Tracking Troubles: An In-Depth Examination of Train Derailments and Railroad Safety in America
The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February of this year, which was then followed by a catastrophic chemical exposure to the surrounding town, drew renewed attention to train accidents across the United States
Photo: 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio (National Transportation Safety Board)
Since the East Palestine, Ohio events, a series of other train accidents have followed. Public attention remains on high alert as East Palestine’s restoration is still underway. Overt Operator looked at events that followed our first data analysis of train incidents to compare our initial inquiry to new incidents.
A topographic map shows the areas where train derailment activity was tracked in 2023 (Data provided by Seerist)
Recent Developments
A number of significant train derailment accidents have occurred in 2023, with the tragedy in East Palestine, Ohio, in February, making a surge of headlines.
In May, a train derailed at “Port Road and Highway 146” in Seabrook, Texas, ABC 13 Eyewitness News reported, adding to the trend of significant train accidents in 2023 so far.
The derailment in Seabrook, reported on May 17, followed a derailment in Montgomery County, Texas, reported on May 16 by ABC 13 Eyewitness News, which involved 31 cars. The 31 cars were derailed in Dacus, Texas. No hazardous material spills were reported.
As train derailments became frequent occurrences in 2023, Overt Operator sought open source data intelligence to give an in-depth perspective of train accidents’ causes.
East Palestine’s Tragedy
Reports from mainstream newspapers, including a recent introduction to affected residents by local WKBN ABC News, and earlier The New York Times and NPR News, have drawn public awareness to a series of similar events across the United States this year. While NPR reported that train derailments are a frequent occurrence, they noted that the catastrophe of the East Palestine incident is not the normal order.
The incident in East Palestine took place on a Norfolk Southern operated train, drawing controversy to the company and its reputation.
A closer look at the updated data and circumstances surrounding train accidents paints a fuller picture of the state of American rail lines to date and where efforts to improve them still need to happen.
The Numbers and What They Mean
While the East Palestine accident had catastrophic implications, the numbers paint a story that shows the status of train incidents is not an entirely cut and dry issue. The numbers boil down to the fact that train accidents vary in type. The risks from them depend on a mix of things. The areas where specific incidents happen will impact the outcome.
Data drawn from various sources shows that, within the 2020s, there has been a rise in notable train collisions and railway injuries and deaths. These numbers reflect more nuanced issues.
Average Accident Reports
While train accidents have had an average from 2005-2021, there was a noted increase in the number of collision accidents. Since 2021, there have also been 277 cross fatalities on rail lines and an estimated 777 injuries, according to a report released by Operation Lifesaver Rail Safety Education. The Federal Railroad Administration recorded 2,178 “highway rail-grade crossing collisions” had occurred in 2022. Of these collisions, 273 were fatalities and 763 resulted in injuries.
Operation Lifesaver listed the top states for rail accidents in 2022 as Texas, California, Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, New York, Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas and Mississippi. Of the listed states with the highest accident rates, Texas took the lead as the number one area with the highest rate of overall accidents, according to Operation Lifesaver’s list.
Texas’ lead overturned the assumption on social media following the East Palestine and corresponding Ohio crashes that Ohio is the capital of train accidents. This analysis was obtained from Seerist, a threat and risk intelligence solution, which uses millions of hand-curated open source intelligence feeds, including media reports, Twitter and citizen watchdog conversations, national and local news, and then provides contextual insight.
By isolating local data, and then viewing it from many communities at once, analysis discovered that people have begun to perceive Ohio as the “capital for train derailments.”
However, Ohio placed ninth on Operation Lifesaver’s list in 2022. The Office of Railroad Safety Data placed Ohio in fourth, according to data obtained by The Lincoln Journal Star in March. Texas again took first place in this list, followed closely by Illinois in second and California in third.
Railroad Service Providers
Of the states that Operation Lifesaver listed as having the highest rates of accidents, New York, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee are all within the Norfolk Southern railroad, which spans 19,500 miles and serves “every major seaport between New York City and Jacksonvillle, Florida,” as per service mapping by Norfolk Southern.
Operation Lifesaver did not draw any specific correlation between the accident majority states on its top 25 list and the Norfolk Southern company. While many of the highest-ranking states for train accidents and train derailments fall within the Norfolk Southern system, not all of them do.The Norfolk Southern company is one of the eight major rail road service providers in the United States. In addition to Norfolk Southern, these include CSX, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF), Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific (CP), Canadian National Railway (CN), and the Kansas City Southern (KCS).
Of the eight major rail lines, Norfolk Southern and CSX are the major service providers to New York, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana,Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. BNSF, Union Pacific, CP, CN and KCS serve the midwest areas. Of the 25 states Operational Lifesaver listed as its area of highest accidents, Texas, California, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Mississippi are within the service area where BNSF, Union Pacific, CP, CN, and KCS rail lines have the primary service, as indicated by these providers' maps.
