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In 2009, U.S. transportation fatalities totaled 35,928, down 9.2 percent compared with 2008’s 39,569 fatalities, according to preliminary National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) data released yesterday.

Rail, highway and aviation fatalities declined, but pipeline- and marine-related deaths increased. Rail fatalities dropped 4 percent from 781 to 751, with the vast majority involving people struck by rail vehicles, while highway deaths — which account for about 95 percent of all transportation fatalities — decreased 9 percent from 37,423 to 33,808. Marine deaths increased from 783 to 817.

“While statistics show that transportation fatalities have declined this past year, we continue to see far too many accidents in all segments of the transportation community,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman in a prepared statement. “There is still much work to do to prevent the loss of life on our roads, rails, waterways and skies.”