Rail transportation occurrences in 2022

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) gathers and uses transportation occurrence data during the course of its investigations to analyze safety deficiencies and identify risks in the Canadian rail transportation system.

This statistical summary covers federally regulated railways only. Non-federally regulated data reported to the TSB are not included in this report.

This summary serves to describe the accident, incident, and injury counts^{Footnote 1} that are presented in the included tables. It provides limited discussion and some context but is not intended to be an in-depth analysis of the data.

It should be noted that certain characteristics of the data constrain statistical analysis and identification of emerging trends. These include the small totals of accidents and incidents, the large variability in the data from year to year, and changes to regulations and definitions. The reader is cautioned to keep these limitations in mind when viewing this summary to avoid drawing conclusions that cannot be supported by statistical analysis.

The 2022 data were collected according to the reporting requirements described in the Transportation Safety Board Regulations in force during that calendar year.

The statistics presented here reflect the TSB Railway Occurrence Database System (RODS) data at 27 February 2023. Since the occurrence data are constantly being updated in the live database, the statistics may change slightly over time.

Also, as many occurrences are limited to data gathering, information recorded on some occurrences may not have been verified.

Accidents

Overview of accidents and casualties

In 2022, 995^{Footnote 2} rail accidents^{Footnote 3} were reported to the TSB (Figure 1 and Table 1), up from the 2021 total of 898, but a 5% decrease from the previous 10-year (2012 to 2021) average of 1043.

Freight trains accounted for 32% of all rolling stock involved in rail accidents in 2022. Five percent (54 in total) were passenger trains, with the remaining 63% comprising mainly single cars/cuts of cars, locomotives, and track units (Table 3).

The largest proportion of reported rail accidents comprised non-main-track derailments^{Footnote 4} (44%) (Figure 2 and Table 1). Typically, most non-main-track derailment accidents are minor, occurring during switching operations at speeds of less than 10 mph.

The proportion of accidents that were main-track derailments in 2022 (7%) was approximately the same as both the previous year and the 10-year average.

In 2022, 16% of rail accidents involved vehicles or pedestrians at rail crossings, comparable to the 15% average of the previous 10 years.

In 2022, 111 accidents involved dangerous goods (Table 1),^{Footnote 5} up from 86 in 2021 but below the 10-year average of 121. Two accidents resulted in a dangerous goods release in 2022, the same as the previous year, but below the 10-year average of 4.

Rail fatalities (Figure 3 and Table 1) totalled 66 in 2022, up from 60 last year but below the 10-year average of 70. Crossing fatalities totalled 14 in 2022, down from 17 in 2021 and below the 10-year average of 22. Trespasser^{Footnote 6} fatalities totalled 52 in 2022, up from 41 in the previous year and above the 10-year average of 40. In 2022, no railway employee was fatally injured, below the 10-year average of 3 employee fatalities per year.

A total of 57 serious injuries^{Footnote 7} resulted from rail occurrences in 2022 (Figure 4 and Table 1), up from 52 in 2021 but below the 10-year average of 58. Crossing accidents^{Footnote 8} resulted in 27 serious injuries, up from 24 in 2021 and above the 10-year average of 26. Serious injuries to trespassers totalled 16 in 2022, down from 17 last year and below the 10-year average of 20. Ten railway employees were seriously injured in 2022, up from 7 in 2021 but below the 10-year average of 11 (Table 2).

The number of main-track accidents^{Footnote 9} totalled 225 in 2022 (Figure 5 and Table 1), up from 213 in 2021 and 18% above the 10-year average of 190. Rail activity^{Footnote 10} on main track (i.e., non-yard activity) increased by 2% from the previous year. The main-track accident rate in 2022 was 3.0 accidents per million main-track train miles, up from 2.9 in 2021 and 24% above the 10-year average of 2.4.

To test whether the change in rate was statistically significant, Kendall’s tau-b (τ_b) correlation and Sen’s estimate of slope were used to quantify the trend in accident rate. Kendall's τ_b correlation coefficient is a nonparametric measure of the strength and direction of association that exists between two variables. Kendall’s τ_b was calculated on the 11-year series of accident rate values by year from 2012 to 2022. There was a strong, positive correlation that indicates an upward trend in accidents per million main-track train miles over the period (τ_b = 0.63, p < 0.01). Sen’s estimate of slope, the amount of upward rate change per year, was 0.079 occurrences per million main-track miles per year.

