List of rail accidents.html

 
ca de en es fr it nl no pl pt ru ro fi sv tr vo


 

Rail transport
Operations
Stations
Trains
Locomotives
Rolling stock
History
History by country
Terminology
By country
Accidents

Modelling

This box: view  talk  
Criteria for accidents to be included in this list is being discussed at
Talk:List of rail accidents/Criteria for inclusion.
Please feel free to contribute to the discussion.

This is a list of rail accidents from 2000 to the present. The list includes some terrorist bombings.

See also:


Notable train accidents, 2000 - present
2000s: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
See alsoExternal linksReferences

2000s

2000

  • Flag of Norway January 4, 2000 – Åsta accident, Åsta in Åmot, Norway: Two diesel passenger trains collide on the Rørosbanen killing 19. The fire after the collision lasted nearly 6 hours.
  • Flag of Germany February 6, 2000 – Brühl, Germany: An express night train from Amsterdam to Basel passes a construction area at excess speed and derails at Brühl station on the main line between Cologne and Bonn, crashing into a nearby house. 9 people died.
  • Flag of Denmark March 2, 2000 – Kølkær, Denmark: Two regional trains collide head-on after one passes a red signal. 3 die and 39 are injured.citation needed
  • Flag of Japan March 8, 2000 – Naka-Meguro train disaster, Japan: A Tokyo Subway train derails and is hit by another train on the next track; 4 die and 33 are injured.
  • Flag of Norway April 5, 2000 – Lillestrøm in Skedsmo, Norway: A freight train's brakes fail between Strømmen and Lillestrøm; it collides with a stationary freight train at Lillestrøm station. Two gas wagons loaded with propane catch fire and 2000 people are evacuated in fear of a BLEVE, but there are no casualties.citation needed
  • Flag of Brazil July 28 , 2000 At 21:15 July 28, 2000, a composition of the series 1700 (No 145) from Jaraguá (destination Francisco Morato) at the station Perus , due to lack of energy. Another composition of the series 1700 (No 127) that was parked on the same line for the same reason and that had already been emptied, lost the brakes on a stretch of descent, traveled 5.5 km in 8 minutes and crashed the train parked at the station Perus.

The accident left 9 dead and 115 injured and destroyed the station Peruscitation needed

  • Flag of Kenya August 15, 2000 - According to Kenya Broadcasting Corporation report, a Butere-Kisumu commuter train carrying 400 passengers on-board ploughed off the rails at the shore of Lake Victoria, Lela, Nyanza, Kenya, in an incident caused by brake failure, killing 13; another 36 are injured.citation needed
  • Flag of Kenya August 17, 2000 - 6 die in Kisumu, after a freight train hits a packed bus on a busy level crossing during the morning rush hour.citation needed
  • Flag of Kenya August 19, 2000 - According to Kenya Television Network report, a Mombasa-Nairobi freight train with liquefied gas exploded and caught fire at Mavoko, Eastern, Kenya, killing 25 and injured more 50, most of victims and injuring were residents of house, nearby railroad line.citation needed
  • Flag of the United Kingdom October 17, 2000 – Hatfield rail crash, England, United Kingdom: As the London-Leeds express passes at 115 mph (185 km/h), a faulty rail shatters into 300 pieces because of a condition known as rolling contact fatigue. Four are killed, and 102 are injured. This rail failure forces the biggest and most expensive re-railing exercise in British history, with huge service disruption for many months. Operator Railtrack is found guilty in one of the longest rail-related trials in UK legal history, but manslaughter charges against company managers are not sustained.
  • Flag of India June 6, 2000 - A bomb explodes on a train in Bathinda, killing 2 and injuring 1.citation needed
  • Flag of Indonesia June 28, 2000 - 13 children die after a goods train they were riding on derails in Padang. The Indonesian government cracks down on passengers clinging onto the sides of freight trains as a means of free travel. (Source- BBC)citation needed
  • Flag of Austria November 11, 2000 – Kaprun disaster, Austria: A funicular train catches fire in a tunnel because of an unsafely installed heater. 155 die.
  • Flag of India December 2, 2000 – Sarai Banjara rail disaster, a crowded commuter train crashes into a derailed freight train inPunjab. More than 45 die.
  • Flag of the Philippines December 30, 2000 - Rizal Day bombings, Philippines: A bomb explodes on a Manila Light Rail Transit System train during a terrorist attack near Blumentritt station. 22 die and hundreds are injured.

