List Of Rail Accidents (2000–2009)

This is a list of rail accidents from 2000 to 2009.

2000

* January 4, 2000 – ''Norway'' – Åsta accident, Åsta in Åmot: Two diesel passenger trains collided in Rørosbanen killing 19. The fire after the collision lasted nearly six hours.
* February 6, 2000 – ''Germany'' – Brühl train derailment: The ''D 203'' "Schweiz-Express" train travelling from Amsterdam to Basel negotiates a low speed turnout at three times the correct speed and derails near Brühl station, killing 9 people.
*March 2, 2000 – ''Denmark'' – Kølkær. Two regional trains heading to Herning and Vejle collided in Kolkær station. The train to Herning had entered the station and was slowing down, when it was hit head-on by the oncoming Vejle train at 116 km/h. 1 passenger in the Herning train and both train drivers were killed, 10 passengers were seriously injured. The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by the driver of the Vejle train, who had completely ignored stop signals.
* March 8, 2000 – ''Japan'' – Naka-Meguro derailment: The last car of a TRTA Hibiya Line train derails and is hit by a Tobu Railway train traveling in the opposite direction; five people died and 63 were injured.
* March 28, 2000 – ''United States'' – A school bus failed to stop at a crossbuck in Tennga, GA and drove into the path of an oncoming CSX train and was struck. Multiple injuries and fatalities. Crew suffered emotional trauma/shock due to incident.
* June 6, 2000 – ''Switzerland'' – A passenger train and a freight train collide at Hüswil. One person was killed.
* July 6, 2000 - France - In Paris, France, a Eurostar Train derailed due to a fault on the train track, 6 people were injured.
* July 13, 2000 – ''Canada'' – A Canadian National train heading westbound pulling grain hoppers hit a semi-trailer that had become stuck at a level crossing west of Wainwright, Alberta. The two locomotives and 28 cars derailed. The train crew suffered only minor injuries after jumping from the train prior to the collision.
* August 26, 2000 – ''United States'' – A Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern train bound for Central South Dakota was derailed in Brookings, South Dakota, killing the conductor and severely injuring the engineer. The accident was caused intentionally by a vandal who broke the lock off of a railroad switch using a hammer and covering the warning reflector with at least one trash bag. The suspect called it a 'prank.'
* October 17, 2000 – ''United Kingdom'' – Hatfield rail crash, Hertfordshire: As a GNER London to Leeds InterCity 225 express passes at , a faulty rail shatters into 300 pieces because of a condition known asrolling contact fatigue. Four people are killed and 102 injured. This rail failure forces the biggest and most expensive re-railing exercise in British history, with huge service disruption for many months. Infrastructure owner Railtrack is found guilty in one of the longest rail-related trials in UK legal history, but manslaughter charges against company managers are not sustained.

* November 1, 2000 – ''United Kingdom'' – An EWS travelling post office runs away for more than 3 miles, despite the driver's actions in trying to stop it, and collides with a freight train at , Bristol.
* November 11, 2000 – ''Austria'' – Kaprun disaster: The Gletscherbahn 2 funicular train catches fire in a tunnel when an unsafely installed heater overheats. 155 people are killed and 12 survive.
* December 2, 2000 – ''India'' – Sarai Banjara rail disaster, a crowded commuter train crashes into a derailed freight train in Punjab. More than 45 people die.

