Train Accidents & Derailments
Train Accidents, Derailments & Collisions occur frequently
United States of America
Train Derailments & Train Accidents/Incidents
Train Accidents/Incidents Since 2000
Train Accidents/Incidents per Year Since 2000 (Average)
Train Accidents/Incidents per Day Since 2000 (Average)
Train accidents, derailments and collisions in the US are much more common than most people realize. For example, since 1990 (through 2018), there have been over 50,000 train accidents with over 10,000 injuries or fatalities.
Imagine if just one of the coal trains or oil trains that travel through our area each day derailed off of one of the several bridges that cross over Lake Pend Oreille – or into a waterway near you:
Below are some of the latest major derailments in the United States (updated Feb 2020):
Crude oil train derailment and fire in northwest Washington state
On December 22, 2020, seven train cars on a 108-car BNSF train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed in Custer, Washington, north of Seattle. Five of the cars caught fire and sent off a large plume of black smoke, prompted temporary evacuation orders within a half-mile...
Canadian crude oil train derails and catches fire
Early morning on February 6th, 2020, a Canadian Pacific Railway train derailed in Canada -- leaking of crude oil and catching fire. The crash, less than 2 miles from the town of Guernsey, Saskatchewan, resulted in a complete evacuation of their community. The Canadian...
Derailed BNSF train leaking fuel into Kootenai River
Emergency crews have rescued two train operators trapped in a BNSF engine that derailed into the Kootenai River 10 miles east of Bonners Ferry on Wednesday. None of the operators were injured during the derailment reported at about 9 p.m. Tuesday, Boundary County...
Train cars derail into Potomac River near Harper’s Ferry
A freight train crossing the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry derailed early Saturday morning, causing two cars to tip over a footbridge and plummet into the water.
Train derailment along Clark Fork River dumps 3,500 tons of coal and catches fire
On the evening of Sunday, August 13, 2017, a Montana Rail Link (MRL) coal train jumped the tracks and dumped more than 3,500 tons of coal along the riverbank of the Cabinet Gorge Reservoir near Noxon, Montana. The train was heading west towards Lake Pend Oreille along...
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