2001

  • Flag of the Republic of the Congo January 12, 2001 – Nvoungouti, Congo: Over 30 die when two trains collide because of a brake failure at Nvoungouti.1
  • Flag of Canada February 7, 2001–Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Northland Railway's Northlander passenger train derails in the Don Valley near the Bayview Extension and Pottery Road area. 23 passengers were on board; 2 slightly injured.2
  • Flag of the United Kingdom February 28, 2001 – Selby rail crash, Great Heck, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom: a driver on England's M62 motorway falls asleep at the wheel and runs off the road, landing on railway tracks; he escapes, but the vehicle is almost instantly hit by a passenger train, which derails and hits a coal train traveling in the opposite direction. 10 die, over 80 are injured. The car driver is later jailed for causing death by dangerous driving.
  • Flag of Belgium March 27, 2001 – Pécrot rail crash, Pécrot, Belgium: Two passenger trains collide on the same track. 8 die and 12 are injured.
  • Flag of Canada April 12, 2001 – Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, Canada: a teenager tampered with a control switch on the VIA Rail Canada's Ocean. Many are injured in the resulting crash.citation needed
  • Flag of the United States May 15, 2001 – Toledo, Ohio, United States: A CSX freight train of 47 cars, including some with hazardous molten phenol acid, runs away in the yard at Toledo with no engineer aboard. The engineer, Michael Scanlan, had stepped out to reset a switch but had improperly applied the dynamic brake. It runs for 66 miles (106 km) to Kenton, Ohio before being stopped by a railroad worker who jumps aboard and manages to stop it. CSX had slowed the train down to 10 mph by coupling an engine onto the end.3.
  • Flag of India June 21, 2001 – Kadalundi River rail disaster, Kerala, India: 57 people die.citation needed
  • Flag of the United States July 18, 2001 – Howard Street Tunnel fire, Baltimore, Maryland, United States: A 60-car CSX train carrying chemicals and wood products derails in a 1.7 miles (3 km) long tunnel under Baltimore, causing water contamination and a fire that burns for six days.4.
  • Flag of Sri Lanka August 19, 2001 – Kurunegala train crash, Sri Lanka: 13 die when a train in Sri Lanka derails because of speeding and overcrowding. 5
  • Flag of Indonesia September 2, 2001 – Cirebon, Indonesia: A passenger train and a locomotive collide, killing 40 and seriously injuring 37.6
  • Flag of Russia November 8, 2001 – Russia: A nuclear waste train from Bulgaria crashes at midnight between the Krasnoyarsk and Kemerovo on the Trans-Siberian railway. 14 of the 20 tanker-wagons derail and the line is closed for about 12 hours. 1 km of track is damaged.7
  • Flag of Greece December 18, 2001 – Orestiada, Greece: 1 death results when a train becomes stuck in a snow drift and derails at the town of Orestiada, near the Bulgarian border. Temperatures fall to −10°C.8
  • Flag of Indonesia December 25, 2001 - A packed passenger train careened into a station just outside Berbes and slammed into a stationary train from Jakarta, killing 27 and seriously wounding dozens according to the local authorities and Indonesian Red Cross.citation needed