Accidents by type

Main-track collisions and derailments are the most serious categories of rail accidents in terms of potential risk to the public and financial loss (e.g., when passenger trains are involved or dangerous goods are released from trains that derail in populated areas).

There were 8 main-track collisions (Table 1 and Figure 6) in 2022, up from the 2021 total of 3 and also above the 10-year average of 5. No fatalities or serious injuries resulted from main-track collisions in 2022. There was no release of dangerous goods as a result of main-track collisions in 2022.

A total of 68 main-track derailments (Table 4) were reported in 2022, a decrease from the 2021 total of 76, and 14% below the 10-year average of 79 (Figure 6). Twenty-six percent of the 68 main-track derailments occurred in British Columbia, 18% occurred in Saskatchewan, and 15% occurred in each of Alberta and Quebec.

The number of main-track derailments per million main-track (i.e., non-yard) train miles (Table 4) decreased to 0.90 in 2022 from 1.03 the previous year and was below the 10-year average of 1.00.

No fatalities or serious injuries resulted from main-track derailments in 2022 (Table 2). Eleven main-track derailments involved dangerous goods, down from the 2021 total of 16 and below the 10-year average of 13. One of these derailments resulted in the release of dangerous goods (liquefied petroleum gas).

In 2022, 17% of assigned factors^{Footnote 11} for main-track derailments (Table 5) were equipment-related, down from the 10-year average of 29%. Actions-related factors^{Footnote 12} accounted for 46% of assigned factors in 2022, up from the 10-year average of 22%. Track-related factors were reported in 22% of main-track derailments in 2022, below the 10-year average of 37%.

Non-main-track collisions (Table 6 and Figure 7) totalled 63 in 2022, up from the 2021 total of 62, but below the 10-year average of 91. Derailments occurred in 31 non-main-track collisions (49%), and 13 of those collisions involved the derailment of a single car.

Non-main-track collisions resulted in no fatalities and 1 serious injury in 2022 (Table 2). Dangerous goods were involved in 48% of non-main-track collisions, none of which resulted in a release of product.

Factors assigned to non-main-track collisions were mostly actions-related (86%), comparable to the 10-year average of 87% (Table 7). Failure to protect, such as improper positioning of movements and handling of switches, was assigned most often (54%) as a factor.

There were 440 non-main-track derailments^{Footnote 13} in 2022 (Table 8 and Figure 7), up from 400 last year but 15% below the 10-year average of 516. In 82% of 2022 accidents, 1 or 2 cars derailed. No fatalities or serious injuries resulted from non-main-track derailments in 2022 (Table 2).

Dangerous goods cars were involved in 14% of non-main-track derailment accidents, none of which resulted in a release of product.

In 2022, actions-related factors represented 50% of all assigned factors for non-main-track derailment accidents, above the 10-year average of 48% (Table 9). Track-related factors represented 26% of all assigned factors, below the 10-year average of 32%. Environmental-related factors represented 18% of all assigned factors in 2022, above the 10-year average of 11%.

Crossing accidents (tables 10 and 11) represented one of the more serious types of rail accidents in 2022, with 23% of these resulting in serious or fatal injuries.

There were 160 crossing accidents in 2022, an 18% increase from the 2021 total of 136 and comparable to the 10-year average of 161. The number of accidents at public automated crossings (77) was up from the 2021 total of 58, but below the 10-year average of 79. The number of accidents at public passive crossings (55) was 1 fewer than the 2021 total but the same as the 10-year average. Accidents at private and farm crossings (28) increased from the 2021 total of 22 and were comparable to the 10-year average of 27.

In 2022, 48% of crossing accidents occurred at public automated crossings, and 34% at public passive crossings (Figure 8). Although there are nearly one and a half times as many public passive crossings as public automated crossings, the higher number of accidents occurring at automated crossings is due, in part, to higher vehicle and train traffic volumes at the automated crossings.

There were 14 fatal crossing accidents in 2022, down from 16 reported in 2021 and below the 10-year average of 20. Crossing-related fatalities totalled 14 in 2022, down from 17 reported in 2021 and below the 10-year average of 22.

Crossing accidents involving pedestrians accounted for 6% (9) of all crossing accidents in 2022, but accounted for 36% (5) of fatal crossing accidents and 36% of crossing-related fatalities.

Crossing-related serious injuries totalled 27 in 2022, up from the 2021 total of 24 and above the 10-year average of 26.

In 2022, 4 crossing accidents resulted in a train derailment, up from 2 in 2021 but below the 10-year average (5).

