List of rail accidents (2000–2009)
This is a list of rail accidents from 2000 to 2009.
2000
- January 4, 2000 – Norway – Åsta accident, Åsta in Åmot: Two diesel passenger trains collided in Rørosbanen killing 19. The fire after the collision lasted nearly six hours.
- February 6, 2000 – Germany – Brühl train disaster, A train negotiated a low speed turnout at three times the correct speed and derailed, killing 9 people.
- March 2, 2000 – Denmark – Kølkær. Two regional trains heading to Herning and Vejle collided in Kolkær station. The train to Herning had entered the station and was slowing down, when it was hit head-on by the oncoming Vejle train at 116 km/h. 1 passenger in the Herning train and both train drivers were killed, 10 passengers were seriously injured. The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by the driver of the Vejle train, who had completely ignored stop signals.
- March 8, 2000 – Japan – Naka-Meguro train disaster, A Tokyo Subway train derailed and was hit by another train on the next track; five people died and 63 were injured.
- March 28, 2000 – United States – A school bus failed to stop at a crossbuck in Tennga, GA and drove into the path of an oncoming CSX train and was struck. Multiple injuries and fatalities. Crew suffered emotional trauma/shock due to incident.
- June 6, 2000 – Switzerland – A passenger train and a freight train collide at Hüswil. One person was killed.
- July 13, 2000 – Canada – A CN train heading westbound pulling grain hoppers hit a semi-trailer that became stuck at a level crossing west of Wainwright, Alberta. The two locomotives and 28 cars derailed. The train crew suffered only minor injuries after jumping from the train prior to the collision.
- August 26, 2000 – United States – A Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern train bound for Central South Dakota was derailed in Brookings, South Dakota, killing the conductor and severely injuring the engineer. The accident was caused intentionally by a vandal who broke the lock off of a railroad switch using a hammer and covering the warning reflector with at least one trash bag. The suspect called it a 'prank.'
- October 17, 2000 – United Kingdom – Hatfield rail crash, Hertfordshire: As a London to Leeds GNER InterCity 225 express passes at, a faulty rail shatters into 300 pieces because of a condition known as rolling contact fatigue. Four people are killed and 102 are injured. This rail failure forces the biggest and most expensive re-railing exercise in British history, with huge service disruption for many months. Operator Railtrack is found guilty in one of the longest rail-related trials in UK legal history, but manslaughter charges against company managers are not sustained.
- November 1, 2000 – United Kingdom – An EWS travelling post office runs away for more than 3 miles, despite the driver's actions in trying to stop it, and collides with a freight train at, Bristol.
- November 11, 2000 – Austria – Kaprun disaster A funicular train catches fire in a tunnel because of an unsafely installed heater. 155 die.
- December 2, 2000 – India – Sarai Banjara rail disaster, a crowded commuter train crashes into a derailed freight train in Punjab. More than 45 people die.
2001
- January 12, 2001 – Republic of the Congo – Nvoungouti: More than 30 people die when two trains collide because of a brake failure at Nvoungouti.
- February 7, 2001 – Canada – Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Northland Railway's Northlander passenger train derails in the Don Valley near the Bayview Extension and Pottery Road area. 2 of the 23 passengers are injured slightly.
- February 28, 2001 – United Kingdom – Selby rail crash, Great Heck, North Yorkshire: A sleep-deprived driver on the M62 motorway falls asleep at the wheel, causing his Land Rover to swerve off the road. It travels down an embankment onto the main line below. After failing to reverse off the track, he exits the vehicle, and while he contacts emergency services, it is hit by a GNER InterCity 225 passenger train, which derails and collides at high speed with a coal train traveling in the opposite direction. 10 people are killed and over 80 are injured. The Land Rover driver is later jailed for 5 years for causing death by dangerous driving.
- March 27, 2001 – Belgium – Pécrot rail crash: Two passenger trains collide on the same track. 8 people die and 12 are injured. Lack of common language a factor.
- April 12, 2001 – Canada – Stewiacke, Nova Scotia: a teenager tampers with a track switch, derailing Via Rail Canada's Ocean. As many as 22 people are injured in the resulting crash.
- May 15, 2001 – United States – CSX 8888 incident, Toledo, Ohio: A CSX freight train of 47 cars, including some with hazardous molten phenol acid, runs away in the yard at Toledo with no engineer aboard. The engineer had stepped out to reset a switch but had improperly applied the dynamic brake. It runs for to Kenton, Ohio, before being stopped by a railroad worker who jumps aboard and manages to stop it. CSX had slowed the train down to by coupling an engine onto the end. This incident was dubbed the "Crazy Eights" incident in reference to the lead locomotive's number. The incident inspired the Tony Scott film Unstoppable, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.
- June 21, 2001 – India – Kadalundi River rail disaster, Kerala, 57 people die.
- July 18, 2001 – United States – Howard Street Tunnel fire, Baltimore, Maryland: A 60-car CSX train carrying chemicals and wood products derails in a tunnel under Baltimore, causing water contamination and a fire that burns for six days.
- August 19, 2001 – Sri Lanka – Kurunegala train crash: 13 people die when a train in Sri Lanka derails because of speeding and overcrowding.
- September 2, 2001 – Indonesia – Cirebon: A passenger train and a locomotive collide, killing 40 people and seriously injuring 37.
- September 11, 2001 – United States – Amtrak Texas Eagle Derails On Sep. 11, 2001 Consist of Amtrak 21 which derailed in a collision with a Union Pacific freight train today, west of Marshall, TX:
- September 11, 2001 – United States – The September 11 attacks forced to stop various full rail networks, including but not limited to the New York City Subway, the Long Island Rail Road, the Washington Metro, and Amtrak.
- September 13, 2001 – United States – Wendover, Utah: The westbound California Zephyr derails after striking a coal train. There were no fatalities, but several injuries.
- November 8, 2001 – Russia – A nuclear waste train from Bulgaria crashes at midnight between the Krasnoyarsk and Kemerovo on the Trans-Siberian railway. 14 of the 20 tanker-wagons derail and the line is closed for about 12 hours. One kilometre of track is damaged.
- November 15, 2001 - United States – Michigan: Canadian National Railway train E243 running from Flat Rock, MI to Flint, MI collided with another CN train, L533, at the Andersonville Siding on CN's Holly Subdivision. The engineer and conductor on E243 were killed in the accident, and a memorial to them has been erected at Durand Union Station in Durand, MI.
- December 7, 2001 — United States - Wyoming: Two BNSF trains collide head-on in Arminto, Wyoming, killing the engineer of the moving train.
- December 18, 2001 – Greece – Orestiada: 1 death results when a train becomes stuck in a snow drift and derails at the town of Orestiada, near the Bulgarian border. Temperatures fall to −20°C.