2002

  • Flag of the United States January 18, 2002 – Minot, North Dakota, United States: A Canadian Pacific Railway train derails at 01:40 CST near a residential area west of Minot; the derailment results in a massive anhydrous ammonia leak. Seven of 15 tank cars rupture, releasing more than 750,000 liters (200,000 US gallons) of anhydrous ammonia which vaporizes in the sub-zero air, forming a toxic cloud that drifts over much of Minot. One man died and numerous others are treated for chemical exposure.9
  • Flag of South Africa February 6, 2002 – Charlotte’s Dale train crash, South Africa: Two commuter trains collide in Charlotte’s Dale near Durban. 22 die, of which 16 are children.10
  • Flag of Egypt February 20, 2002 – Al Ayatt train disaster, Egypt: A train packed to double capacity catches fire, 373 die.
  • Flag of Spain March 30, 2002 – A Spanish high-speed express train on the Valencia-Barcelona route of the Euromed collides head-on with the Tortosa-Barcelona Catalunya express. Between both trains, 600 passengers were onboard, five cars of the Euromed are damaged at Torredembarra station, outskirts of Tarragona, Catalunya, Spain. At least four are killed and another 88 are injured.citation needed
  • Flag of the United States April 18, 2002 – Crescent City, Florida, United States: 21 cars of an Amtrak Auto-Train derail near Crescent City. Four deaths, 142 injured. The National Transportation Safety Board initial accident report found that the ECP brakes purchased for the train were not functioning: the final report determined that the accident was caused by a hot-weather "sun kink" misalignment of the track due to inadequate CSX maintenance-of-way, and stated that equipment and track damages totaled about $8.3 million.11
  • Flag of the United States April 23, 2002 – Placentia, California, United States: a BNSF Railway freight train collided head-on with a Metrolink train in Placentia, near the Atwood Junction, at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Van Buren Street. Two people died in the crash and twenty-two were seriously injured.citation needed
  • Flag of Canada May 2, 2002 – Firdale, Manitoba, Canada: An eastbound CN train collides with a trailer; about 20 cars carrying plastic pellets, benzene, glycol and hexane catch fire, forcing the evacuation of nearly 200 residents.citation needed
  • Flag of the United Kingdom May 10, 2002 – Potters Bar rail crash, north of London, England, United Kingdom: a northbound train derails at high speed; 7 die, 11 seriously injured.
  • Flag of India May 13, 2002 – Jaunpur train crash, 12 people die when a passenger train derails and crashes in Uttar Pradesh. It is insinuated that the train was sabotaged.
  • Flag of Mozambique May 25, 2002 – Tenga, Mozambique: In an accident reminiscent of Armagh 1889, passenger carriages, separated from a train also carrying freight, run away and smash into a cement train, killing 200.
  • Flag of Sri Lanka June 13, 2002 – Alawwa train crash, Sri Lanka: Train derails whilst coming into Alawwa station, killing 14 people.5
  • Flag of the United States May 28, 2002 – Clarendon, Texas United States: A BNSF Railway coal train exceeded its movement authority under an “after-arrival” track warrant while the engineer was making a personal cell phone call, and collided head-on with a BNSF intermodal train. All four crew members jumped from their trains before impact and were injured, the intermodal engineer fatally.citation needed
  • Flag of Tanzania June 24, 2002 – Igandu train disaster, Tanzania: Nearly 300 die when a passenger train rolls backwards into a goods train.
  • Flag of the United States July 29, 2002 – Kensington, Maryland, United States: The eastbound Amtrak Capitol Limited, train 30, while traversing a CSX route, strikes a sun kink at 1:55 PM while traveling at 60 mph (100 km/h) near milepost 11.78. Several cars go down an embankment and four Superliners overturn against trees. 16 people are seriously injured and 79 people suffer from minor injuries. The misalignment was determined to be caused by an improperly tamped ballast and excessive speed in the 96°F (35°C) sunny weather. "Slow orders" were imposed on passenger trains in the area on very hot days following this accident.citation needed
  • Flag of Germany September 9, 2002 – Bad Münder, Germany: Two freight trains collide head-on after a brake failure on one of the trains. A tank car loaded with 1-Chlor-2,3-epoxypropan explodes, contaminating the station and exposing 96 firemen to carcinogenic fumes.12
  • Flag of India September 9, 2002 – Rafiganj rail disaster. Over 130 die when a passenger train derails and falls into the Dhave River in Bihar because of sabotaged tracks.13
  • Flag of the United States September 27, 2002 – Jamaica, NY: Three cars of a JFK Airtrain test train derail near Federal Circle. The train's lone occupant, a train operator testing the automated equipment, is crushed to death by the cement blocks inside the first car. The cement blocks were used to evenly distribute the weight inside the car, simulating the weight of customers when in passenger service. When the train derailed, the cement blocks collapsed onto the operator.citation needed
  • Flag of Australia October 13, 2002 – Benalla level crossing collision, Victoria, Australia. A heritage train hauled by K class steam locomotive K 183 collides with a B-Double truck that had failed to clear the level crossing. The impact causes the locomotive to derail, rolling onto its side, and the locomotive's tender to be forced into the locomotive's cab. Of the four people in the cab at the time of the collision, three are killed and one critically injured.14
  • Flag of France November 6, 2002 – Nancy, France: A fire broke out in the front two carriages of an overnight sleeper train heading from Paris to Vienna. 12 passengers died of smoke inhalation, 9 were injured.15
  • Flag of India December 21, 2002 – Kurnool train crash, 20 die when a passenger train derails in Andhra Pradesh, the result of sabotage.

