ABOUT THE DATA
How RailIncident uses FRA data
RailIncident is an independent presentation of Federal Railroad Administration data.
FRA Data Processed by RailIncident
The project processes FRA Form 54 rail equipment accident/incident reports, Form 57 highway-rail crossing incident reports, and Form 71 crossing inventory records using documented rules. Source discrepancies are retained and noted.
FRA Data API Attribution
This product uses the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the FRA.
The Federal Railroad Administration is identified as the source of FRA records. RailIncident is an independent service and is not operated by, affiliated with, endorsed by, or certified by the FRA or the U.S. Department of Transportation.
RailIncident separately identifies information it has processed, combined, normalized, calculated, or otherwise derived from FRA source records. Such processed output is presented as Data processed by RailIncident from FRA reports and should not be interpreted as an unmodified FRA record or an FRA determination.
Counting physical events
Combined incident counts use accepted processed events marked eligible for public combined counting. Form 54 accident type 07 records are retained in the database but excluded from combined counts to avoid double counting highway-rail crossing events represented by Form 57.
Generated reports
Report statistics, charts, tables and summary statements are derived only from FRA data processed by RailIncident. The site does not add outside population, railroad-mileage, traffic, weather, economic, or third-party risk data to these reports.
Accuracy and Interpretation
Source and processing errors may remain undetected. Known discrepancies are disclosed where available; absence of a notice does not guarantee accuracy or completeness.
The reports present counts, date ranges, minima, maxima and other deterministic calculations. They do not characterize a state, railroad, county or time period as safer, more dangerous, improving or worsening.
Updates
The reporting layer is generated from the current processed FRA database and promoted only after validation. This report build was generated 2026-11-03T00:59:00Z.
Contact
Questions about RailIncident, its data presentation or corrections can be sent to info@railincident.com.
Historical Changes That Affect the Data
Long-term railroad incident statistics should be interpreted in the context of changes in both railroad safety regulation and federal reporting requirements.
The Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 established a much broader federal role in railroad safety. It gave the U.S. Department of Transportation authority to develop and enforce safety regulations across the railroad industry, including areas such as track, equipment, operating practices, signals, inspections, and accident investigation. Regulations and safety programs developed under this authority may therefore contribute to real changes in accident and injury rates over time. (FRA: Milestones in Railroad Safety)
At the same time, the rules determining which events must be reported to the Federal Railroad Administration have changed. FRA made major revisions to its accident and incident reporting requirements effective January 1, 1975, and FRA has cautioned that data collected before that date are not directly comparable with data collected under the revised system. (FRA: 1980 Accident/Incident Bulletin)
One particularly important change is the monetary reporting threshold for rail-equipment accidents. A collision, derailment, or other rail-equipment accident is reportable when qualifying damage to railroad equipment and infrastructure exceeds the threshold in effect for that year. The threshold was $750 from 1957 through 1974, increased to $1,750 in 1975, and has been adjusted periodically since then to reflect changes in equipment and labor costs. (FRA: 1984 Accident/Incident Bulletin)
These threshold changes can affect the number of accidents appearing in the historical record, particularly lower-damage events. FRA adjusts the threshold in an effort to maintain comparability over time, but the agency has also noted that historical threshold changes can complicate direct year-to-year comparisons. (FRA: Annual Adjustment of Monetary Threshold)
The monetary threshold applies specifically to rail-equipment accidents involving property damage. Other FRA-reportable events, including highway-rail grade-crossing incidents and casualties, are governed by their own reporting criteria. (FRA: Accident/Incident Definitions)
For this reason, changes in RailIncident historical totals should not automatically be interpreted as changes in railroad safety alone. Some trends reflect actual changes in railroad operations and safety, while changes in federal definitions, reporting requirements, and monetary thresholds can also affect the reported values.