Editing Train (section)

== Safety ==
[[File:Derailment_Repair_(4213647132).jpg|thumb|Most derailments, such as this one in [[Switzerland]], are minor and do not cause injuries or damage.]]
[[File:Tank_car_with_placard_1017_(chlorine).jpg|thumb|Trains carrying [[hazardous materials]] display information identifying their cargo and hazards.  This [[tank car]] carrying [[chlorine]] displays, among other markings, a [[Placard#United States Department of Transportation|U.S. DOT placard]] showing a [[UN number]] that identifies the hazardous substance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beaucham |first=Catherine C. |date=August 2023 |title=Evaluation of Potential Exposures to Railway Hazardous Material Inspectors |url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2022-0049-3387.pdf |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |type=[[Health Hazard Evaluation Program|Health Hazard Evaluation Report]]}}</ref>]]
Train accidents sometimes occur, including [[derailment]]s (when a train leaves the tracks) and [[train wreck]]s (collisions between trains). Accidents were more common in the early days of trains, when [[railway signal]] systems, [[centralized traffic control]], and failsafe systems to prevent collisions were primitive or did not yet exist.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McDonald|first=Charles W.|date=August 1993|title=The Federal Railroad Safety Program|url=https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/fra_net/16422/1993_THE%20FEDERAL%20RAILROAD%20SAFETY%20PROGRAM%20-%20100%20YEARS%20OF.PDF|access-date=November 5, 2021|website=Federal Railroad Administration}}</ref> To prevent accidents, systems such as [[automatic train stop]] are used; these are failsafe systems that apply the brakes on a train if it passes a red signal and enters an occupied [[Block signal|block]], or if any of the train's equipment malfunctions.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 1, 1925|title=Meriden In Safety Zone - New Train Stop System Installed|page=4|work=[[The Meriden Daily Journal]]|location=Meriden, Connecticut|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s7hIAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA3|access-date=January 20, 2022}}</ref>{{obsolete source|1925 article in a local US newspaper?|date=October 2023}} More advanced safety systems, such as [[positive train control]], can also automatically regulate train speed, preventing derailments from entering curves or switches too fast.<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 9, 2021|title=Positive Train Control (PTC)|url=https://railroads.dot.gov/train-control/ptc/positive-train-control-ptc|access-date=January 20, 2022|website=[[Federal Railroad Administration]]}}</ref>

Modern trains have a very good safety record overall, comparable with air travel.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Elliott|first=Christopher|date=May 24, 2015|title=Amtrak 188 crash: How safe are America's trains?|url=https://fortune.com/2015/05/14/amtrak-trains-safe/|access-date=2021-11-06|website=Fortune|language=en}}</ref> In the United States between 2000 and 2009, train travel averaged 0.43 deaths per billion passenger miles traveled. While this was higher than that of air travel at 0.07 deaths per billion passenger miles, it was also far below the 7.28 deaths per billion passenger miles of car travel.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ingraham|first=Christopher|date=May 14, 2015|title=The safest — and deadliest — ways to travel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/05/14/the-safest-and-deadliest-ways-to-travel/|access-date=November 5, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> In the 21st century, several derailments of oil trains caused fatalities, most notably the Canadian [[Lac-Mégantic rail disaster]] in 2013 which killed 47 people and leveled much of the town of [[Lac-Mégantic, Quebec|Lac-Mégantic]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Murphy|first=Jessica|date=2018-01-19|title=Lac-Megantic: The runaway train that destroyed a town|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42548824|access-date=2021-11-06}}</ref>

The vast majority of train-related fatalities, over 90 percent, are due to trespassing on railroad tracks, or collisions with road vehicles at [[level crossing]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety and Trespass Prevention {{!}} FRA|url=https://railroads.dot.gov/highway-rail-crossing-and-trespasser-programs/railroad-crossing-safety-trespass|access-date=2021-11-06|website=railroads.dot.gov}}</ref> Organizations such as [[Operation Lifesaver]] have been formed to improve safety awareness at railroad crossings, and governments have also launched ad campaigns. Trains cannot stop quickly when at speed; even an emergency brake application may still require more than a mile of stopping distance. As such, emphasis is on educating motorists to yield to trains at crossings and avoid trespassing.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stop. Trains Can't. Railroad Crossing|url=https://www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/railroad-crossing|access-date=2021-11-06|website=National Highway Traffic Safety Administration|language=en}}</ref>