One crossing accident resulted in the release of dangerous goods (gasoline) in 2022.

Ontario had the highest proportion (23%) of all crossing accidents in 2022. Alberta had the second highest total with 20% of crossing accidents, followed by Saskatchewan with 18%, and British Columbia with 16% (Figure 9).

Trespasser accidents (Table 12 and Figure 10) totalled 73 in 2022, up from 63 in 2021 and above the 10-year average of 62. Ontario accounted for 47% of trespasser accidents, followed by British Columbia with 18%, Quebec with 15%, and Alberta with 12%.

In 2022, the proportion of trespasser accidents that were fatal (71%) was above the 10-year average of 64%. The proportion of trespasser accidents resulting in serious injuries (22%) was below the 10-year average of 31%.

Incidents

Overview of incidents

In 2022, there were 381 reported rail incidents^{Footnote 14} (Figure 11 and Table 1), up from 337 in 2021.

* The amended TSB Regulations came into effect on 1 July 2014.

The movement exceeds limits of authority^{Footnote 15} incident type accounted for 35% of reportable incidents in 2022 (Table 13), followed by non-main-track train derailments, 1 or 2 cars (no damage) at 32%, and fires on railway right-of-way (23%).

In 2022, there were 9 uncontrolled movement of rolling stock incidents, as well as 3 derailment incidents, 2 collision incidents, and 1 movement exceeds limits of authority incident that involved an uncontrolled movement of rolling stock. In addition, 37 accidents involved an uncontrolled movement of rolling stock (Table 1), for a total of 52 occurrences. This is up compared to the total of these occurrences in 2021 (48), but a 14% decrease from the 10-year average of 61.

There were 134 movement exceeds limits of authority incidents in 2022, an increase from 109 reported in 2021 and 5% above the 10-year average of 128 (Table 1).

Data tables

Definitions

The following definitions are based on the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act and the associated regulations, as well as the TSB Policy on Occurrence Classification, and apply to the rail transportation occurrences reported pursuant to them.

Occurrence

• Any accident or incident associated with the operation of rolling stock on a railway
• Any situation or condition that the Board has reasonable grounds to believe could, if left unattended, induce an accident or incident described below

Reportable accident

• A person is killed or sustains a serious injury as a result of
  • getting on or off or being on board the rolling stock, or
  • coming into direct contact with any part of the rolling stock or its contents
• The rolling stock or its contents
  • are involved in a collision and/or a derailment resulting in damages to rolling stock and/or track infrastructure,
  • sustain damage that affects the safe operation of the rolling stock,
  • sustain a fire or explosion, or
  • cause damage to the railway that poses a threat to the safe passage of rolling stock or to the safety of any person, property or the environment
• There is an accidental release on board or from rolling stock that results in any of the events listed in subsection 8.4(2) of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations.

Reportable incident

• A risk of collision occurs between rolling stock
• An unprotected main-track switch or subdivision track switch is left in an abnormal position
• A railway signal displays a less restrictive indication than that required for the intended movement of rolling stock
• Rolling stock occupies a main track or subdivision track, or track work takes place, in contravention of the rules or any regulations made under the Railway Safety Act
• Rolling stock passes a signal indicating stop in contravention of the rules or any regulations made under the Railway Safety Act
• There is an unplanned and uncontrolled movement of rolling stock
• A crew member whose duties are directly related to the safe operation of the rolling stock is unable to perform their duties as a result of a physical incapacitation which poses a threat to the safety of persons, property or the environment,
• The rolling stock is involved in a minor collision and/or minor derailment (1 or 2 cars) resulting in no damages; or
• Rolling stock or its contents cause a fire along, or adjacent to, a railway right-of-way.

Serious injury

• A fracture of any bone, except simple fractures of fingers, toes or the nose
• Lacerations that cause severe hemorrhage or nerve, muscle or tendon damage
• An injury to an internal organ
• Second or third degree burns, or any burns affecting more than 5% of the body surface
• A verified exposure to infectious substances or injurious radiation, or
• An injury that is likely to require hospitalization

Dangerous goods involvement

“Dangerous goods” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act. An accident is considered to have dangerous goods involvement if any car in the consist carrying (or having last contained) a dangerous good derails, strikes or is struck by any other rolling stock or object. It does not mean that there was any release of any product. Also included are crossing accidents in which the motor vehicle involved (e.g., tanker truck) is carrying a dangerous good.

Derailment

Any instance where one or more wheels of rolling stock have come off the normal running surface of the rail.