Canada's rail accidents, incidents declined in 2023, safety board says

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has released its final annual statistical summaries for 2023 on transportation accidents and incidents in the rail, air, marine and pipeline transportation sectors.

In 2023, a total of 1,235 rail occurrences (accidents and incidents) were reported to the TSB, a decrease of 11% from the 1,382 occurrences reported in 2022.

Last year's occurrences include 914 rail accidents — which resulted in 67 fatalities — two more than in the previous year. Trespassing accidents remain the primary cause of fatalities, accounting for 79% of all rail fatalities, followed by grade crossing accidents, TSB officials said in a news release.

Eighty-seven accidents involving dangerous goods occurred in 2023, a decrease from 110 in 2022. Six of the accidents resulted in a hazardous product release.

There were 27 accidents and 10 incidents that involved an unplanned/uncontrolled movement of rail equipment, for a total of 37 occurrences, three of which involved vandalism. That's down from the 2022 total of 51 occurrences, two of which involved vandalism.

In addition, 321 railway incidents were reported, representing a 14% decrease from 2022.