According to statistics from Eurostat, the European statistics office, the risk of a fatal rail accident in France is two points below the European average, France being the third country on the continent in terms of rail safety. , behind the United Kingdom and Germany, in terms of the importance of its national network.
Every year in France, 70 to 100 people die in a train accident, according to Eurostat data. At European Union level, more than 1,200 people per year lose their lives in such accidents. These figures include road-related fatalities at level crossings. Another almost daily source, that of suicides where the train is not a cause, but a means.
According to the German Federal Statistical Office, the most dangerous means of transport is undoubtedly the car (276 injured and 2.9 killed per billion kilometers travelled), followed by the bus (74 injured and 0.17 killed), tram (42 injured and 0.16 killed) and train (2.7 injured and 0.04 killed). The airliner presented maximum safety by posting 0.3 injuries and almost no fatalities per billion kilometers traveled to the point that the main danger of air travel is presented by the car journey to the airport…
International railway regulations mainly identify five railway risks (excluding terrorist attacks). The nose-to-nose, head-on collision between two trains, as is the case with the Greek drama, is the result of human error. Overtaking is also a case of collision when a train hits another in front of it (which may be stationary) from behind. The side-spin happens at a lane intersection. The derailment can be caused by a lack of maintenance, as in the case of the Brétigny accident in 2013. The rolling stock can also be involved (broken axle, brake failure). The excessive speed was observed during the derailment of the test TGV in 2015 in Alsace. The obstacle on the track can be a vehicle, a mudslide, a drifting wagon or train (unbraked).
More rare are accidents due to meteorology such as high winds. But the most serious accident in world rail history occurred in Sri Lanka when a train carrying between 1,500 and 1,700 passengers was swept away by a tsunami following the December 2004 earthquake.
