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Transportation Safety Board of Canada / Transportation Safety Board of Canada

Table 1. Railway occurrence and casualty in February 2020

Table 1. Railway occurrence and casualty
  February January to February
  2020 2019 2015-2019 average 2020 2019 2015-2019 average

Data extracted March 16, 2020.

All 5-year averages have been rounded. The totals sometimes do not coincide to the sum of these averages.

a. Train-miles estimated. (Source: Transport Canada)

New TSB regulations came into effect on July 1, 2014, changing some reporting requirements.

  1. * Under new reporting requirements all derailments are reportable. The TSB has reviewed derailments and collisions back to January 1, 2014 and recategorized occurrences with minimal consequences as reportable incidents including:
    derailments involving 1 to 2 cars, with no equipment or track damage, no injuries, no fires,and no release of dangerous goods; Non-main-track collisions, with no equipment or track damage, no injuries, no fires, no release of dangerous goods, and did not foul the main track.
  2. ** TSB Regulations have been harmonized with Section 8.4 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, under which TSB DG leaker incidents are only reportable if they result in death or serious injury, evacuation, or the closure of a DG loading facility, a road, a main railway line, or a main waterway.
Accidents 75 180 110 156 296 205
Main-track train collisions 0 0 0 0 1 1
Main-track train derailments - 1-2 cars* 3 9 5 6 17 10
Main-track train derailments - 3-5 cars 0 0 1 0 0 1
Main-track train derailments - 6 or more cars 3 3 2 4 9 5
Crossings 8 27 18 24 43 34
Non-main-track train collisions 6 14 9 14 28 21
Non-main-track train derailments - 1-2 cars* 34 97 49 68 141 85
Non-main-track train derailments - 3-5 cars 5 9 6 14 17 15
Non-main-track train derailments - 6 or more cars 1 4 3 4 7 5
Collisions/derailments involving track units 1 2 3 1 8 6
Employee/passenger 1 1 1 1 3 2
Trespassers 4 3 4 6 6 7
Fires/explosions 3 3 3 4 6 4
Other 5 8 5 9 10 8
Incidents 21 35 36 47 73 68
Main-track train derailments - 1-2 cars* (no damage) 0 2 1 0 2 1
Non-main-track train collisions* (no derailment, no damage) 0 0 1 0 0 1
Non-main-track train derailments - 1-2 cars* (no damage) 3 15 17 9 30 32
Dangerous goods leaker ** 0 0 0 0 0 1
Main-track switch in abnormal position 1 0 1 1 3 1
Movement exceeds limits of authority 13 14 12 29 30 24
Uncontrolled movement of rolling stock 1 1 1 3 5 3
Others 3 3 4 5 3 6
Million train-miles (a)       13.89 13.98 13.61
Accidents/million train-miles       11.23 21.17 15.06
Accidents involving dangerous goods 10 32 16 21 51 30
Main-track train derailments 2 2 2 2 4 4
Crossings 0 0 1 0 0 1
Non-main-track train collisions 3 6 3 4 15 8
Non-main-track train derailments 4 24 10 14 31 16
All others 1 0 0 1 1 1
Accidents with a DG release 2 1 0 2 1 1
Accidents involving passenger trains 5 10 6 7 14 10
Accidents involving an uncontrolled movement of rolling stock 3 6 3 4 14 7
Fatalities 4 10 4 8 16 7
Crossings 1 4 1 3 8 3
Trespassers 3 3 3 5 5 4
All others 0 3 1 0 3 1
Serious injuries 3 3 5 3 10 11
Crossings 1 1 2 1 4 6
Trespassers 1 0 1 1 1 3
All others 1 2 2 1 5 3

Note: This is preliminary information subject to year-end validation and reconciliation.