Major Rail Accidents Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research
3 minute read
Updated 2:33 PM EST, Wed February 21, 2024
New York City's Grand Central Depot undergoes construction in June 1909. The train station was rebuilt after a wreck in the tunnels killed 15 people in 1902.
Train accidents in North America —
New York City's Grand Central Depot undergoes construction in June 1909. The train station was rebuilt after a wreck in the tunnels killed 15 people in 1902.
AP
Patrolmen carry one of the dead from the wreckage caused when two trains crashed in a New York freight yard on May 22, 1967. Six crew members died and four more were injured.
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Patrolmen carry one of the dead from the wreckage caused when two trains crashed in a New York freight yard on May 22, 1967. Six crew members died and four more were injured.
Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images
An aerial view of the damage caused in Maryland when an Amtrak train collided with three Conrail freight locomotives. More than a dozen people were killed.
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An aerial view of the damage caused in Maryland when an Amtrak train collided with three Conrail freight locomotives. More than a dozen people were killed.
Getty Images
Rescue workers search the wreckage of a derailed Amtrak passenger train March 16, 1999, after it collided with a semi-trailer truck in Bourbonnais, Illinois, about 50 miles south of Chicago. Eleven people were reported dead and more than 100 were injured.
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Rescue workers search the wreckage of a derailed Amtrak passenger train March 16, 1999, after it collided with a semi-trailer truck in Bourbonnais, Illinois, about 50 miles south of Chicago. Eleven people were reported dead and more than 100 were injured.
John Zich/AFP/Getty Images
Rescue workers from Los Angeles tend to victims of an early morning Metrolink commuter train collision in Glendale, California, on January 26, 2005. Eleven people died and more than 180 were injured in the derailment, caused when Juan Manuel Alvarez parked his car on the tracks. Alvarez was convicted of murder and sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms in prison.
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Rescue workers from Los Angeles tend to victims of an early morning Metrolink commuter train collision in Glendale, California, on January 26, 2005. Eleven people died and more than 180 were injured in the derailment, caused when Juan Manuel Alvarez parked his car on the tracks. Alvarez was convicted of murder and sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms in prison.
Craig Durling/Getty Images
Smoke rises from railway cars after a train derailed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada, on July 6, 2013. A large swath of Lac-Megantic was destroyed after the derailment sparked several explosions. The train was carrying crude oil. At least 42 of the community's 6,000 residents died.
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Smoke rises from railway cars after a train derailed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada, on July 6, 2013. A large swath of Lac-Megantic was destroyed after the derailment sparked several explosions. The train was carrying crude oil. At least 42 of the community's 6,000 residents died.
Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press/AP
A Metro-North commuter train lies in the brush near the Hudson River after it derailed just north of the Spuyten Duyvil station December 1, 2013, in the Bronx borough of New York City. Four died and scores were injured after the seven-car train left the tracks as it was heading to Grand Central Terminal along the Hudson River line.
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A Metro-North commuter train lies in the brush near the Hudson River after it derailed just north of the Spuyten Duyvil station December 1, 2013, in the Bronx borough of New York City. Four died and scores were injured after the seven-car train left the tracks as it was heading to Grand Central Terminal along the Hudson River line.
Christopher Gregory/Getty Images
A fireball goes up at the site of an oil train derailment in Casselton, North Dakota, on December 30, 2013. There were no reports of injuries from the accident.
Train accidents in North America —
A fireball goes up at the site of an oil train derailment in Casselton, North Dakota, on December 30, 2013. There were no reports of injuries from the accident.
Bruce Crummy/Associated Press
Train accidents in North America

Editor’s Note: This timeline is not all-inclusive. Selected rail incidents with at least 200 fatalities are listed, plus US incidents.

CNN  — 

Here’s some background information about major rail accidents since 1900.

Notable International Rail Accidents

January 1915 - Guadalajara, Mexico: More than 600 people die when a train derails into a ravine during a steep descent.

May 22, 1915 - Gretna, Scotland: The United Kingdom’s worst rail disaster occurs when three trains collide at Quintinshill, resulting in 227 deaths, many of whom were soldiers of the Royal Scots.

June 1915 - Montemorelos, Mexico: A military train derails into a canyon, killing more than 300.

December 12, 1917 - Modane, France: 427 people die when a train carrying more than 1,000 soldiers derails in the French Alps.

January 16, 1944 - León Province, Spain: A train wrecks in the Torro tunnel, killing more than 500 people.

March 2, 1944 - Near Salerno, Italy: At least 521 people die from carbon monoxide fumes when a train stalls in a tunnel.

October 22, 1949 - Poland: More than 200 are killed when the Danzig-Warsaw express derails.

April 3, 1955 - Guadalajara, Mexico: About 300 die when a night express train derails into a canyon.

September 29, 1957 - Montgomery, western Pakistan: 250 die when a passenger train collides with a cargo train.

February 1, 1970 - Buenos Aires, Argentina: The worst train disaster in Argentina’s history occurs when an express train crashes into a standing commuter train, killing 236.

October 6, 1972 - Saltillo, Mexico: 208 people die after a train traveling at excessive speed derails and catches fire.

June 6, 1981 - Bihar, India: India’s worst rail accident to date occurs during inclement weather when a train derails and plunges into a river in the state of Bihar, killing 800 and injuring more than 100.

January 13, 1985 - Near the town of Awash, Ethiopia: The government says that 392 people died when a passenger train derailed while crossing a bridge over a ravine.

June 4, 1989 - Ural Mountains, Soviet Union: 575 people die when a gas pipeline leaks, causing two passenger trains to explode.

January 4, 1990 - Sindh province, Pakistan: More than 210 people are killed after the Zakaria Bahauddin Express passenger train crashes into a stationary freight train.

September 22, 1994 - Tolunda, Angola: 300 die after malfunctioning brakes cause a train to derail and fall into a ravine.

August 20, 1995 - Firozabad, India: 358 are killed after an express train collides with another train that had stalled after striking a cow.

October 28, 1995 - Baku, Azerbaijan: A subway fire kills about 300 passengers and injures more than 200.

August 2, 1999 - India: Brahmaputra Mail train en route to New Delhi slams into the idle Awadh-Assam Express at Gaisal Station in West Bengal, killing 285 and injuring more than 300.

February 20, 2002 - Egypt: 361 people are killed when a fire breaks out on a train traveling from Cairo south to Luxor.

June 24, 2002 - Tanzania: A runaway passenger train collides with a freight train and then derails, resulting in 281 deaths.

February 18, 2004 - Near the town of Neyshabur, Iran: A runaway 51-car chemical train derails and explodes, causing at least 320 deaths and hundreds of injuries to residents in the area.

December 26, 2004 - Sri Lanka: Between 1,500 to 1,700 passengers aboard the Samudradevi, or Queen of the Sea, train, are believed dead when the tsunami sweeps their train off the tracks.

June 2, 2023 - Odisha, India: More than 280 people are killed and over 1,000 injured in a three-way crash involving two passenger trains and a freight train in eastern Odisha state.

Notable US Rail Accidents

March 1, 1910 - Wellington, Washington: An avalanche pushes a passenger train and a mail train into a ravine, killing 96 people.

July 9, 1918 - Nashville, Tennessee: Considered the worst rail disaster in US history, two passenger trains collide on Dutchman’s Curve, resulting in 101 deaths.

November 1, 1918 - Brooklyn, New York: At least 90 are killed when a Brighton Beach Train of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company derails inside the Malbone Street tunnel.