UIC Safety Report 2018 - Significant Accidents 2017 - Public Report

Number of significant accidents

The number of significant accidents in 2017 (1785) was similar to 2016 and 2015 (1846 and 1780). This means a consolidation of the general improvement of railway safety over the past 10 years. We see that in the last three years the decreasing trend in significant accidents has levelled out. Although safety levels differ between countries, the general trends that we see among the existing members compared to the new member are the same.

Number of fatalities

126 less fatalities were recorded in 2017 than in the previous year. Regarding the types of accidents the railway sector can influence most directly (train collisions, derailments, fires and shunting operations), we observe 91 fatalities in 2017 and 24 in 2016. This difference of 67 fatalities brings is back to the level of 2015: the best year in the last decade. The year 2017 has seen only one major accident: a train collision in Germany responsible for 35 serious passenger injuries (no fatalities). 66 less persons died hit by a train or falling from a train outside LC and there were 6 more fatalities at LC.

Staff victims

The clear decreasing trend in staff victims in the years 2006-2013 seems to have levelled out in the years 2014-2017 to a mean number of 68 per year. The infrastructure workers pay the highest toll.

UIC Global Safety index

The UIC Global Safety Index is actually a weighted number of accidents, whereby passenger and staff victims and internal causes are weighted more heavily than trespasser victims and external causes. In addition, a higher number of victims is weighted more heavily than a lower number. The decrease in the index from 2012 to 2015 seems to have levelled out in 2016 and 2017.