While Norfolk Southern has a high rate of train accidents, which NBC polled at 0.88 accidents per million miles or “slightly above average,” compared with other major rail lines,data shows that the cause and scale of train derailments is not as cut and dry as singling out a specific rail service provider. For example, California was listed by the Office of Railroad Safety as the third-ranking place for the highest number of train derailments, an area where Norfolk Southern does not operate.
An Overview of 2023 Incidents
Photo: Instances of Train Derailments in the Continental US in 2023. Larger icons indicate clusters with a high volume of incidents. (Data Provided by Seerist)
A noted trend of highly public train derailments continued into April. Another Norfolk Southern derailed late April 8 in Jasper, Alabama, spilling diesel fuel and briefly hospitalizing at least two Norfolk Southern employees, Fox News reported.
The Federal Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a train derailment in March in Raymond, MN which led to an evacuation of the surrounding area. A series of incidents has been reported since February, and appears to break the patterns established by data sourced from earlier years.
“RA is on the ground after a BNSF train carrying ethanol derailed early this morning (March 30),” Buttigieg tweeted. At the time of his statement, no deaths came from the Raymond incident. Aerial footage from KARE 11 news showed the scene on fire.
Data analysis using Seerist threat and risk intelligence solutions drew from social media threads and other public sources to paint a picture of news and social response to train derailments in 2023.
The data Overt Operator analyzed also showed a higher level of train incidents between February and April 2023. The most recent train derailment documented in the data occurred in Paradise, Montana on April 5. Several other train derailments flagged in the data on April 5, as well as spanning the period between February and early April.
The Paradise incident was additionally reported by CBS News. In this case, the train was transporting Coors Light and Blue Moon beer. The Montana train likewise spilled clay. It was reported by local news that the train’s cars were seen in the Clark Fork River. Approximately 25 cars derailed around 9am on April 2, local authorities stated, as was quoted by CBS News.
Also reported on April 5, a train carrying 390 tons of gravel derailed in Sardinia, Ohio, shutting down a road in Brown County, Ohio, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Also retrieved on April 5, a hazmat train derailed in Orange County, California.
On April 4, “scores” of Long Island Rail Road commuters had their commutes thrown off course when a train struck a concrete walkway along the tracks.
A Closer Look
The Federal Department of Transportation’s data showed that train accidents of late are a common problem. There has not been a change overall in general accidents, as these vary in type.
Data revealed that train accidents occur closer to the railway station the train deploys from, according to DOT data, and, therefore, seldom draw public attention. The national average of train accidents from 2005-2021 has held steady at 1,457 train derailments per year. In 2021, the number of derailment specific accidents went down, from 1,457 per year to 1,087 derailments.
Railway Deaths
Data from a wider pool of sources reveals that there has been a noted rise in significant train-related incidents since the start of the 2020s, when compared with earlier statistics of the 2000s.
Likewise, the issue of railway related deaths had increased by approximately 20% from 2020, the National Safety Council reported. The numbers in 2020 were the highest since 2007. The numbers of deaths reported at highway and railway crossing points between 2020 and 2021 increased by 21%, while the number of other types of incidents increased by 20%.
Train Accident Primary Causes
Data attributed the cause of train accidents to 10 primary categories. They were human error, reckless pedestrians and drivers, mechanical failure, negligence, speed, defective tracks, derailments, unprotected rail crossings, stalled cars, and suicides.
Overt Operator’s analysis showed that, while accidents at rail crossings are more common, specific issues such as train derailments, though occurring less frequently, have more negative consequences overall. This has been the result of the aftermath of cargo spills.
Railroads as a Whole Held to Task
Data analysis highlighted a series of instances where major corporation’s responses to rail safety made citizens question their safety.
The data collected earlier this year showcased how local news outlets and public watchdogs questioned whether, in their view, capitalism was to be blamed for how the East Palestine and other hazardous material train derailments had been allowed to transpire to the degree of impact they ultimately had.
As the public mulled the root connections between corporate rail lines and accidents, data from singling out any specific railway was inconclusive. Rather, data analysis was able to show a pattern in the behavior of major railroad companies that led to the tragic outcome in East Palestine.
The Norfolk Southern company’s response to the East Palestine derailment case showed how companies have failed the process of safety-first measures in the recent history of train freight traffic procedure. Data points compiled local news reports and private citizen watchdog posts painting a complete picture of the scene.
A fire in a train cab of the Norfolk Southern train involved in the accident led to the derailment, media reports and Seerist data showed.
Norfolk-Southern then sabotaged most of the footage of the train derailment, the head of the agency investigating the incident stated. These data findings were corroborated by reporting by Fox28, which also reported that the obstructed video could have provided “crucial information” for the moments leading up to the trains derailment.
Compounding the incident’s issues, data points also found local statements that many of the East Palestine, Ohio’s responding fire fighters did not have the proper training to put the blaze out before its impact was widespread. Local watchdog posts were corroborated by CNN reporting.