2001

* January 12, 2001 – ''Republic of the Congo'' – Nvoungouti: More than 30 people die when two trains collide because of a brake failure at Nvoungouti.
* February 7, 2001 – ''Canada'' – Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Northland Railway's ''Northlander'' passenger train derails in the Don Valley near the Bayview Extension and Pottery Road area. 2 of the 23 passengers are injured slightly.
* February 28, 2001 – ''United Kingdom'' – Selby rail crash: A sleep-deprived driver on the M62 motorway falls asleep at the wheel, causing his Land Rover to swerve off the road. It travels down an embankment onto the main line below. After failing to reverse off the track, he exits the vehicle, and while he contacts emergency services, it is hit by a GNER InterCity 225 passenger train, which derails and collides at high speed with a coal train traveling in the opposite direction. 10 people are killed (all due to the second collision) and over 80 are injured. The Land Rover driver is later jailed for 5 years for causing death by dangerous driving.
* March 27, 2001 – ''Belgium'' – Pécrot rail crash: Two passenger trains collide on the same track. 8 people die and 12 are injured. Lack of common language a factor.
* April 12, 2001 – ''Canada'' – Stewiacke Via derailment: a teenager tampers with a track switch, derailing Via Rail Canada's ''Ocean''. As many as 22 people are injured in the resulting crash.
* May 15, 2001 – ''United States'' – CSX 8888 incident, Toledo, Ohio: A CSX freight train of 47 cars, including some with hazardous molten phenol acid, runs away in the yard at Toledo with no engineer aboard. The engineer had stepped out to reset a switch but had improperly applied the dynamic brake, causing the train to accelerate. Multiple locals attempt to jump on and stop it, but chicken out as they see the speed of the train. It runs for to Kenton, Ohio, before being stopped by a railroad worker who jumps aboard and manages to stop it. CSX had slowed the train down to by coupling an engine onto the end. This incident was dubbed the "Crazy Eights" incident in reference to the lead locomotive's number (#8888). The incident inspired the Tony Scott film '' Unstoppable'', starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.
* June 21, 2001 – ''India'' – Kadalundi train derailment: Six carriages of the ''Mangalore-Chennai Mail'' train derail while crossing Bridge 924 after it shifted following heavy rain. Three carriages plunge into the swollen Kadalundi River, killing 59 people.
* July 18, 2001 – ''United States'' – Howard Street Tunnel fire, Baltimore, Maryland: A 60-car CSX train carrying chemicals and wood products derails in a tunnel under Baltimore, causing water contamination and a fire that burns for six days.
* July 29, 2001 – ''United States'' – An Amtrak Texas Eagle carrying 174 passengers and 12 engineers (in 2 locomotives with unknown unit numbers, and 19 Amtrak cars including baggage cars) from San Antonio to Chicago derailed in Sabula, Missouri, located 120 miles away from St. Louis, possibly due to severe weather and flash flooding. Prior to the derailment, the National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for Iron County, where the derailment occurred. 4 passengers and the engineer were reported injured and taken to the hospital.
* August 19, 2001 – ''Sri Lanka'' – Kurunegala train crash: 15 people die when the ''Udarata Menike'' train derails due of speeding and overcrowding.
* September 2, 2001 – ''Indonesia'' – Cirebon: A passenger train and a locomotive collide, killing 40 people and seriously injuring 37.
* September 11, 2001 – ''United States'' – Amtrak Texas Eagle derails.
* September 11, 2001 – ''United States'' – The September 11 attacks forced to stop various full rail networks, including but not limited to the New York City Subway, the Long Island Rail Road, the Washington Metro, and Amtrak (''see main article'').
* September 13, 2001 – ''United States'' – Wendover, Utah: The westbound California Zephyr derails after striking a coal train. There were no fatalities, but several injuries.
* November 8, 2001 – ''Russia'' – A nuclear waste train from Bulgaria crashes at midnight between the Krasnoyarsk and Kemerovo on the Trans-Siberian railway. 14 of the 20 tanker-wagons derail and the line is closed for about 12 hours. One kilometre of track is damaged.
* November 15, 2001 – ''United States'' – Michigan: Canadian National train E243 running from Flat Rock, MI to Flint, MI collided with another CN train, L533 (bound for Detroit), at the Andersonville Siding on CN's Holly Subdivision. The engineer and conductor on E243 were killed in the accident, and a memorial to them has been erected at Durand Union Station in Durand, MI.
* December 7, 2001 — ''United States'' – Wyoming: Two BNSF trains collide head-on in Arminto, Wyoming, killing the engineer of the moving train.
* December 18, 2001 – ''Greece'' – Orestiada: 1 death results when a train becomes stuck in a snow drift and derails at the town of Orestiada, near the Bulgarian border. Temperatures fall to −20° C.

