(The Associated Press circulated the following article by Alan Zibel on March 8.)
WASHINGTON — The number of people struck and killed by trains in the U.S. rose last year, but the overall number of train accidents was down by more than 12 percent, according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday by the Federal Railroad Administration.
Last year, 530 people nationwide were killed after trespassing on railroad lines, an increase of more than 14 percent from 2005. Additionally, there were another 362 fatalities involving trains and a car or truck, five more than in 2005.
However, the government said there was an overall improvident in rail safety, as the total number of train accidents — including derailments, collisions or other accidents — declined to 2,834 from more than 3,200 in 2005.
“The aggressive actions we are taking to improve rail safety are paying dividends,” Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said in a prepared statement.
Steve Kulm, a spokesman for the railroad administration, said it is not entirely clear why fatalities rose last year. He said the railroad administration is undertaking a demographic study of people who trespass on train tracks, and using video captured from locomotives to study how accidents can be avoided.
The increase in fatalities is “something that our ongoing safety efforts are looking to address,” Kulm said.
A January report by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said federal railroad officials have made progress toward identifying the most dangerous parts of the nation’s rail system in the wake of several accidents, but more work needs to be done to evaluate the effectiveness of that effort.
A series of accidents over the past three years — including a January 2005 train collision in Graniteville, S.C., that killed nine people and injured 292 — led the Federal Railroad Administration to develop a new plan for railroad safety oversight that focuses on the most frequent causes of accidents.
Shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. rose 84 cents to close at $77.83, while shares of CSX Corp. added 69 cents to finish at $37, Union Pacific Corp. stock advanced $1.29 to $97.50 and shares of Norfolk Southern Corp. rose $1.08 to $47.68. All trade on the New York Stock Exchange.