2003

2004

  • Flag of Spain March 11, 2004 – 2004 Madrid train bombings: 191 die when bombs are detonated on four commuter trains in Madrid.24
  • Flag of North Korea April 22, 2004 – Ryongchon disaster, North Korea: 161 killed and more than 1000 injured when an explosion takes place.
  • Flag of the United Kingdom February 15, 2004 – Tebay , Cumbria, England, United Kingdom: A sleeper (railroad tie) transporter trolley with defective brakes carrying 16 tonnes of rails became detached from a maintenance train south of Penrith and rolled down the falling gradient until it struck and killed 4 workmen in a team repairing the line at Tebay, between Oxenholme and Penrith. The owner of the sleeper transporter truck (a contractor working for Network Rail) is prosecuted. (Source- The Metro newspaper (UK), March 2006).
  • Flag of Turkey April 16, 2004- Temelli, Turkey: An overnight İzmir to Ankara express hits a truck in Temelli, near Ankara, as it crossed a level-crossing. 7 to 10 children die and 2 to 5 more injured according to various reports at the time.25
  • Flag of India June 17, 2004 - Karanjadi train crash, near Matsyagandha,Mumbai, India: 20 die and 100 are injured when 10 carriages fall off a bridge during a monsoon-induced landslide.26
  • Flag of the United States June 28, 2004 - Macdona, Texas, United States, near San Antonio: 3 die and 51 are injured when a Union Pacific Railroad train failed to stop at a signal and collided with another train, causing lethal chlorine gas to leak out of a train car. Two local residents living near the tracks were killed, as was the UP engineer. Several other residents were seriously injured by the gas. 27 28
  • Flag of Turkey July 23, 2004 - An Istanbul-Ankara express with 230 people on board, and carriages overturned with derailed at Pamukova, Sakarya Province, Turkey, according to Turkish government official confirmed, killing at least 38, injuring another 80.2930313233343536
  • Flag of Turkey August 4, 2004 – Near Tavsancil, Turkey: 6 die and 85 injured when a train driver falls asleep at the controls, goes through a red light and hits a stationary train head-on.citation needed
  • Flag of Sweden September 10, 2004 – Nosaby, near Kristianstad, Skåne, Sweden: A heavy truck is caught between the barriers at a level crossing, and is hit by a passenger train. Two aboard the train die, 47 are injured. The truck driver was found guilty of not attempting to move the vehicle away from the level crossing, and was sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment.citation needed
  • Flag of Japan October 23, 2004 – Nagaoka, Niigata: During the Chūetsu Earthquake Eight of ten cars of the Toki No. 325 train on the Jōetsu Shinkansen were derailed. None of the 154 passengers were killed or injured.
  • Flag of the United States November 3, 2004 – Washington, D.C., United States: An out-of-service Washington Metro train rolls backwards into the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Station, and hits a revenue train servicing the station. No one dies, 20 people are injured. The National Transportation Safety Board [RAR-06/01] determined that the probable cause was the failure of the operator of the out-of-service train to apply the brakes to stop the train, likely due to his reduced alertness.citation needed
  • Flag of the United Kingdom November 6, 2004 – Ufton Nervet rail crash, England, United Kingdom: A High Speed Train hits a stationary car on a level crossing (an apparent suicide) at 100 mph and derails. Five train passengers and the drivers of both the train and the car die; over 100 passengers are injured.
  • Flag of Turkey November 10, 2004 – Ankara, Turkey: 37 die when an express train hits a truck on a crossing near Ankara and derailed.citation needed
  • Flag of Turkey November 14, 2004 – Ankara, Turkey: 15 die and 45 injured as another express train derails near Ankara.citation needed
  • Flag of Australia November 15, 2004 – Cairns Tilt Train derailment, Berajondo (near Bundaberg), Queensland, Australia: The world's fastest narrow-gauge train derails at 112 km/h. Nobody is killed or permanently injured. The accident has been blamed on the train travelling too fast on a curved line.
  • Flag of the United States November 29, 2004 – Richland, Florida: Two CSX freight trains collide in early morning fog at Vitis Junction, killing one and injuring three.37
  • Flag of Sri Lanka December 26, 2004 – Queen of the Sea rail disaster, Telwatta, Sri Lanka: Approximately 1700 die in the world's worst rail disaster as a train is overwhelmed by a tsunami created by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