2002

* January 18, 2002 – ''United States'' – Minot train derailment: A Canadian Pacific train derails at 01:40 CST near a residential area west of Minot. Seven of 15 tank cars rupture, releasing more than 750,000 liters (200,000 US gallons) of anhydrous ammonia which vaporizes in the sub-zero air, forming a toxic cloud that drifts over much of Minot. One man dies and numerous others are treated for chemical exposure.
* February 6, 2002 – ''South Africa'' – 2002 Charlotte's Dale train collision: Two commuter trains collide in Charlotte's Dale near Durban. 22 people die, including 16 children.
* February 20, 2002 – ''Egypt'' – 2002 El Ayyat railway accident: A train packed to double capacity catches fire after a cooking gas cylinder explodes, killing 383 people.
* February 21, 2002 – ''Switzerland'' – A freight train and a locomotive collide at Chiasso. Two people are killed and three are injured.
* February 27, 2002 – ''India'' – Godhra train burning – A Muslim mob sets fire to a Sabarmati Express train, killing 59 people, mainly Hindu pilgrims and karesvaks returning from Ayodhya. The accident led to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
* March 30, 2002 - Spain - In Catalonia, Spain, a Euromed Express Train collides with another Euromed Express Train making many train cars crushed, 2 people were killed and 100 people were injured.
* April 18, 2002 – ''United States'' – Crescent City, Florida: 21 cars of an Amtrak Auto-Train derail near Crescent City. Four people were killed and 142 others were injured. The National Transportation Safety Board initial accident report finds that the ECP brakes purchased for the train were not functioning: the final report determines that the accident was caused by a hot-weather "sun kink" misalignment of the track due to inadequate CSX maintenance-of-way, and stated that equipment and track damages totaled about $8.3 million.
* April 23, 2002 – ''United States'' – 2002 Placentia train collision, In Placentia, California: A BNSF freight train, which ran a stop signal, collides head-on with a Metrolink train in Placentia, near the Atwood Junction, at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Van Buren Street. Two people die in the crash and twenty-two are seriously injured.
* May 10, 2002 – ''United Kingdom'' – 2002 Potters Bar rail accident: A northbound WAGN Class 365 train derails at high speed; 7 people die, 11 seriously injured.
* May 13, 2002 – ''India'' – 2002 Jaunpur train crash: 12 people die when a passenger train derails and crashes in Uttar Pradesh. It is insinuated that the train was sabotaged.
* May 28, 2002 — ''United States'' — A BNSF coal train and intermodal train collided head-on near the small town of Clarendon, Texas, resulting in the death of the engineer of the intermodal train and the injuries of the coal train's crew and the intermodal train's conductor. It was revealed that the coal train's crew was distracted by their cell phones, ultimately causing their train to collide with the intermodal train.
* May 30, 2002 – ''United States'' – Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: a freight train of mostly empty cars strikes a vehicle at an ungated crossing, killing two teenagers and injuring two others. Crossing is permanently closed after the accident.
* June 13, 2002 – ''Sri Lanka'' – Train derails whilst coming into Alawwa station, killing 14 people.
* June 24, 2002 – ''Tanzania'' – Igandu train collision: Nearly 300 people die when a passenger train rolls backwards into a goods train.
* July 20, 2002 – ''Italy'' – Rometta Marea derailment: The Palermo–Venice train derails in Rometta Marea, Messina, Italy, killing eight people.
* July 29, 2002 – ''United States'' – Kensington, Maryland: The eastbound Amtrak Capitol Limited, train 30, while traversing a CSX route, strikes a sun kink at 1:55 PM while traveling at 60 mph (100 km/h) near milepost 11.78. Several cars go down an embankment and four Superliners overturn against trees. 16 people are seriously injured and 79 people suffer from minor injuries. The misalignment was determined to be caused by an improperly tamped ballast and excessive speed in the 96 °F (35 °C) sunny weather. "Slow orders" were imposed on passenger trains in the area on very hot days following this accident."Investigators probe whether heat caused Amtrak train derailment"
USA Today. July 30, 2002.
* September 9, 2002 – ''Germany'' – Bad Münder: Two freight trains collide head-on after a brake failure on one of the trains. A tank car loaded with 1-chloro-2,3-epoxypropane explodes, contaminating the station and exposing 96 firemen to carcinogenic fumes.
* September 9, 2002 – ''India'' – Rafiganj train wreck: More than 130 people die when a passenger train derails and falls into the Dhave River in Bihar because of sabotaged tracks.

