The number of people dying on Europe’s railways has fallen to its lowest point since EU rail safety data was first collected seven years ago.
Data published by the European Railway Agency (ERA) has found that for the first time since 2006 the number of deaths caused by railway accidents has fallen below 1,200 across the 28 member states.
During 2012, 1,133 people were killed and 1,016 were seriously injured on Europe’s rail network.
Although the number of collisions and derailments actually rose, the number of fatalities as a result of trespass, which accounts for over half of all deaths, fell to 653.
Passenger and employee deaths remained relatively low at 35 and 46 respectively.
The figures support rail’s position as one of the safest forms of travel across Europe, with coach travel around twice as dangerous as train travel.
The figures omit suicide data, however, announcing the new results, the ERA indicated that there has been a four per cent increase in suicides across Europe in the past year – three shy of 3,000 people.
One of the more worrying statistics was an 11 per cent increase in level crossing accidents across the 28 countries.
Reports suggest that 373 people died – a 20 per cent increase on the previous year – and 336 were seriously injured in level crossing incidents last year.
