A survey of United States railway safety based on accident data reported to the Federal Railway Administration over a ten year period with a comparative analysis to a Federal Aviation Administration airplane design safety target

This project is to determine the quantitative current level of railway safety and how it compares to safety in other industries. The approach taken is to examine how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determined a tolerable safety target, and to apply that approach to the railroad industry. By analyzing railroad accident reports collected by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) over a recent ten year period, and apportioning the accidents into groupings based on a fault- or event-tree of the root causes of the accidents, a current level of performed safety can be calculated. A comparison of the airline safety target against the observed railroad safety level will show that the railroads are safer than the airlines.