2005

Aerial view of the Graniteville train disaster accident scene. Courtesy of EPA
  • Flag of the United States January 6, 2005 – Graniteville train disaster, South Carolina, United States: Still under investigation by the NTSB; preliminary findings are that a turnout is left lined for a siding when it should have been lined for the mainline, causing a through Norfolk Southern freight train to collide with a parked train. 10 die, the engine crew, and nearby citizens who are caught in toxic gas cloud released from a damaged tank car.38
  • Flag of Italy January 7, 2005 – A passenger train running from Verona to Bologna fails to stop at a red light and collides frontally with a freight train, near Crevalcore. There was thick fog at the time of the accident. 13 die.39
  • Flag of CanadaJanuary 12, 2005 – Fort St. John, Winnipeg. 5 cars of a CN propane tanker train de-rail, causing a major evacuation.citation needed
  • Flag of Thailand January 17, 2005 – Bangkok- only 140 injured passengers, resulting from a collision of 2 metro tains in the new MRT Blue-line.citation needed
  • Flag of the United States January 26, 2005 – Glendale train crash, California, United States: In what was originally thought to be a failed suicide attempt by an automobile driver, a southbound Metrolink double-deck commuter train collides with a vehicle that had been driven onto the tracks and derails; the derailed train strikes the northbound Metrolink train on the other track and a parked Union Pacific Railroad freight train on a siding. 11 people are killed, about 100 injured.
  • Flag of India February 3, 2005 – Nagpur level crossing disaster, India: A tractor-trailer carrying a wedding party is hit by a train. 55 wedding guests die.
  • Flag of Sweden February 28, 2005 – A chlorine tanker train derails due to brake failure after they were wrongly set to "empty". The line was closed for 2 weeks.citation needed
  • Flag of the United States April 14, 2005 – Solon Springs, Wisconsin: 19 cars of a CN train derail and cause a forest fire.citation needed
  • Flag of Slovakia April 15, 2005 – in Bratislava-Petržalka railway station in the 11.00, the Austrian ÖBB railway company's international superexpress train IC 402 Gerlach Bratislava-Vienna hits a car - 1 member injured.citation needed
  • Flag of India April 21, 2005 – Vadodara rail collision, India: collision between freight and passenger express train; 18 are killed.
Investigation at the scene of the Amagasaki rail crash.
  • Flag of Japan April 25, 2005 – Amagasaki rail crash, Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan: A train derailed on sharp curve and smashed into an apartment building. 107 die, 549 are injured. Investigation showed the driver was speeding because of a slight delay.
  • Flag of Sri Lanka April 26, 2005 – Polgahawela level crossing collision, Sri Lanka: a bus tries to beat the train at a level crossing; at least 35 die, all on the bus.citation needed
  • Flag of the United States May 5, 2005 – Galt, Illinois, United States - A Union Pacific train derails and destroys the 140ft Transcontinental mainline bridge at Elkhorn creek.40
  • Flag of India May 9, 2005 – Biaora, India: 8 die when a bullock cart is hit at a level-crossing in Biaora.citation needed
  • Flag of Indonesia May 19, 2005 – Bandar Lampung, Indonesia: A passenger train from Palembang crashes in to another passenger train at Bandar Lampung station and derails. 7 children die and just under 200 were injured. Human error was blamed for the accident and many of the dead were passengers clinging on to the sides of the Palembang train. The Indonesian government begins a crack down on people clinging on to the exteriors of trains as a means of travel.4142
  • Flag of Russia June 12, 2005 – between Uzunovo and Bogatishchevo, Russia: At 0710 a bomb explodes derailing the locomotive and first four passenger cars of the Grozny-Moscow train. Investigators found wires leading from the explosion site to a control panel and hideout about 50 m from the site.43
  • Flag of Russia June 16, – Between Zubstov and Aristovo, Russia: 26 of 69 fuel oil tankers derail and leak. The train was going at 70 km/h. 641 metres of track were destroyed and the Volger River was briefly contaminated. The crash was blamed on poor track maintenance.citation needed