2002
- January 18, 2002 – United States – Minot train derailment, Minot, North Dakota: A Canadian Pacific Railway train derails at 01:40 CST near a residential area west of Minot. Seven of 15 tank cars rupture, releasing more than 750,000 liters of anhydrous ammonia which vaporizes in the sub-zero air, forming a toxic cloud that drifts over much of Minot. One man dies and numerous others are treated for chemical exposure.
- February 6, 2002 – South Africa – Charlotte's Dale train crash Two commuter trains collide in Charlotte's Dale near Durban. 22 people die, including 16 children.
- February 20, 2002 – Egypt – Al Ayatt train disaster A train packed to double capacity catches fire, killing 383 people.
- February 21, 2002 – Switzerland – A freight train and a locomotive collide at Chiasso. Two people are killed and three are injured.
- April 18, 2002 – United States – Crescent City, Florida: 21 cars of an Amtrak Auto-Train derail near Crescent City. Four human deaths, 142 injured. The National Transportation Safety Board initial accident report finds that the ECP brakes purchased for the train were not functioning: the final report determines that the accident was caused by a hot-weather "sun kink" misalignment of the track due to inadequate CSX maintenance-of-way, and stated that equipment and track damages totaled about $8.3 million.
- April 23, 2002 – United States – Placentia, California: A BNSF Railway freight train collides head-on with a Metrolink train in Placentia, near the Atwood Junction, at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Van Buren Street. Two people die in the crash and twenty-two are seriously injured.
- May 10, 2002 – United Kingdom – Potters Bar rail crash, north of London, England a northbound WAGN Class 365 train derails at high speed; 7 people die, 11 seriously injured.
- May 13, 2002 – India – Jaunpur train crash, 12 people die when a passenger train derails and crashes in Uttar Pradesh. It is insinuated that the train was sabotaged.
- May 28, 2002 — United States — A BNSF Railway coal train and intermodal train collided head on near the small town of Clarendon, Texas, resulting in the death of the engineer of the intermodal train and the injuries of the coal train's crew and the intermodal train's conductor. It was revealed that the coal train's crew was distracted by their cell phones, ultimately causing their train to collide with the intermodal train.
- May 30, 2002 – United States – Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: a freight train of mostly empty cars strikes a vehicle at a non gated crossing, killing two teenagers and injuring two others. Crossing is permanently closed after the accident.
- June 13, 2002 – Sri Lanka – Train derails whilst coming into Alawwa station, killing 14 people.
- June 24, 2002 – Tanzania – Igandu train disaster Nearly 300 people die when a passenger train rolls backwards into a goods train.
- July 20, 2002 – Italy – Rometta Marea derailment. The Palermo–Venice train derails in Rometta Marea, Messina, Italy, killing eight people.
- July 29, 2002 – United States – Kensington, Maryland: The eastbound Amtrak Capitol Limited, train 30, while traversing a CSX route, strikes a sun kink at 1:55 PM while traveling at 60 mph near milepost 11.78. Several cars go down an embankment and four Superliners overturn against trees. 16 people are seriously injured and 79 people suffer from minor injuries. The misalignment was determined to be caused by an improperly tamped ballast and excessive speed in the 96 °F sunny weather. "Slow orders" were imposed on passenger trains in the area on very hot days following this accident.
- September 9, 2002 – Germany – Bad Münder: Two freight trains collide head-on after a brake failure on one of the trains. A tank car loaded with 1-Chlor-2,3-epoxypropan explodes, contaminating the station and exposing 96 firemen to carcinogenic fumes.
- September 9, 2002 – India – Rafiganj rail disaster. More than 130 people die when a passenger train derails and falls into the Dhave River in Bihar because of sabotaged tracks.
- September 15 – United States – Farragut, TN Derailment / Acid Spill. A Norfolk Southern freight train derails in Farragut, Tennessee, resulting in a hazardous materials release of fuming Sulfuric acid and evacuation of more than 2,600 nearby residents for nearly three days. Damage was estimated at just over one million USD.
- September 27, 2002 – United States – Jamaica, New York: Three cars of a JFK Airtrain test train derail near Federal Circle. The train's lone occupant, a train operator testing the automated equipment, is crushed to death by the cement blocks inside the first car. The cement blocks were used to evenly distribute the weight inside the car, simulating the weight of customers when in passenger service. When the train derailed, the cement blocks collapsed onto the operator.
- October 13, 2002 – Australia – Benalla level crossing collision, Victoria. A heritage train hauled by K class steam locomotive K 183 collides with a B-Double truck that failed to clear the level crossing. The impact causes the locomotive to derail, rolling onto its side, and the locomotive's tender to be forced into the locomotive's cab. Three of the four people in the cab at the time of the collision are killed and one critically injured.
- November 6, 2002 – France – Nancy: A fire breaks out in the front two carriages of an overnight sleeper train heading from Paris to Vienna. 12 passengers die of smoke inhalation, 9 are injured.
- November 7, 2002 – Denmark – Holte. An empty S-train turning around at Holte did not brake in time and drove into the path of another S-train heading to Køge station. A woman was killed and 3 passengers were injured, 2 more seriously.
2003
- January 3, 2003 – India – Ghatnandur train crash, 18 people die in the collision of two trains at Ghatnandur in Maharashtra
- January 31, 2003 – Australia – Waterfall rail accident, Waterfall, New South Wales: The driver of a southbound passenger train suffers a heart attack and dies; the train speeds out of control and derails on a curve, overturning several cars; 6 passengers die.
- February 2, 2003 – Zimbabwe – Dete train crash. Two trains collide, derailing and catching fire, killing over 40 people.
- February 3, 2003 – Australia – Broadmeadows train runaway and crash, Melbourne, Victoria: An unmanned electric suburban train rolls away from Broadmeadows Station and runs for 16.848 kilometres at speeds in excess of 100 km/h through many pedestrian and level crossings before crashing into a stationary Diesel passenger train at Southern Cross station derailing both. No serious injuries result from this incident.
- February 18, 2003 – South Korea – Daegu subway fire. A mentally ill man starts a fire which engulfs two subway trains, killing 192 people.
- March 20, 2003 – Netherlands – Roermond. The driver of an NS passenger train suffers a heart attack, runs through a red signal, collides head-on with a freight train; the driver is killed, six passengers are injured seriously. After passing a distant signal at danger the automatic safety system did not enforce a deceleration large enough to prevent a collision.
- May 6, 2003 – United States – The Savannah Morning News reported that Amtrak's Silver Star struck a delivery truck at a private crossing near Hinesville, Georgia killing the engineer and the truck driver.