* September 15 – ''United States'' – 2002 Farragut derailment: A Norfolk Southern freight train derails in Farragut, Tennessee, resulting in a hazardous materials release of fuming sulfuric acid and evacuation of more than 2,600 nearby residents for nearly three days. Damage was estimated at just over one million USD.
* September 27, 2002 – ''United States'' – Jamaica, New York: Three cars of a JFK Airtrain test train derail near Federal Circle. The train's lone occupant, a train operator testing the automated equipment, is crushed to death by the cement blocks inside the first car. The cement blocks were used to evenly distribute the weight inside the car, simulating the weight of customers when in passenger service. When the train derailed, the cement blocks collapsed onto the operator.
* October 13, 2002 – ''Australia'' – Benalla level crossing collision, Victoria: A heritage train hauled by K class steam locomotive K 183 collides with a B-Double truck that failed to clear the level crossing. The impact causes the locomotive to derail, rolling onto its side, and the locomotive's tender to be forced into the locomotive's cab. Three of the four people in the cab at the time of the collision are killed and one critically injured.
* November 6, 2002 – ''France'' – Nancy: A fire breaks out in the front two carriages of an overnight sleeper train heading from Paris to Vienna. 12 passengers die of smoke inhalation, 9 are injured.
*November 7, 2002 – ''Denmark'' – Holte: An empty S-train turning around at Holte did not brake in time and drove into the path of another S-train heading to Køge station. A woman was killed and 3 passengers were injured, 2 more seriously.

2003

* January 3, 2003 – ''India'' – Ghatnandur train crash: 18 people die in the collision of two trains at Ghatnandur in Maharashtra