  • Flag of Israel June 21, 2005 – Revadim, Israel: A Beersheba-bound passenger train collides with a coal delivery truck near Revadim, about 40 kilometers (25 mi) south of Tel Aviv. At least 7 die and more than 200 are injured.44
  • Flag of Indonesia June 30, 2005 – Indonesia: 2 die and 80 injured after a passenger train between Bogor and Jakata ploughed into the back of another train that was waiting in the station after a previous train had broken down outside the same station. Heavy rain was blamed for reducing visibility and most of the dead were seated on the train's roof.citation needed
  • Flag of the United Kingdom July 7, 2005 – London, England, United Kingdom: A series of four terrorist explosions occur on London's transport system killing 52, plus four suicide bombers. (See 7 July 2005 London bombings)
  • Flag of the United Kingdom July 10, 2005 – Kent, England, United Kingdom: Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway steam train hits car driven across level crossing. Steam train driver killed, car driver and train passengers uninjured.
  • Flag of Pakistan July 13, 2005 – Ghotki rail crash, Ghotki, Pakistan: A chain reaction accident caused by one train missing a signal and colliding into another results in three trains crashed and over 150 people dead.
  • Flag of Poland July 14, 2005 – Gliwice, Poland crashed two truck train in the railway stations entry, one motorman killed, one motorman seriously wounded.citation needed
  • Flag of Austria July 26, 2005 – Vienna rail crash - passenger train of the ÖBB crashed of the cargo train, injuring 43.
  • Flag of India July 28, 2005 – Jaunpur train bombing, Janpur, India: A bomb explodes on a train in Uttar Pradesh, killing 13.
  • Flag of the People's Republic of China July 31, 2005 – Shenyang, China: A train from Xi'an to Changchun passes a sabotaged railway signal and collides with a freight train, killing 5 passengers. Officials state that some wiring was stolen from a nearby signal box causing the signal to malfunction.45
  • Flag of Canada August 5, 2005 – 2005 CN Rail Cheakamus River derailment, British Columbia: Nine cars of a CN Rail train derail into the Cheakamus River near Whistler British Columbia. 40,000 litres of caustic soda enter the river, killing over 500,000 fish and greatly damaging the surrounding ecosystem.46
  • Flag of the United States September 17, 2005 – Chicago, Illinois, United States: A Metra commuter train traveling into Chicago derails, killing two and injuring 83.citation needed
  • Flag of India October 3, 2005 – Datia train crash, Datia, Madhya Pradesh, India: 16 die when a train travelling at six times the speed limit derails.47
  • Flag of Italy October 23, 2005 – Bari province, Apulia region, Italy. Eurostar Italia train 9410, running from Taranto to Milan, is derailed between Acquaviva delle Fonti and Sannicandro di Bari when subsidence due to heavy rain causes a bridge to collapse under it, leaving two bare rails spanning the 12 m deep ravine. The train completes the crossing and comes to rest with its rear end suspended over the void. Nobody dies.4849
  • Flag of India October 29, 2005 – Veligonda rail disaster, Veligonda, Andhra Pradesh, India: At least 114 die and many more are injured when part of the track is swept away by a flood, causing a train to derail.50
  • Flag of Turkey November 23, 2005- At 6.30 am a train hit a truck on a level crossing between Tarsus and Mersin. 9 died and 18 were injured.51
  • Flag of the United Kingdom November 26, 2005 – Moy near Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom. 9 are airlifted to hospital when a First ScotRail Class 170 DMU derails after hitting debris from a landslide caused by a local blizzard.citation needed
  • Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo November 29, 2005 – Maniema, Democratic Republic of Congo: Over 60 people are swept off the roof of a train by the beams of bridge in the Maniema province.52
  • Flag of Japan December 25, 2005 – Shonai, Yamagata, Japan: According to Japanese Railroad official and NTV report, all 6 cars of Akita-Niigata Inaho express train derailed and three passenger cars crushed, 5 die and 32 are injured. Strong winter winds are thought to be the cause.53

