KEY FACTS
- About 70% of derailments happen in low-speed rail yards,
- The 2025 Class I railroad derailment rate was the lowest on record, down 17% since 2024.
- Minor events like misaligned couplers must be reported as derailments under federal rules.
Freight railroads are dedicated to safeguarding the communities they serve, their employees, and the products they ship. That’s why they privately invest an average of $23 billion each year in safety technologies, employee training, and infrastructure and equipment maintenance and improvements. Thanks in large part to these investments, the derailment rate for Class I railroads has dropped 17% since 2024.
What is a train derailment?
Any time even a single rail car wheel leaves the rail, whatever the reason, railroads are legally required to report that data to the FRA as a derailment. And if there is a single occurrence of $12,600 in damage to rail track or equipment, the derailment must be reported as an accident. Two typical examples of derailments in rail yards that result in little or minor damage include shoving movement derailments and passed couplers.
A rail switch is a mechanism installed in the track that guides a train from one track to another. A shoving movement is when a locomotive is pushing a group of cars during a switching operation. During the movement, the lead car could inadvertently go past the intended stopping point and run through a switch and damage it. Alternatively, it could pass through the switch and strike another railcar. This event would be logged as a derailment.
Each rail car has a coupler on either end, which allows it to connect to another car. If the couplers are misaligned when trying to connect with the rail cars, rather than coupling, they could pass each other. The resulting lateral force could be enough for a wheel to go off the track. This would also be logged as a derailment.
Where do train derailments happen most often?
Most train derailments happen in rail yards and on industry track, not on mainline track running across the country. Yards are low-speed areas (the average speed is five MPH) for sorting railcars, while industry tracks serve customer facilities for loading and unloading. With these derailments, injuries are rare, property damage is minimal, and the impact on the local community is little to none.
According to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) data, for all of 2025, there were 687 Class I railroad train derailments. About 70% occurred in rail yards or industry track (the track connecting to customer sites) and 30% on the mainline tracks.
What are railroads doing to prevent train derailments?
Freight railroads—the safest way to move goods over land—are continuously working to reduce train derailments, especially on mainline tracks where trains travel long distances at higher speeds.
Railroads take a targeted, data-driven approach to safety investments, focusing on the most common causes of derailments: track defects and equipment failures. To address these risks, freight railroads invest billions annually in infrastructure maintenance, track upgrades, and rolling stock improvements. They also deploy advanced inspection technologies—such as automated track geometry systems and wayside detectors—that identify issues with rails, wheels, and bearings before they lead to accidents.
These efforts are delivering measurable results: year-over-year, the rate of equipment-caused accidents fell by 12.1%, and track-caused accidents declined by 7.7%.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Most freight train derailments are low-speed incidents that occur in rail yards and rarely cause injuries or community impact, while serious mainline derailments are far less common. Continued investment in track, equipment, and advanced detection technologies is helping railroads reduce risks, prevent accidents, and improve overall safety across the network.