KEY FACTS
- The hazmat accident rates per carload is at record lows, down 80% since 2005.
- Shippers provide compliant tank cars; railroads ensure safe routing and handling.
- 24/7 response teams, training, and AskRail help ensure safety.
🎧 Listen to this page narrated by a real person • 4 min 54 sec • Find the full transcript at the bottom of this page.
Railroads play a vital role in safely transporting hazardous materials essential to daily life, such as water purification chemicals and fertilizers. In collaboration with regulators and communities, they ensure secure deliveries under their common carrier obligation. By adhering to strict hazmat rail car design standards, developing first responder apps, and utilizing advanced routing software, railroads continuously enhance safety.
Thanks to ongoing investments, FRA data shows hazmat accident rates per carload have reached record lows—down 80% since 2005. Freight rail remains the safest way to transport hazmat, with more than 99.99% of shipments arriving without a release due to a train accident.
Important to Know: The overwhelming majority of all tank cars are owned or leased by shippers, not the railroads. Shippers have a responsibility to ensure they are using the appropriate tank cars and intermodal tanks for safe movement of their products before offering it to the railroads for shipment. Federal requirements allow the railroad to trust that the shipper has taken all appropriate measures unless a ground-level inspection suggests otherwise. If those requirements are met, railroads are required to move products under their common carrier obligation. Learn more on shipper regulatory responsibilities.
Complying with Federal Regulations
Railroads comply with federal regulations as well as industry-wide and railroad-specific operating procedures to ensure safe operations. Industry and railroad-specific procedures cover employee training, train speeds, inspections, rail yard practices and locomotive operation.
Federal regulations from various agencies, including the FRA and the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), dictate safety practices in areas such as placement of railcars carrying certain commodities in the train “consist,” hazmat routes, an inspection of equipment and track, speed restrictions and more. While federal regulations dictate the frequency of inspections, railroads often inspect their infrastructure with greater regularity than the federal government requires.
Private Investments Increase Safety
Class I railroads reinvest an average of $25 billion a year in modernizing infrastructure, enhancing safety and improving reliability. Using advanced technology—such as drones for inspections, ultrasound for track flaws, and trackside monitors for railcar defects—railroads proactively detect and address issues before incidents occur. Given the highly integrated rail network, railroads collaborate on industry-wide initiatives to share data, ensuring quick identification of potential equipment issues across multiple rail systems.
Advocating for Tougher Standards
America’s freight railroads transport most hazmat using a fleet of specialized rail tank cars and have advocated for tougher standards. Thanks to rail industry advocacy, in 2015, USDOT released regulations requiring new, tougher tank car standards for certain types of hazmat, including crude oil. Older tank cars that do not meet new standards are being phased out. Railroads also proactively equip many trains carrying hazmat with equipment designed to enhance rail braking and minimize damage to rail cars in the event of an accident.
U.S. Class I railroads use the Rail Corridor Risk Management System (RCRMS), a joint initiative between railroads and the government, to analyze and identify the safest and most secure routes for transporting highly hazardous materials. The model uses 27 risk factors — including hazmat volume, trip length and population density along the route — to assess rail routes’ overall safety and security.
24/7 Emergency Response Teams
Along with always-on response teams that support local officials, railroads also maintain networks of on-call hazmat response contractors and environmental consultants to provide additional assistance. Freight railroads have a fundamental commitment to the safety of the communities they serve all across the country.
Working with government and industry partners like MxV Rail, railroads help train tens of thousands of emergency responders each year and actively collaborate with local officials on emergency response plans in the event of an incident. Emergency response agencies can, upon request, receive confidential information on the hazmat moving through their communities.
Emergency Response Plans
Railroads actively collaborate with local officials on emergency response plans. Upon request, railroads also share information with state and local officials on the types of cargo moving through their communities to inform emergency response planning. In partnership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the industry developed the AskRail app, which provides first responders across the rail network immediate access to accurate, timely data about what type of hazmat a rail car is carrying and how to respond to an incident safely.