- May 15, 2003 – India – Ladhowal train fire. A passenger train catches fire, 38 people die near Ladhowal in the Punjab.
- June 3, 2003 – Spain – Chinchilla train collision. 19 people die when a TALGO train and a freight train collide head-on in Albacete, Southern Spain.
- June 11, 2003 – Germany – 6 people die and 25 are injured when two passenger trains collide head-on near Schrozberg.
- June 20, 2003 – United States – Commerce, California: A runaway cut of 31 cars from a Union Pacific freight train, without a locomotive, carrying lumber derails at a speed of in a Los Angeles suburb, destroying several homes and rupturing natural gas lines.
- June 23, 2003 – India – Vaibhavwadi rail disaster: 51 people die when a special holiday train derails in Maharashtra.
- July 2, 2003 – India – Warangal train crash 22 people die when a train's brakes fail and it falls off a bridge into a crowded fish market in Warangal.
- July 7, 2003 – United Kingdom – Between Evesham and Pershore, Worcestershire, a First Great Western train collides with a minibus on a level crossing, killing 3 people in the minibus.
- August 3, 2003 – United Kingdom – A Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway steam train hits a car driven across the level crossing. Steam train driver dies, car driver with passenger and some train passengers are injured.
- August 7, 2003 – Switzerland – Two trains collide at Gsteigwiler. One person is killed and 63 are injured.
- October 12, 2003 – United States – Chicago, Illinois. A Metra train carrying 350 passengers derails after its engineer ignores warning signals telling him to slow down for a track change and continues travelling at over a switch. Front locomotive rolls onto its side and catches fire. 45 injured. The engineer is not terminated and continues to work for Metra. This occurs in the same spot and for the same reasons as the 2005 Metra crash.
- October 14, 2003 – Ireland – Cahir, County Tipperary. A freight train derails as it is passing over the River Suir, destroying the viaduct. The line is closed until September 2004.
- October 14, 2003 – Switzerland – Two express trains collide at Zurich Oerlikon station. One person is killed and 45 are injured.
- December 18, 2003 – United States – 13 cars on a 96-car CSX freight train from Richmond to Philadelphia came off the tracks just in Alexandria, Virginia.
2004
- February 15, 2004 – United Kingdom – Tebay rail accident, Cumbria, England. A sleeper transporter trolley with defective brakes carrying 16 tonnes of rails becomes detached from a maintenance train south of Penrith and rolls down the falling gradient until it strikes and kills 4 workmen in a team repairing the line at Tebay, between Oxenholme and Penrith. The owner of the sleeper transporter truck is prosecuted.
- February 18, 2004 – Iran – Nishapur train disaster, Nishapur. Three hundred people were killed and a village was destroyed.
- February 21, 2004 – Denmark – Tommerup Stationsby. An intercity train travelling to Copenhagen was travelling at 150 km/h when its rear wheels came off the tracks at Tommerup station, due to a broken rail. It was later revealed that the Banestyrelsen had studied the rail tracks in the area 2 years before, and had found that some tracks in the area were up to 33 years old.
- April 16, 2004 – Turkey – Temelli. An overnight İzmir to Ankara express hits a truck in Temelli, near Ankara, as it crosses a level-crossing. 7 to 10 children die and 2 to 5 more are injured according to various reports at the time.
- April 22, 2004 – North Korea – Ryongchon disaster. 161 people killed and more than 1000 injured when an explosion takes place.
- May 19, 2004 – United States – near Gunter, Texas. One person dies and four are injured when a BNSF Railway train fails to adhere to an after-arrival track warrant and collides with another train.
- June 1, 2004 – Denmark – Holstebro. Two regional trains enter the same track and collide head-on. 24 people were injured, 2 more seriously injured.
- June 17, 2004 – India – Karanjadi train crash, near Matsyagandha, Mumbai. 20 people die and 100 are injured when 10 carriages fall off a bridge during a monsoon-induced landslide.
- June 28, 2004 – United States – Macdona, Texas, near San Antonio. 4 people die and 51 are injured when a Union Pacific Railroad train fails to stop at a signal and collides with another train, causing lethal chlorine gas to leak out of a train car. The UP driver and two local residents living near the tracks die. Several other residents and many visiting an area SeaWorld theme park are injured seriously by the gas.
- July 22, 2004 – Turkey – Pamukova train derailment An Istanbul–Ankara express with 230 people on board derails at Pamukova, Sakarya Province, Turkey and the carriages overturn. Turkish government officials confirm 41 dead, another 80 injured.
- September 10, 2004 – Sweden – Nosaby level crossing disaster, Nosaby, near Kristianstad. A heavy truck is caught between the barriers at a level crossing, and is hit by a passenger train. The 2 drivers die, 47 people are injured. The truck driver was found guilty of not attempting to move the vehicle away from the level crossing, and was sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment.
- November 6, 2004 – United Kingdom – Ufton Nervet rail crash, Berkshire. A First Great Western InterCity 125 hits a stationary car on a level crossing at 100 mph and derails. Five train passengers and the drivers of both the train and the car die; more than 100 passengers are injured.
- November 11, 2004 – United States – San Antonio, Texas. A Union Pacific Railroad train derails off the tracks in an industrial district, killing one man working in a warehouse office and injuring others.
- November 15, 2004 – Australia – Cairns Tilt Train derailment, Berajondo, Queensland. The world's fastest narrow-gauge train derails at 112 km/h. No one is killed or permanently injured. The accident is blamed on the train travelling too fast on a curved line.
- November 29, 2004 – United States – Zephyrhills, Florida. Two CSX freight trains collide in early morning fog at Vitis Junction, killing one and injuring three.
- December 3, 2004 – Italy – Two trains collide at Castellaneta after one of them passes a red signal. Twenty people are injured, two seriously.
- December 14, 2004 – India – Two passenger trains collide in Punjab. Twenty-seven people are killed, more than 50 are injured.
- December 26, 2004 – Sri Lanka – Queen of the Sea rail disaster, Telwatta. Approximately 1700 people die in the world's worst rail disaster as a train is overwhelmed by a tsunami created by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
2005
- January 6, 2005 – United States – Graniteville train disaster, Graniteville, South Carolina. 9 people died and 250+ were injured when a 42-car Norfolk Southern freight train collided head-on with a parked local freight train near the Avondale Mills plant in Graniteville. 16 cars derailed in the accident, leading to the 9 deaths and 250+ injuries. The NTSB determined that the cause of the accident was the failure of the local freight's crew members to realign the switch for mainline operations.
- January 7, 2005 – Italy – Crevalcore train crash. A passenger train running from Verona to Bologna fails to stop at a red light and collides frontally with a freight train, near Crevalcore. There was dense fog at the time of the accident. 17 die.
