(Source: Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland, January 12, 2026)
Human errors and track defects caused more than 3,000 rail accidents over the last decade, killing 23 people and injuring nearly 1,200. Behind those numbers, the Howard Center found, is a powerful industry that uses its money and influence to stymie federal safety reforms. It’s actively lobbying the government to further reduce track inspection and repair requirements and loosen rules aimed at preventing crew fatigue.
Fatigue-related accidents killed at least nine people and injured over 300 from 2015 through 2024, the Howard Center’s analysis of NTSB investigation reports found.
“If I go back through my career as an engineer and I think about mistakes that I made, I can almost attribute all of them to fatigue,” said Scott Bunten, a general chairman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, one of the major rail unions.
Full story: Associated Press