Hazmat Remediation
Railroads follow strict regulations when a hazmat incident occurs. When a hazardous substance incident occurs, railroads work closely with government agencies and safety experts to immediately contain the situation, protect the health and safety of citizens and the environment, remediate any impacts and carefully return to service.
Railroads rigorously adhere to federal and state regulations for hazardous substance transportation, collaborating with regulatory agencies, deploying environmental experts, and actively engaging in monitoring and remediation to minimize hazmat incident impacts. Their commitment extends to supporting affected communities until resolution.
Read the AAR Audio Narration
How Freight Railroads Safely Move Hazardous Materials
This is AAR Audio, and you’re listening to How Freight Railroads Safely Move Hazardous Materials.
Every day, freight railroads transport products that millions of Americans rely on without ever thinking about them.
Chemicals that make drinking water safe.
Fertilizers that help grow our food.
Fuel that powers homes, businesses, and transportation.
Many of these products are classified as hazardous materials.
Moving them safely isn’t just important.
It’s essential.
The good news is that freight rail has an exceptional safety record.
More than 99.99 percent of hazardous material shipments arrive without a release caused by a train accident.
And between 2005 and 2025, the hazmat accident rate per carload has fallen by 80 percent.
That progress comes from decades of investment, employee vigilance, and advanced technologies.
Safety starts before a train ever leaves the yard.
Most tank cars aren’t owned by the railroads.
They’re owned or leased by the companies shipping the product.
Those shippers are responsible for selecting the correct tank car and making sure it meets federal safety requirements before it’s offered for transportation.
Once the shipment enters the rail network, the railroad safely routes, inspects, and transports it under strict federal regulations.
Every shipment follows multiple layers of protection.
Railroads inspect locomotives.
Railcars.
Track.
Signals.
And bridges.
Many of those inspections now use drones, ultrasonic technology, trackside detectors, and other advanced tools that can identify problems long before they become safety risks.
Railroads also share equipment data across the industry.
If one railroad identifies a potential issue with a railcar, that information can quickly be shared with others before the car continues its journey.
Choosing the safest route is another important part of the process.
Railroads don’t simply send hazardous materials along the shortest path.
They use advanced risk analysis tools developed with the federal government to evaluate possible routes.
These systems consider dozens of factors, including population density, traffic levels, trip length, and other safety considerations.
The goal is always the same.
Move hazardous materials as safely and securely as possible.
Railroads have also pushed for stronger equipment standards.
Over the years, the industry has advocated for tougher tank car designs that better protect hazardous materials during an accident.
Newer tank cars are built with stronger steel, improved insulation, reinforced shields, and other safety features.
Older tank cars that don’t meet today’s standards continue to be phased out or upgraded to meet the new standards.
Many trains carrying hazardous materials also operate with enhanced braking technologies designed to reduce the forces experienced during an emergency stop.
Preparing for emergencies is another critical layer of safety.
Railroads maintain emergency response teams that are available around the clock.
They also work closely with local fire departments, emergency managers, and hazardous materials specialists across the country.
Every year, railroads help train tens of thousands of first responders so they’re prepared if an incident ever occurs.
One valuable tool is the AskRail app.
Developed in partnership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs and Class I railroads, it gives first responders immediate access to information about what’s inside a railcar and the safest way to respond.
That means firefighters and emergency crews have critical information within minutes of arriving on scene.
If an incident does occur, railroads work alongside federal, state, and local agencies to respond immediately.
Their first priorities are protecting people, containing the situation, and protecting the environment.
Environmental specialists assess the site.
Crews begin cleanup and remediation.
And railroads continue working with affected communities until the job is complete.
Moving hazardous materials will always require careful planning.
Freight railroads approach that responsibility with multiple layers of safety.
Strict regulations.
Advanced technology.
Purpose-built equipment.
Highly trained employees.
And close coordination with shippers, regulators, and first responders.
Together, those efforts have made freight rail the safest way to transport hazardous materials.
And they continue making an already safe system even safer.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Freight rail is the safest way to transport hazardous materials, with more than 99.99% of shipments arriving without a release and accident rates down significantly over time. Through strict standards, advanced technology, and close coordination with shippers and first responders, railroads continue to reduce risk and protect communities while delivering essential goods.