- January 17, 2005 – Thailand – an empty MRT train returning to the depot collided with another train filled with passengers at the Thailand Cultural Centre MRT Station. 140 people were hurt, most of whom sustained only minor injuries, and the entire Metro network was shut down for two weeks. More at MRT accident
- January 26, 2005 – United States – Glendale train crash, Glendale, California. In a planned suicide attempt in which the suspect changes his mind, a southbound Metrolink double-deck commuter train collides with the man's vehicle that he has driven onto the tracks and then abandoned. The southbound train derails, then strikes both a moving northbound Metrolink train on the adjacent track as well as a parked Union Pacific Railroad freight train on a siding. 11 people die, about 100 injured.
- February 3, 2005 – India – Nagpur level crossing disaster. A tractor-trailer carrying a wedding party is hit by a train. 55 wedding guests die.
- February 9, 2005 – Latvia – A Lielvarde-Riga passenger train collides with empty stock heading for Riga train depot, killing four people and injuring 32. Official report states that the conductor had missed the red signal.
- February 14, 2005 — United States – Oxnard, California. An Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passenger train traveling from Los Angeles Union Station collided with a semi-truck loaded with strawberries at the Rice Avenue grade crossing. The truck driver, who had stopped at the crossing, suddenly encountered a green traffic light that conflicted the crossing gates coming down. This confused the driver, who started crossing the tracks then, but the traffic light suddenly turned red after a few seconds, making the truck driver stop without realising that the rest of her truck was still on the tracks. The train was traveling too fast to stop in time and completely destroyed the truck's trailer, severely damaging the locomotive and spilling diesel fuel at the crash site. No one was killed, but a few passengers of the train had minor injuries.
- February 14, 2005 – Denmark – Lyngby. An S-train to Høje Tåstrup runs into a stopped S-train which was heading for Køge at 60–70 km/h. 2 passengers and a driver were seriously injured. Snow which had settled on the signals made them difficult to read, meaning the train could not be stopped in time.
- February 28, 2005 – Sweden – Ledsgard. A chlorine tanker train derails due to brake failure after they were wrongly set to "empty". The line was closed for 2 weeks.
- March 11, 2005 -United States – Rochelle, Illinois. A collision took place between a Loram rail grinding work train, and a BNSF transportation freight train. The accident occurred at the at-grade crossing of Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway tracks.
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- April 25, 2005 – Japan – Amagasaki rail crash, Amagasaki, Hyōgo. A train derails on sharp curve and smashes into an apartment building. 107 people die, 549 are injured. Investigation shows the driver was speeding because of a slight delay.
- April 26, 2005 – Sri Lanka – Polgahawela level crossing collision, a bus tries to beat the train at a level crossing; at least 35 people die, all on the bus.
- May 5, 2005 – United States – Galt, Illinois. A Union Pacific train derails and destroys the Transcontinental mainline bridge at Elkhorn creek.
- May 19, 2005 – Indonesia – Bandar Lampung. A passenger train from Palembang crashes into another passenger train at Bandar Lampung station and derails. 7 children die and just under 200 were injured. Human error is blamed for the accident and many of the dead are passengers clinging on to the sides of the Palembang train. The Indonesian government begins a crack down on people clinging on to the exteriors of trains as a means of travel.
- June 16, 2005 – Russia – Between Zubtsov and Aristovo in Tver Oblast, 27 of 60 fuel oil tankers bound from Moscow to Riga derail at a speed of about, about 300 tonnes of fuel leaks. of track are destroyed and the Volga River was contaminated briefly. The crash was blamed on poor track maintenance.
- June 21, 2005 – Israel – A Beersheba-bound passenger train collides with a coal delivery truck near Revadim, about south of Tel Aviv. At least 7 die and more than 200 are injured.
- July 10, 2005 – United States – Anding, Mississippi, United States. Two Canadian National freight trains collide head on after the northbound train fails to stop at a red light. Both crews die upon impact.
- July 10, 2005 – United Kingdom – A Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway steam train hits a car driven across a level crossing. Steam train driver dies, car driver and train passengers are uninjured.
- July 13, 2005 – Pakistan – Ghotki rail crash, Ghotki. A chain reaction accident caused by one train missing a signal and colliding into another results in three trains crashed and over 150 people dead.
- July 26, 2005 – Austria – Gramatneusiedl – A passenger train of the ÖBB crashes into a cargo train, injuring 13 people.
- July 31, 2005 – China – Shenyang. A train from Xi'an to Changchun passes a sabotaged railway signal and collides with a freight train, killing 5 passengers. Officials state that some wiring was stolen from a nearby signal box causing the signal to malfunction.
- August 1, 2005 – Greece – Kilkis, a truck driver is struck by a train on a crossing and dies. The driver ignored crossing warnings.
- August 2, 2005 – United States – Raleigh, North Carolina. Two people are killed when their truck is hit by an Amtrak train. The driver bypassed safety barriers.
- August 5, 2005 – Canada – CN Rail Cheakamus River derailment, British Columbia: Nine cars of a CN Rail train derail into the Cheakamus River near Whistler British Columbia. 40,000 litres of caustic soda enter the river, killing over 500,000 fish and greatly damaging the surrounding ecosystem.
- September 17, 2005 – United States – Chicago, Illinois. A Metra commuter train traveling into Chicago derails, killing two and injuring 83.
- October 3, 2005 – India – Datia train crash, Datia, Madhya Pradesh, 16 die when a train travelling at six times the speed limit derails.
- October 15, 2005 – United States – Texarkana, Arkansas, Union Pacific train rear-ends another train, derailing and puncturing a tank car containing propylene. The leak reaches an ignition source at a nearby house, causing a massive explosion and subsequent fire. A radius is evacuated, and one resident is killed.
- October 23, 2005 – Italy – Eurostar 9410 derailment. Bari province, Apulia. Eurostar Italia train 9410, running from Taranto to Milan, derails between Acquaviva delle Fonti and Sannicandro di Bari when subsidence due to heavy rain causes a bridge to collapse under it, leaving two bare rails spanning the 12 meter deep ravine. The train completes the crossing and comes to rest with its rear end suspended over the void. Nobody dies.
- October 26, 2005 – South Africa – The passenger train Shosholoza Meyl collides head on with the stationary Blue Train at Deelfontein station just outside De Aar in the Northern Cape. Both trains derail. The Blue Train has much more damage than the Shosholoza Meyl. This particular set of the Blue Train stayed out of service for the next two years.
- October 29, 2005 – India – Veligonda rail disaster, Veligonda, Andhra Pradesh, At least 114 people die and many more are injured when part of the track is swept away by a flood, causing a train to derail.