* January 10, 2003 – China – Shandong, Tengzhou: when the 1227 passenger train from Fuxin to Shanghai undertaken by Shenyang Railway Bureau Jinzhou Passenger Transport Section started from Beijing–Shanghai railway Tengzhou, seven passengers Foodborne illness suddenly died, one of them, Mr. Ma, due to ineffective rescue. The cause of the accident was that the head of the dining car of 1227 passenger trains mistook a bag of Sodium nitrite for White sugar and gave it to Ms. Su, the dining car attendant who sold milk, She told Ms. Su that White sugar can be added when preparing milk, and then Ms. Su sold the milk with Sodium nitrite added to passengers, which caused the accident. The dining car captain and waitress Ms. Su of 1227 passenger train were expelled from the railway and handed over to the judicial authorities for criminal responsibility on suspicion of Negligent homicide. The section chief, secretary, deputy section chief in charge, train captain, secretary, conductor on duty, and police chief of Shenyang Railway Bureau Jinzhou Passenger Depot also received corresponding administrative punishment.
* January 31, 2003 – ''Australia'' – Waterfall rail accident: The driver of a southbound passenger train suffers a heart attack and dies; the train speeds out of control and derails on a curve, overturning several cars; 6 passengers die.
* February 2, 2003 – ''Zimbabwe'' – Dete train crash. Two trains collide, derailing and catching fire, killing over 40 people.
* February 3, 2003 – ''Australia'' – Broadmeadows train runaway and crash, Melbourne, Victoria: An unmanned electric suburban train rolls away from Broadmeadows station and runs for 16.848 kilometres at speeds in excess of 100 km/h through many pedestrian and level crossings before crashing into a stationary Diesel passenger train at Southern Cross station derailing both. No serious injuries result from this incident.
* February 18, 2003 – ''South Korea'' – Daegu subway fire: A mentally ill man starts a fire which engulfs two subway trains, killing 192 people.
* March 20, 2003 – ''Netherlands'' – Roermond: The driver of an NS passenger train suffers a heart attack, runs through a red signal, collides head-on with a freight train; the driver is killed, six passengers are injured seriously. After passing a distant signal at danger the automatic safety system did not enforce a deceleration large enough to prevent a collision.
* May 6, 2003 – ''United States'' – The ''Savannah Morning News'' reported that Amtrak's Silver Star struck a delivery truck at a private crossing near Hinesville, Georgia killing the engineer and the truck driver.
* May 15, 2003 – ''India'' – Ladhowal train fire: A passenger train catches fire, 38 people die near Ladhowal in the Punjab.
* June 3, 2003 – ''Spain'' – Chinchilla train collision: 19 people die when a TALGO train and a freight train collide head-on in Albacete, Southern Spain.
* June 11, 2003 – ''Germany'' – 6 people die and 25 are injured when two passenger trains collide head-on near Schrozberg.
* June 20, 2003 – ''United States'' – Commerce, California: A runaway cut of 31 cars from a Union Pacific freight train, without a locomotive, carrying lumber derails at a speed of in a Los Angeles suburb, destroying several homes and rupturing natural gas lines.
* June 23, 2003 – ''India'' – Vaibhavwadi train crash: 51 people die when a special holiday train derails in Maharashtra.
* July 2, 2003 – ''India'' – Warangal train crash: 22 people die when a train's brakes fail and it falls off a bridge into a crowded fish market in Warangal.
* July 7, 2003 – ''United Kingdom'' – Between Evesham and Pershore, Worcestershire, a First Great Western train collides with a minibus on a level crossing, killing 3 people in the minibus.
* August 3, 2003 – ''United Kingdom'' – A Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway steam train hits a car driven across the level crossing. Steam train driver dies, car driver with passenger and some train passengers are injured.
* August 5, 2003 – China – Heilongjiang, Shuangcheng: the SS9 electric locomotive 0069 locomotive of Shenyang Railway Bureau Shenyang locomotive depot pulled the T184 passenger train from Harbin to Hankou to the up line k209+700m between Wujia and An'xi of Beijing–Harbin railway and collided with two cows rushing onto the railway. The accident caused two cows to die on the spot. The connecting pipe of the lower oil tank of an air-conditioning generator behind the machine broke, causing fuel leakage, and the up line driving was interrupted for 27 minutes.
* August 7, 2003 – ''Switzerland'' – Two trains collide at Gsteigwiler. One person is killed and 63 are injured.
* October 12, 2003 – ''United States'' – Chicago, Illinois: A Metra train carrying 350 passengers derails after its engineer ignores warning signals telling him to slow down for a track change and continues travelling at over a switch. Front locomotive rolls onto its side and catches fire. 45 injured. The engineer is not terminated and continues to work for Metra. This occurs in the same spot and for the same reasons as the 2005 Metra crash.
* October 14, 2003 – ''Ireland'' – Cahir, County Tipperary. A freight train derails as it is passing over the River Suir, destroying the viaduct. The line is closed until September 2004.
* October 14, 2003 – ''Switzerland'' – Two express trains collide at Zürich Oerlikon railway station. One person is killed and 45 are injured.
* December 18, 2003 – ''United States'' – 13 cars on a 96-car CSX freight train from Richmond to Philadelphia derail in Alexandria, Virginia.

2004

* February 15, 2004 – ''United Kingdom'' – Tebay rail accident, Cumbria, England. A sleeper (railroad tie) transporter trolley with defective brakes carrying 16 tonnes of rails becomes detached from a maintenance train south of Penrith and rolls down the falling gradient until it strikes and kills 4 workmen in a team repairing the line at Tebay, between Oxenholme and Penrith. The owner of the sleeper transporter truck (a contractor working for Network Rail) is prosecuted.
* February 18, 2004 – ''Iran'' – Nishapur train disaster: 51 train cars break loose from their siding, roll down the track, derail and roll down an embankment into Khayyam, near Nishapur. During the cleanup operation, the cargo of the cars explode (an equivalent of 180 tons of TNT), killing 295 people and leveling Khayyam and damaging three nearby towns. The blast is felt as far away as Mashhad.
*February 21, 2004 – ''Denmark'' – Tommerup Stationsby