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U.S. railroads reported fewer train accidents and employee injuries during 2006’s first two months compared with the same 2005 period, according to preliminary Federal Railroad Administration data released by the Association of American Railroads.

The train accident rate decreased 27.7 percent, employee casualty rate dropped 20.9 percent, total accident/incident rate declined 17.8 percent and yard accident rate fell 26 percent compared with safety data from 2005’s first two months.

In addition, rail-related fatalities dropped 22 percent, employee fatalities decreased 83 percent and grade crossing incidents were down 5.6 percent.

Last year, the employee casualty and crossing incident rates dropped to record-low levels while the train accident rate decreased 8.9 percent compared with 2004.