- November 23, 2005 – Turkey – At 6.30 am a train hits a truck on a level crossing between Tarsus and Mersin. 9 people die and 18 are injured.
- November 29, 2005 – Democratic Republic of Congo - Kindu rail accident - Over 60 people are swept off the roof of a train by the beams of a bridge in the Maniema province.
- December 25, 2005 – Japan – Shonai, Yamagata. According to Japanese Railroad official and NTV report, all 6 cars of Akita–Niigata Inaho express train derail and three passenger cars are crushed, 5 people die and 32 are injured. Strong winter winds are thought to be the cause.
2006
- January 6, 2006 – United States – Possum Point, Virginia. A broken CSX rail causes Virginia Railway Express Train #304 to derail at Possum Point. The last 3 of the 6 cars derailed but did not fall over. NTSB finds that CSX failed to post speed restrictions and repair/replace the track in a timely fashion. There are only a few minor injuries.
- January 23, 2006 – Montenegro – Bioče train disaster. A passenger train crashes into a ravine near Podgorica, killing 46 people and injuring 198.
- January 29, 2006 – Pakistan – A broken rail causes a derailment near Jhelum in the Punjab, killing 2 people and injuring 29. Poor maintenance is officially being cited as cause of the accident; sabotage is suspected by some authorities. The government inquiry later blames defective and aging rails.
- February 17, 2006 – Canada – High winds derail six Canadian Pacific freight cars on the Saint-Laurent Railway Bridge between Montreal and Kahnawake, Quebec, leaving them dangling precariously over the water. It takes several days to remove the cars, disrupting rail service.
- March 13, 2006 – United States – Austin, Texas, Tara Rose McAvoy, 18, the reigning Miss Deaf Texas, is killed by the snowplow on a 65-car Union Pacific freight train while trespassing on the tracks and text-messaging her parents. The train sounds its horn repeatedly and attempts to apply the emergency brakes but did not stop in time.
- April 5, 2006 – United States – Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, Patrick Deans, 18, High School football player, is struck and killed by a CSX freight train while trespassing on the tracks. Two CSX trains are passing at the time. Patrick escapes one train and is struck by the other.
- April 15, 2006 – Indonesia – Gubug, Java, 13 people die and 26 are injured as two trains collide and wreckage falls into a paddy field. One Swiss man is among the injured. Human error by the driver is officially blamed.
- April 28, 2006 – Australia – Victoria, Australia. A V/Line VLocity high-speed train is derailed when struck by an 18-wheeler truck, killing 2 people and injuring 28 on the Ballarat to Ararat line.
- May 17, 2006 – Switzerland – An engineering train suffers a brake failure and crashes at Thun. Three people are killed.
- May 25, 2006 – Australia – Lismore, Victoria, truck fails to stop at level crossing, derailing trains and causing massive pileup of wagons. Mist/fog is factor.
- June 12, 2006 – Israel – Netanya. A passenger train from Tel Aviv to Haifa derails after colliding with a lorry on a level crossing, killing 5 people and injuring more than 100.
- June 14, 2006 – United States – Kismet, California. Two BNSF Railway freight trains collide head-on due to one of the trains running a red signal. One of the train's crews, the one that ran the red, is suspected to be high on cocaine. There was a camera on board one of the locomotives involved in the collision; the Federal Railroad Administration, who investigated the crash instead of the National Transportation Safety Board as usual, released the video of the collision which is widely available on YouTube and related sites. All but one of the locomotives involved, despite heavy damage and being near-totalled, were repaired and returned to service after the accident.
- July 1, 2006 – United States – Abington, Pennsylvania. Two SEPTA Regional Rail passenger trains collided on a single track on the Warminster Line, injuring three dozen.
- July 3, 2006 – Spain – Valencia metro accident in Valencia. A Valencia Metro train derails after leaving Jesús station, killing 41 people and injuring at least 47. The records of the train's black box show that the train passed a bend at 80 km/h, above the speed limit of 40 km/h.
- August 18, 2006 – India – Two carriages catch fire on the Chennai-Hyderabad Express near Secundrabad station.
- August 21, 2006 – Egypt – Qalyoub train collision - Two trains collide in the town of Qalyoub, 12 miles north of Cairo, killing 57 people and injuring 128.
- August 21, 2006 – Spain – A speeding eastbound RENFE intercity train derails in Villada, 40 km west of Palencia, leaving six people dead and 36 injured.
- August 27, 2006 – Zimbabwe – 5 people die in a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train 30 km south of Victoria Falls.
- September 4, 2006 – Egypt – A passenger train collides with a freight train north of Cairo, killing five people and injuring 30.
- September 5, 2006 – Netherlands – A diesel locomotive passes a red signal and collides with a passenger train at Amersfoort. Seventeen people are injured.
- September 22, 2006 – Germany – Lathen, Emsland - 2006 Lathen maglev train accident - 21 passengers and two maintenance workers die and many more are injured when a German Transrapid train collides with a maintenance of way vehicle on the system's test track near the Netherlands border.
- October 11, 2006 – France – 2006 Zoufftgen rail crash, near Metz. Passenger and freight trains collide head-on at Zoufftgen, Moselle, close to the Luxembourg border. 5 people die, including the drivers of both trains, and 20 are injured. The accident is ascribed to human error in the controlling signalling centre in Luxembourg.
- October 17, 2006 – Italy – Rome Metro collision. Two metro trains collide at Rome's Vittorio Emanuele metro station, killing at least one person and injuring around 60.
- October 20, 2006 – United States – New Brighton, Pennsylvania. A Norfolk Southern unit train of DOT-111 tank cars containing ethanol derails on a bridge over the Beaver River. The resulting fire burns for days and forces some evacuations.
- November 9, 2006 – United States – Baxter, California. Six cars of a runaway maintenance train derail, killing two of the crew.
- November 13, 2006 – South Africa – Faure level crossing accident, near Somerset West. A Metrorail train smashes into a truck carrying farm workers at a level crossing, killing 27 people.
- November 20, 2006 – Netherlands – A train passes a red signal causing a head-on collision in Rotterdam. The passenger train is empty and none are injured; there is extensive damage to the rail track and its overhead power lines
- November 21, 2006 – Netherlands – A train passes a red signal causing a head-on collision at.
- November 24, 2006 – Croatia – Drniš. A HŽ ICN tilting train number 521 collides with a lorry loaded with Knauf cement boards at the railroad crossing that is not equipped with ramp or warning lights. Train engineer dies instantly, the lorry driver sustains severe injuries and survives. Train composition suffers major damage and is subsequently written off the Croatian Railways' rolling stock.
