WASHINGTON - Last year was the safest year in history for U.S. railroad employees as measured both by employee injuries and employee injury rates, according to data released by the Federal Railroad Administration. It was also the safest year on record for the highway grade crossing accident rate.
The employee injury rate fell by 12.7 percent, while the number of employee injuries declined by 9 percent, breaking records set in 2004. The grade-crossing incident rate dropped 4.2 percent from 2004 when the previous record was set. The number of grade-crossing accidents (down 1.9) percent and the number of fatalities (down 3.5 percent) were both the second lowest on record. Progress was also made in reducing train accidents, with the total number down almost 8 percent from 2004 and the rate down more than 10 percent.
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