2006

January - June

  • Flag of the United States January 6, 2006 – Possum Point, Virginia, United Sates: - A broken CSX rail causes VRE Train #304 to derail at Possum Point. The last 3 cars of the 6 cars came off the track, but did not fall over. NTSB found that CSX failed to post speed restrictions and repair/replace the track in a timely fashion. There were only a few minor injuries.54
  • Flag of Serbia and Montenegro January 23, 2006 – Bioče train disaster: A passenger train crashes into a ravine near Podgorica, killing 46 and injuring 198.55
  • Flag of Pakistan January 29, 2006 – A broken rail causes a derailment near Jhelum in the Punjab, killing 2 and injuring 29. Poor maintenance is officially being cited as cause of the accident, but sabotage was suspected by some authorities. The government inquiry later blamed defective and aging rails.56575859606162
  • Flag of Greece February 16, 2006 – Serres, Greece: An inter-city train strikes a truck at a grade crossing near Serres and derails. A passenger and the truck driver die, and 20 on the train are injured.citation needed
  • Flag of Canada February 17, 2006 – High winds derail six Canadian Pacific freight cars on the Saint-Laurent Railway Bridge between Montreal and Kahnawake, Quebec, leaving them dangling precariously over the water. It takes several days to remove the cars, disrupting rail service. [1] [2]
  • Flag of the Republic of China March 10, 2006 – Hualien, Taiwan- 5 railroad workers die when hit by a southbound train.citation needed
  • Flag of the United States March 13, 2006 – Austin, Texas, United States: Tara Rose McAvoy, 18, the reigning Miss Deaf Texas, is killed by the snowplow on a 65-car Union Pacific freight train while trespassing on the tracks and text-messaging her parents. The train sounded its horn repeatedly and attempted to apply the emergency brakes