- November 30, 2006 – United States – North Baltimore, Ohio. 15 cars carrying steel derail when the train inadvertently switches to a side track. These cars then impact a coal train on a parallel set of tracks, causing four of its cars to also derail. The PUCO blames the accident on a chain hanging from one of the rolling stock, which engaged a switch handle on the tracks, causing a shift of the rails. Three people who were in vehicles waiting for the train to pass are injured as a result of the accident, none seriously.
- December 1, 2006 – India – Bihar, Bhágalpur in the Ganges a portion of the 150-year-old 'Ulta Pul' bridge being dismantled collapses over a passing train of India's Eastern Railways, killing 35 people and injuring 17.The Hindu">
- December 13, 2006 – Italy – Avio, a freight train operated by Trenitalia passes a red signal and crashes on a freight train of the private company Rail Traction Company. Two Trenitalia engineers die in the violent crash
2007
- January 4, 2007 – Turkey – A freight train crashes into a truck carrying farm workers at a railroad crossing in Hatay Province, Turkey, killing 7 people and injuring 19.
- January 16, 2007 – United States – Brooks, Kentucky train derailment – A CSX freight train derails in Brooks, Kentucky.
- January 16, 2007 – United States – East Rochester, New York: A 13-car CSX intermodal train carrying retail goods partially derailed, spilling at least five containers and two intermodal wells onto the road below an overpass.
- January 16, 2007 – Indonesia – The Senja Bengawan train derails in Central Java, Indonesia, resulting in five fatalities.
- February 23, 2007 – United Kingdom – Grayrigg rail crash – A Virgin Trains West Coast Pendolino service from London Euston to Glasgow Central derails at Grayrigg Cottage near Oxenholme, Cumbria, United Kingdom. One woman dies. A set of points is thought to be the cause of the accident; the West Coast Main Line is closed for several days.
- February 28, 2007 – China – Wind blows 10 passenger rail cars off the track near Turpan, China, killing 3 passengers and seriously injuring 2 others.
- May 2, 2007 – Ukraine – 32 passengers are injured as the "Stolichniy Express" high-speed train derails near Kiev, Ukraine. Sabotage is suspected but investigation reveals that technicians tried and failed to quick-repair a switch in front of the approaching train.
- June 5, 2007 – Australia – Kerang train crash – A B-Double truck collided with a Melbourne-bound passenger train north of Kerang at the Murray Valley Highway level crossing, killing 11 rail passengers and injuring 23.
- June 14, 2007 – Croatia – A Croatian HŽ commuter train bound from Zagreb to Karlovac collided with a lorry on the railroad crossing in Demerje. The lorry driver died instantly while the train engineer died during the rescue workers' attempt to get him out of the wreckage. The crash was caused by the lorry driver who ignored light and bell warnings about the incoming train. The train conductor sustained minor injuries. The locomotive No. 987811413846 suffered huge frontal structural damage, but was later repaired and put back into service.
- June 15, 2007 – Italy – Two trains collided on the Italian island of Sardinia, killing 3.
- July 16–17, 2007 – United States – Two Amtrak Silver Star trains on the Tampa to Miami route crash into automobiles and derail in two separate instances, one in Lakeland and one in Plant City. Four people in the automobile die in the first wreck; one in the automobile dies in the second accident. Nobody on either train is seriously injured.
- July 16, 2007 – Ukraine – 15 carriages from a train carrying yellow phosphorus derail and catch fire, releasing toxic fumes affecting 14 villages in a area near Lviv, Ukraine.
- August 1, 2007 – Democratic Republic of the Congo – Benaleka train crash – A passenger train derails killing about 100 people and injuring more than 200 others, many riding on the roof in Kasai-Occidental province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as a result of brake failure.
- August 7, 2007 – India – 32 passengers are injured when the Jodhpur-Howrah Express derails near Juhi Bridge, Kanpur, India.
- August 24, 2007 – Serbia – Two persons die and five are injured when a locomotive and a freight train collide near Čortanovci, Serbia.
- August 30, 2007 – Brazil – 8 passengers die and 80 are injured when a commuter train collides with an empty train at Nova Iguaçu near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- October 3, 2007 – United States – Moving over the CSX east coast main line, the Amtrak Silver Meteor collided into a tractor-trailer after it attempted to cross a grade crossing in Port Wentworth, Georgia. No serious injuries are reported.
- October 10, 2007 – United States – A CSX train Q380-09 carrying ethanol and butane derails in Painesville and Painesville Township, Ohio, causing an evacuation and fire that takes several days to burn out. Broken rail is suspected as the cause.
- October 22, 2007 – United States – A Vermont Railway train carrying gasoline derails in Middlebury, Vermont, causing an evacuation. At least one car catches fire and several others leak gasoline into Otter Creek.
- October 25, 2007 – Sweden – A 15-year-old boy dies when he is struck by a high speed train in Solna, Sweden while illegally crossing the railway.
- October 29, 2007 – United States – Two BNSF Railway trains derail in Clara City, Minnesota, causing a hydrochloric acid spill that prompts the evacuation of about 350 people.
- November 3, 2007 – South Korea – Two KTX trains collided inside Busan Station, with no casualties.
- November 9, 2007 – United States – CSX train derailment in the District of Columbia dumps 10 rail cars of coal in the Anacostia River. Improperly secured, a free-rolling cut of hoppers from Bennington Yard rolls onto an out-of-service bridge, which collapses.
- November 30, 2007 – United States – Amtrak train No. 371, the Pere Marquette, strikes the last car of COFC freight train on the Norfolk Southern line near 65th Street in Chicago. Two people in the cab of P42DC No. 8 are injured, and many passengers are injured, including three critical. The crumple zone design of the locomotive is effective and prevents worse results. The engineer was running at approximately in a zone due to confusion about the meaning of a signal. The unit is subsequently scrapped.
- December 19, 2007 – Pakistan – Mehrabpur derailment – A crowded passenger express train derails down an embankment north-east of Karachi near Mehrabpur at about 2:20 am PST, killing 35 people and injuring about 269, 10 critically.
2008
- February 1, 2008 – England – East Midlands Connect train from Nottingham to Norwich strikes a footbridge in its path at Barrow-on-Soar. A road vehicle had struck and damaged the bridge causing it to be foul of the line. Six passengers are on board; the driver has to be cut free from the driving cab. In October 2011, Network Rail is fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £32,000.
- February 5, 2008 – United States – Two people die and one is injured in a chain reaction accident involving six vehicles and a 50 car train at a fog-obscured rail crossing in Boswell, about west of Lafayette, Indiana. The rural crossing has seen five other crashes, two of which were fatal, since 1984. An FRA safety review is now planned for this crossing. The other fatalities were on October 10, 1984 and February 7, 1986 between a train and a truck, in which both truck drivers and the truck's passenger in the 1984 crash died.
