creates a lot of exposure at grade crossings.
Trespassing is another challenge because people aren’t safe when they’re on the railroad right of way.
We’re doing a lot to address both issues. For grade crossings, we focus heavily on education. Operation Lifesaver is out there at the local level educating everyone from school-aged children to first responders. They offer different classes along with a wide variety of educational resources and materials. We want people to be safer around railroad tracks, especially at grade crossings.
Engineering improvements are another important piece. Gates and lights help motorists know when a train is approaching, but they’re expensive. Railroads partner with communities to apply for federal funding, and when communities install gates or warning lights, the railroad maintains them. It’s really a partnership involving local communities, railroads, Operation Lifesaver, and the federal government.
When it comes to trespassing, there are effective strategies as well. Sometimes people are simply trying to get to the other side of the tracks because there’s a school or another destination nearby. One approach is working with communities early in the planning process so they consider railroad safety when locating schools and other facilities. Another approach is landscaping. Railroads can install shrubs, rose bushes, or other barriers that discourage people from taking shortcuts across the tracks.
Kathy: I think it’s important to remind people that freight railroad tracks and railroad rights of way are private property. It’s incredibly dangerous to be on the tracks. Even if you think a train isn’t coming, trains can approach quickly. And they don’t really make that old clickety-clack sound anymore because the track is much smoother.
Brenda: That’s right. They can also be much quieter than people expect, so you might not even realize a train is approaching.
Kathy: We do a lot with Operation Lifesaver and Rail Safety Week to help get that message out, so it makes sense that this continues to be a challenge.
Brenda: It is. Another thing we see is motorists trying to beat the train.
Kathy: Or trying to drive around the gates.
Brenda: Exactly. They’ll go around the gates to try to get across before the train.
Kathy: Please don’t do that.
Brenda: Please don’t do that.
Kathy: One final question before we wrap up. What’s one thing about rail safety that you wish more people understood?
Brenda: I think it’s important for people to understand that we’re all in this together. There’s a tremendous amount of collaboration and dedication—from the boots on the ground to every level of government, local communities, and organizations like Operation Lifesaver. It takes a lot of effort from a lot of people.
When it comes to grade crossings, the statistics don’t always reflect all the work that’s happening behind the scenes. If you compare today with 2005, we’ve seen an 11% decline in the number of public grade crossings because the safest crossing is the one that’s closed. We’ve also seen a 43% increase in the number of public crossings equipped with gates. That’s a tremendous accomplishment and really shows the commitment to improving crossing safety.
Kathy: I just thought of one more thing I want to ask. When we look at all of the safety data, there are a lot of percentages and year-over-year changes, along with comparisons back to 2005. What’s the one statistic you think is the most important?
Brenda: People are always looking at the derailment rate because that’s what tends to make the news. But I’d also point to the employee injury rate, which reached an all-time low for Class I railroads.
Kathy: Are there other areas that reached all-time lows?
Brenda: Sure. Track-caused accidents are at an all-time low. Equipment-caused accidents are at an all-time low.
Kathy: And that’s all for 2025?
Brenda: That’s for 2025. Historic milestones. Another thing worth mentioning is the role technology is playing in training. We’re seeing a lot of virtual reality training that allows employees to learn at their own pace and spend more time on the areas they want to focus on.
It also gives them the opportunity to experience challenging or rare situations they might not encounter during traditional hands-on training. That’s a huge benefit. For younger employees especially, this type of learning is very familiar, and it works really well.
Kathy: So those are the simulators people hear about?
Brenda: Yes. Locomotive engineers use them. Welding training uses them. All sorts of jobs use simulation.
You can practice in a safe environment. If something doesn’t go right, you can try a different approach and see how it turns out.
Kathy: The welding training is really interesting because it’s actual virtual reality. They put on the welding mask, but what they’re seeing is virtual, so they can practice without using real materials.
The locomotive simulators are different. They’re almost like sitting inside a real locomotive cab with a large screen in front of you. My understanding is they’re mapped to actual rail corridors, so the experience feels very realistic. Engineers can learn Positive Train Control, or PTC, and practice operating trains correctly before they ever get out onto the railroad.
Brenda: Exactly. They’re learning in a safe environment. Another thing that always stands out to me when I’m on the railroads is the safety culture. Safety comes first. There isn’t a shortcut that’s worth the risk. At the end of the day, everyone goes home safely. That’s what’s important.
Kathy: One thing I’ve heard from railroad employees over and over is, “I’m going home the way I came in.”
People want to go home safely to their families. Nobody wants to get hurt at work.
Brenda: Safety is really a core part of railroading. You take care of yourself, and you take care of your coworkers.
Kathy: One statistic that really stands out to me is that railroad employees have an average tenure of about 14 years. People stay for a long time. Many come from families with generations of railroaders.
Brenda: They’re extremely knowledgeable. They know their craft, and they know their railroad.
Kathy: I’m glad you added that because I think it’s the perfect way to end.
This has been wonderful. I know you were a little nervous, and I think I was a little nervous too, but we made it through our first episode. Before we wrap up, I almost gave you my coffee cup! Instead, I want to give you your own Signal Coffee Break mug. I know you have water in there today, but tomorrow, when you have your latte, you can use your new coffee mug.
Brenda: I will. And I’ll think of you.
Kathy: We’ll be back with another episode soon. We’re figuring out who we’ll interview next, so we’ll let you know in a future edition of The Signal.
Brenda: Thank you so much.