Classification of railway accidents, both in terms of cause and effect, is a valuable aid in studying rail

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 (and other) accident

Accident

An accident or mishap is an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance, often with lack of intention or necessity. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its...

s to help to prevent similar ones occurring in future. Systematic investigation for over 150 years has led to the railways' excellent safety record (compared, for example, with road transport

Road transport

Road transport or road transportation is transport on roads of passengers or goods. A hybrid of road transport and ship transport is the historic horse-drawn boat.-History:...

).

Ludwig von Stockert (1913) proposed a classification of accidents by their effects (consequences); e.g. head-on collision

Head-on collision

A head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision.-Rail transport:...

s, rear-end collision

Rear-end collision

A rear-end collision is a traffic accident wherein a vehicle crashes into the vehicle in front of it, usually caused by tailgating or panic stops...

s, derailment

Derailment

A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....

s. Schneider and Mase (1971) proposed an additional classification by causes; e.g. driver's errors, signalmen

Signalman (rail)

A signalman or signaller is an employee of a railway transport network who operates the points and signals from a signal box in order to control the movement of trains.- History :...

's errors, mechanical faults. Similar categorisations had been made by implication in previous books e.g. Rolt (1956), but Stockert's and Schneider/Mase's are more systematic and complete. With minor changes, they represent best knowledge.

Classification of rail accidents by effects

Collisions

• Head-on collision
  Head-on collision
  A head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision.-Rail transport:...
  
  
• Rear collision
  Rear-end collision
  A rear-end collision is a traffic accident wherein a vehicle crashes into the vehicle in front of it, usually caused by tailgating or panic stops...
  
  
• Collisions with buffer stops
• Obstructions on the line (road vehicles, landslide
  Landslide
  A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
  
  s, avalanche
  Avalanche
  An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
  
  s)

Derailment

Derailment

A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....

s

• Plain track
• Curves
• Junctions
  Junction (rail)
  A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
  
  

Other

• Fires and explosion
  Explosion
  An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
  
  s (including sabotage
  Sabotage
  Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
  
  /terrorism
  Terrorism
  Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
  
  )
• Falls from trains, collisions with people on tracks

Classification of rail accidents by causes

Drivers' errors

• Passing signals at danger
  Signal passed at danger
  A Signal passed at danger , in British railway terminology, occurs when a train passes a stop signal without authority to do so. It is a term primarily used within the British Railway Industry, although it can be applied worldwide.-Categories of SPAD:...
  
  
• Excessive speed
• Mishandling engine (e.g. boiler explosion
  Boiler explosion
  A boiler explosion is a catastrophic failure of a boiler. As seen today, boiler explosions are of two kinds. One kind is over-pressure in the pressure parts of the steam and water sides. The second kind is explosion in the furnace. Boiler explosions of pressure parts are particularly associated...
  
  s)

Signalmen's

Signalman (rail)

A signalman or signaller is an employee of a railway transport network who operates the points and signals from a signal box in order to control the movement of trains.- History :...

 errors

• Allowing two trains into same occupied block section
• Incorrect operation of signal
  Railway signal
  A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly...
  
  s, points
  Railroad switch
  A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
  
   or token
  Token (railway signalling)
  In railway signalling, a token is a physical object which a locomotive driver is required to have or see before entering onto a particular section of single track. The token is clearly endorsed with the name of the section it belongs to...
  
   equipment

Mechanical failure of rolling stock

Rolling stock

Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

• Poor design
  Design
  Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
  
  
• Poor maintenance

Civil engineering failure

• Track
  Rail tracks
  The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
  
   (permanent way) faults
• Bridge and tunnel
  Tunnel
  A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
  
   collapses

Acts of other people

• Other railway personnel (shunters, porter
  Porter (railroad)
  A porter is a railway employee assigned to assist passengers aboard a passenger train or to handle their baggage; it may be used particularly to refer to employees assigned to assisting passengers in the sleeping cars....
  
  s, etc.)
• Non-railway personnel
• Accidental
• Deliberate (vandalism
  Vandalism
  Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
  
  , terrorism
  Terrorism
  Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
  
  , suicide
  Suicide
  Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
  
  )
• Trespassing

Contributory factors

• Strength of rolling stock
  Rolling stock
  Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
  
  
• Fire
  Fire
  Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
  
  s resulting from accidents
• Effectiveness of brake
  Brake
  A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....
  
  s
• Poor track or junction
  Junction (rail)
  A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
  
  layout
• Inadequate rules
• Level crossing misuse