- February 28, 2008 – Bulgaria – Sofia - Kardam train fire - Nine people die in a fire on board Bulgarian State Railways train No.2637 travelling from Sofia to the north-eastern town of Kardam in Dobrich region. The fire starts in a couchette carriage with 35 people in it as the train enters the town of Cherven bryag around midnight, and spreads to a sleeping coach with 27 people. The fire takes more than three hours to extinguish. Among the victims of the fire is Rasho Rashev, the director of Bulgaria's National Archaeological Institute. Bulgarian government declares March 5, 2008 a day of mourning in memory of the victims of the deadly fire.
- March 1, 2008 – England – Containers are blown off a train by wind between Tring and Cheddington; also Shap.
- March 8, 2008 – Greece – A passenger train derails, injuring 28 of 174 passengers.
- March 9, 2008 – Argentina – A Ferrobaires passenger train going from Buenos Aires to Mar del Plata strikes an El Rápido Argentino bus going from Mar de Ajó to San Miguel at a crossing on the outskirts of Dolores, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The bus had disregarded the active warning devices on the railroad crossing of Provincial Highway 63. 17 people die, 40 are injured.
- March 17, 2008 – United States – A BNSF Railway train crashes into a big rig, causing some of the locomotives to derail in Marysville, Washington.
- March 25, 2008 – United States – A MBTA train crashes into a runaway box car at Canton Junction station in Canton, Massachusetts, injuring 150 people on board.
- April 9, 2008 – Malaysia – A Sabah State Railway train plunges 10 metres into Padas River after derailment caused by a landslide near Tenom, Malaysia killing 2 passengers.
- April 26, 2008 – Germany – An InterCityExpress train runs into a herd of sheep that had wandered onto the tracks at the mouth of the Landrückentunnel, Germany's longest rail tunnel, on the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line near Fulda. The derailed train stops into the tunnel, 22 are injured seriously, including the engineer, 17 slightly and 77 sheep die.
- April 28, 2008 – China – China Railway train T195 accident – Train No. T195 carrying approximately 1200 passengers from Beijing to Qingdao derails at a section of temporary detour tracks Zhoucun-Wangcun, Hejiacun, on the outskirts of Zibo, Shandong at approximately 4:38am. It is then struck by the No. 5034 passenger train at approximately 4:41am, also with approximately 1200 passengers aboard. The detour tracks had a lower speed limit of 80 km/h, but the speed limit was not delivered to T195's operation monitor system or driver, and the driver was following the regular speed limit; T195 was running at the regular speed of 131 km/h before it derailed. Fourteen passenger cars are crushed, 72 people die and 416 are injured.
- May 5, 2008 – Sudan – A 20 car freight train carrying illegal passengers and including Kordofan University students derails on the outskirts of Al-Foula, South Kordofan, Sudan, killing 14 and injuring 28.
- May 10, 2008 – Romania – The locomotive and three cars of Romanian National Railway Company passenger train No 1661 going from Bucharest to Iași derails at a defective switch near Valea Calugareasca station in Prahova county around 16:55 local time. Two of the cars are severely damaged. The train's speed is 68 km/h, below the 70 km/h maximum speed limit on that sector of 70 km/h. A 17-year-old girl is killed and four other persons are injured.
- May 28, 2008 – United States – 2008 Massachusetts train collision - Boston MBTA Green Line D Train crashes into the rear of another train on the same line in Newton, Massachusetts, between Woodland and Waban "T" stops. The driver of the rear train is killed, and 12 others are injured.
- July 3, 2008 – Belgium – a passenger train and a freight train collide in the south of Belgium. Forty-two people are injured, two seriously.
- July 16, 2008 – Egypt – At least 44 people are killed and 33 injured when a truck fails to stop at level crossing and pushes two vehicles into a Matruh–Alexandrea passenger train, at Marsa Matruh, Dabaa, Egypt.
- July 19, 2008 – England – An Arriva Trains Wales Class 158 train crashes into a tractor on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line
- August 8, 2008 – Czech Republic – Studénka train disaster – Express train EC 108 Comenius from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic travelling at 140 km/h crashes around 10:30 local time into a section of a bridge undergoing construction that had fallen onto the track. Eight people are killed and 91 injured.
- September 11, 2008 – United Kingdom-France – A Eurotunnel Shuttle train carrying two vans and 25 lorries is severely damaged when a fire starts on one of the lorries. Six people are injured slightly, the part of the Channel Tunnel where the train came to rest is closed for repairs until February 2009.
- September 12, 2008 – United States – Chatsworth train collision – A northbound Metrolink double-deck commuter train runs a red light and collides head-on with a Union Pacific Railroad freight train pulled by three engines at about 60 mph and derails; the 220-ton derailed Metrolink engine is knocked backwards into a 119-ton passenger car, crushing it in half. 25 people are killed and about 135 are injured in the accident. This incident intensified the debate Congress was considering to mandate a safety system called positive train control, which passed Congress, and was signed into law, just over 30 days after this incident.
- September 29, 2008 – India – Yelagiri Express derails at Tirupattur in Tamil Nadu, India. The engine and three coaches attached to the Yelagiri Express derailed at Tirupattur, owing to a snag in the engine, in the early hours of Monday, disrupting train services for more than three hours. As there were no passengers, a major casualty was averted.
- October 6, 2008 – Hungary – Monorierdő train collision – Four people die and 26 are injured in a collision between two passenger trains near Budapest.
- October 6, 2008 – England – A Mendip Rail freight train is hit from behind by a runaway train near Great Elm on the private line from Whatley Quarry, Somerset. There are no serious injuries.
- October 11, 2008 – Netherlands – Thalys trainset 4536 running between Paris and Amsterdam collide with a Koploper ICM unit near Gouda. A steam train hauled by a BR 23 2-6-2 locomotive, which had its route set into the path of the collision, makes a successful emergency stop.
- October 14, 2008 – United States – A late night CSX Transportation train derails in Decatur, Alabama, killing its conductor.
- November 18, 2008 – Australia – A Connex Melbourne express train collides with a car in Dandenong South, Victoria, killing the car's 53-year-old female occupant after she failed to stop at an active level crossing.
- November 20, 2008 – United States – A 119-car CSX Railroad coal train derails under and damages the Crain Avenue bridge in Kent, Ohio. No injuries.
- November 27, 2008 – Australia – Two people die and several others injured after a QR Tilt Train collides with a truck on the Bruce Highway level crossing about 20 km south of Cardwell, Queensland.
- December 15, 2008 – United States – Marysville, Washington: An Amtrak train headed southbound to Portland, Oregon, strikes a Honda Accord and puts the driver in critical condition.