In the fallout of the East Palestine incident, Congress held a hearing with the Norfolk Southern CEO and Environmental Protection Agency officials questioning the future of train safety and company regulations. The hearing was broadcast by C-Span on March 9.
Data analysis also found, through observing many different localities' data points at the same time, communities expected greater accountability from lawmakers as a direct result of watching what happened in Ohio. For example, in March, a report from Michigan Live stated that Michigan’s law makers wanted greater degrees of notice when “hazardous materials” come into Michigan, as a direct result of observing the impact of the East Palestine tragedy.
The East Palestine Fall Out
The East Palestine disaster continued to cause fall out for months after the fact. On May 12, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a report on the continued effort to analyze the situation. Data review, as of May 12, found that the air quality remained “below screening levels''. As part of the continued relief, the EPA took samples of the area’s water as well, to test for groundwater contamination. Clean up efforts continued at the time of the May 12 report.
The anomalies that went wrong with the case in East Palestine has led transportation officials to impose stronger regulations on trains hauling chemicals overall. Local CBS reported that citizens of East Palestine have been left with questions regarding what the long-term impact of the derailment will look like overall.
In the East Palestine case, it also became clear that the sheer impact of only one hazmat derailment can have ripple effects. The impacts were widespread enough that they prompted Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to “rethink how he did his job,” CNN Politics reported in March.
Measures to Improve on Nuanced Factors
The numbers tell us that issues with railroad safety boil down to some key issues. While nuanced, elements of lethal railway accidents include danger at crosswalks and the after effect of hazardous materials from overturned freight cars. The U.S. Department of Transportation leadership has assured the public that it will take greater measures to improve upon safety protocols.
In the wake of the East Palestine events, Senator Sherrod Brown (D.Ohio) led a bipartisan effort, which included Senator J.D. Vance (R.Ohio) to pass the Railway Safety Act of 2023:
“(The act) that will improve rail safety protocols, finally standing up to railroad company lobbyists so no other community has to deal with what East Palestine and others in Ohio, including residents of Springfield, Sandusky and Steubenville, have dealt with,” wrote the public relations offices of Senator Sherrod Brown.
As Congress met with the EPA and Norfolk Southern, Senator Brown addressed the fall out and its impact on Ohioans:
“In my visits to East Palestine, I’ve talked with residents – Mayor Conaway, Fire Chief Drabick, business owners, parents. I’ve heard their fears for what this means for their town – for their futures.
All because a big corporation, Norfolk Southern, chose to invest much of its massive profits in making its executives and shareholders wealthier, at the expense of the Ohio communities along its rail tracks like East Palestine and Steubenville and Sandusky and Springfield,” said Brown, as he was quoted by the press relations office of Senator Sherrod Brown.
This impact continued into May. News Nation reported that East Palestine residents have voiced concerns over new struggles and have argued that they “should not have to fight” as hard as they do to get the relief care needed following these events.
Overt Operator’s Analysis
The team at Overt Operator analyzed data and reached a conclusion. Based on the data gathered from open-source intelligence as well as government databases, there was a notable pattern of derailments between February and April. These derailment incidents continued into May, with significant social impact. Likewise, the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio tragedy continued into May, with the drawn out clean up process and delays in relief resources highlighting the impact these incidents can have long term.
While derailments are not as common as other types of accidents, the exposure to chemicals has far-reaching deadly and devastating impacts.
Corporations have contributed to the impact of such accidents by self-preserving actions that obscured the process of collecting vital information needed to analyze accidents and strategize better procedures for avoiding them. Behavior patterns data was enough to indicate patterns that contributed to accidents, however, there was no sufficient data to single out a particular rail line as creating greater or lesser risk than one of its counterparts.
Data taken from 2020-to 2022 shows that, in recent years, railway accidents have risen at highway and railroad crossings, breaking from a pattern of relatively stable statistics of train derailment and other accidents over the last two decades. Civilian awareness of dangers at these points could decrease the pattern of recent accidents, and bring the national average numbers of fatalities and injuries down once more.
Overt Operator’s analysis of all the empirical data collected from social open source search concluded a wide-spread recurring incident trend in cargo train derailments. While many of these accidents proved not to involve direct human casualties, the stats showed great damage to property and cargo as a result. Data analysis concluded that the communications between current train policy and actual rail line regulator practice is in a state of disconnect.
This empirical analysis finds that, if rail lines would independently institute stronger systems of safety and maintenance checks, and independently enforce employee compliance with these rules, then the incidents observed would happen less frequently.
This analysis also found that legislators will likely enforce stiffer regulations on rail line systems, especially following recent national and geopolitical events such as the East Palestine tragedy as well as the rail line sabotaging tactics used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which Reuters reported earlier in May. Because the risk of rail line incidents have hazardous material and national security implications, rail lines will be held to a higher accountability standard in the near future.