- December 23, 2008 – Latvia – A fuel cargo train crashes into a stationary train in Ventspils, Latvia. Ten fuel tankers catch fire, two people die.
- December 31, 2008 – Canada – 33 cars of a 115-car Canadian National Railway freight train running from Toronto to Moncton derail at 23:30 in Villeroy, Quebec. One car leaks propane, causing the evacuation of about 70 residents.
2009
- January 1, 2009 – Australia – One person is killed and six others injured after a QR Sunlander train collides with a garbage truck at a level crossing with no boom gates or warning lights, near Innisfail, Queensland.
- January 7, 2009 – United States – A half-mile radius area is evacuated after a derailment of a CSX Transportation train in Queensgate, Cincinnati, Ohio. Two of the four derailed cars are carrying propane, nothing leaked.
- February 7, 2009 – Cuba – Three people are killed and more than 90 injured in a collision between two passenger trains in Camagüey, east of Havana.
- February 13, 2009 – India – Jajapur derailment - Twelve carriages of the Howrah-Madras Express derail soon after the train departs Jajpur Road station near the city of Bhubaneswar in the state of Odisha, killing 9 people and injuring 250.
- February 21, 2009 – Slovakia – 2009 Slovakian coach and train collision - Eleven people die in a collision between a bus and a train on a level crossing near Brezno.
- March 29, 2009 – Tanzania – Equipment breakdown and culpability causes a rear-end collision in Gulwe–Igandu section, killing dozens of passengers and injuring many others.
- April 17, 2009 – Germany – A passenger train collides with a Freight train in Berlin. Twelve people are injured.
- June 5, 2009 – Canada – A 111-car Canadian Pacific Railway train derails in Oshawa, ON around 2:15 p.m. CDT. Two locomotives and 27 cars of the train derail, some of the cars come to rest in nearby backyards and a schoolyard during recess.
- June 19, 2009 – United States – A major downpour of rain in Rockford, Illinois, causes 14 of the 114 ethanol tankers of a Canadian National freight train to leave the track and explode into flames. One person at a rail crossing dies, several others are burned.
- June 22, 2009 – United States – June 2009 Washington Metro train collision – On the Washington Metro, in Northeast Washington, D.C., an electronic track-circuit module fails, causing a train to go undetected by the automatic train control system. A second train crashes into it, killing 9 people, the deadliest incident in the subway system's 33-year history.
- June 29, 2009 – Italy – 2009 Viareggio train derailment - A freight train derails at Viareggio. Two wagons carrying Liquefied petroleum gas explode. Thirty-two people die, five of them when a house collapses.
- June 29, 2009 – China – 2009 Hunan train collision - Two passenger trains collide at 2:34 a.m. local time at Chenzhou railway station, Hunan Province, killing 3 people and leaving 63 injured. The accident is allegedly caused by a brake failure, which is disputed.
- July 9, 2009 – United States – The Amtrak Wolverine hits the side of a car in Canton Township, Michigan, near Detroit. All five people in the vehicle die.
- July 24, 2009 – Croatia – Rudine derailment – HŽ ICN tilting train number 521 bound from Zagreb to Split derails at 10:08 GMT between Labin Dalmatinski and Kaštel Stari near the village of Rudine. 6 passengers die, 55 are injured, 13 of them seriously. The crash is caused by retardant that was sprayed on the railroad approximately 10 minutes before the accident, leaving the track surface slippery, which made braking impossible. 30 minutes after the crash, during the rescue operation, a rescue train experiences the same problem and derails on the very same spot. There are no further injuries or deaths, although the second train passes close to dozens of rescue workers and collides with the derailed wreckage. The ICN trainset has been written off due to the extreme damage.
- July 29, 2009 – China – A train runs off the line due to landslide at 4:22 a.m. local time in Liucheng, Guangxi, killing 4 people and leaving 71 injured.
- August 28, 2009 – Cameroon – A freight train carrying fuel derails south of Yaoundé and catches fire. Eleven wagons carrying diesel fuel and petrol are destroyed. One person dies.
- August 30, 2009 – Cameroon – A passenger train derails near Yaoundé, Cameroon killing five and injuring 275.
- September 12, 2009 – Germany – Friedewald train collision - Two steam trains collide head-on on the Lößnitzgrundbahn.
- September 16, 2009 – Ireland – A Tram and bus collide in Dublin injuring 21 people.
- September 24, 2009 – Netherlands – Barendrecht train accident – Two freight trains collide head-on below a viaduct on the A15 motorway near Barendrecht, killing the driver of one train. Derailed sections land on a parallel track, where a passenger train is approaching. A few passengers of the passenger train are lightly injured.
- October 5, 2009 – Thailand – A passenger train derails in Hua Hin District at 04:50 local time. At least seven people die and dozens are injured. Occurs during heavy rain.
- October 20, 2009 – India – Mathura train collision – A passenger train collision near Mathura, India.
- October 21, 2009 – India – 22 passengers die and around 17 are injured when a Goa Express runs into the last coach of a stationary Mewar Express. Later, it is determined that the signalling system was tampered with.
- October 23, 2009 – India – Thane train accident. – A huge concrete slab comes crashing down just before a train is about to run below it in northeast Mumbai on Friday morning, killing the driver and a commuter. Twelve other people are also injured in the accident.
- October 24, 2009 – Egypt – Al Ayyat train collision – A passenger train was stopped after striking water buffalo in the al Ayyat area of Giza. Another passenger train, travelling in the same direction, later runs into the back of the stationary train, resulting in the deaths of at least 18 people.
- November 4, 2009 – Pakistan – At least 18 people die after a passenger train, Allama Iqbal Express, collides head on with a goods train in the suburbs of the city of Karachi. The driver of the Allama Iqbal Express passed a stop signal at Juma Goth Station and rammed into another train from Karachi on the same track.
- November 16, 2009 – Ireland – An IE 29000 Class diesel multiple unit is derailed near, when it strikes a landslip obstructing the line.
- November 24, 2009 – United States – 116 cars of a Union Pacific Railroad train derail in southwest Houston, Texas, forcing the closure of several lanes of Alternate U.S. Highway 90 for several days.
- December 21, 2009 – Croatia – An early morning HŽ commuter train number 5100 bound from Sisak Caprag to Zagreb fails to stop and crashes into the platform bumper at Zagreb Glavni Kolodvor in Zagreb at 15–20 km/h. The cause of the crash, which occurred at the very end of its journey, is lack of antifreeze fluid in the locomotive's braking system which froze due to the low outside temperature. The crash occurs at 5:26 local time. 60 people from the train are injured, 7 of them seriously. There are no injuries among people on the platform. Witnesses report that the engineer leaned out of the locomotive window to warn people on the platform that his brakes have failed and the train would crash at the end of the platform.