How Many Crashes Has Amtrak Had Recently? See a Complete List Here

Amtrak crashes

Trooper Brook Bova An Amtrak derailment from December

An Amtrak train collided with a freight train in South Carolina early this morning around 2:30 a.m., leaving at least 70 people injured and two people dead. But this isn’t the first time Amtrak has had a major crash that caught national headlines. Just how many crashes has Amtrak had recently? This is the fifth Amtrak crash in two months, and the third major crash. Here is a list of how many Amtrak trains have crashed recently.


Today’s Crash in South Carolina Was Between an Amtrak Train and a Freight Train

Lexington Sheriff\’s DepartmentThe Amtrak crash

Today’s crash happened when a CSX freight train collided with an Amtrak Silver Service train. Several passenger cars derailed after the collision. There were 139 people on board the Amtrak train and eight crew members. More than 70 people were injured and two people were killed in the crash. The crash happened around 2:30 a.m., but the cause of the collision has not yet been determined.


Another Amtrak Train Crashed Just a Few Days Ago While Transporting Republican Members of Congress

This isn’t the only fatal crash to happen with Amtrak this week. Another crash happened  on January 31 when a train transporting several members of Congress and their families was hit by a garbage truck around 11:30 a.m. Eastern. The garbage truck appeared to be stuck on the tracks. The crash happened while the train was traveling through Albemarle County, Virginia. At least five people were injured and one person died in the crash. The person who died, Christopher Foley, was riding as a passenger in the garbage truck, and two other people in the truck were injured. Some passengers on the Amtrak train were thrown from their seats and suffered minor bumps and bruises, Fox News reported. Amtrak said in a statement that there were no injuries on the Amtrak train. However, Congressman Marshall’s wife, Laina, tweeted that her husband, a doctor, performed CPR on the train’s conductor. There were 380 people on board the train. Official reports later indicated that the engineer applied the brakes and tried to stop the train before it hit the truck. The train was traveling 61 mph and the speed limit at the grade crossing was 60 mph.


In December, an Amtrak Derailed on I-5 Near Tacoma

On December 18, an Amtrak 501 train derailed while heading southbound on its inaugural run near Tacoma, Washington. The train crumped onto I-5. At least three people were killed in the crash, which happened at 7:30 a.m. Another 10 people had serious injuries, 4 moderate, and 9 minor. Some motorists on I-5 were also among the injured.  The train was carrying 80 passengers and five crew members. According to CBS, the tracks had been used for freight traffic and were rebuilt to carry a new 79 mph Amtrak cascades route. The mayor of a nearby Washington city had warned that a tragedy might happen just two weeks earlier. It was later revealed that the train had been traveling 80 mph on a 30 mph stretch of track, according to federal investigators.


On January 16, a Car Collided with an Amtrak Train in Dixon, California

On January 16 of this year, a driver died in Dixon, California after his car collided with Amtrak Capitol Corridor Train 532.. The collision happened after 3 p.m. at the Batavia Road crossing west of Dixon. There were 55 passengers on the train and no injuries to passengers or crew.


On January 14, an Amtrak Train Hit an SUV That Tried to Pass a Lowered Crossing Gate

And on January 14, a husband and a wife were killed in Whitakers, North Carolina when an Amtrak train hit an SUV that had gone around a lowered crossing gate. Police said the driver had tried to beat the train after the arms were lowered, and the Amtrak Train 89 hit them around 2:20 p.m. Eugene and Dorothy Lyons were killed; Eugene was a well-known pastor in the area.


Here Are Additional Crashes That Happened Since June 2017

Moving past the last two months, these additional crashes happened in recent years, reported by Patch.com and other sources. Here are additional major crashes between 2010 and 2017.

  • June 27, 2017: A train in Washington D.C. traveling south toward Union Station hit and killed two CSX workers. They were checking a technical issue at the time of the crash.
  • June 26, 2017: An Amtrak passenger train hit a van and killed five people in Trinidad, Colorado. No one on the train was hurt.
  • April 3, 2016: An Amtrak train with more than 300 passengers hit a backhoe outside of Philadelphia. Two workers were killed and 35 people were injured.
  • May 12, 2015: An Amtrak passenger train, the Northeast Regional, traveling from D.C. to New York derailed north of Philadelphia. Eight people were killed. The train had been traveling more than 100 mph and flipped. The NTSB found that the driver was distracted and didn’t realize the train was traveling at 100 mph around a curve when it should have been traveling at 50 mph.
  • June 23, 2014: A train with 200 people hit a car and derailed. Three people in the car died. This was near Boston.
  • November 29, 2012: In Orlando, a train crashed into a dump truck. The driver was killed and seven people were injured.
  • July 11, 2011: In North Berwick, Maine, a train hit a garbage truck that was stuck on the crossing and the driver was killed.
  • June 24, 2011: A train traveling from Chicago to California was hit by a tractor trailer east of Reno, Nevada. Six people were killed. The NTSB found that the driver was not paying attention and didn’t brake properly.

If you want to go even further into the past, here are the crashes that killed 10 people or more prior to 20oo, according to Patch.com. It seems Amtrak did not have any major crashes between 2003 and 2001. But Amtrak’s worst crash in history was in 1993.

  • March 15, 1999: In Bourbonnais, Illinois, a passenger train derailed after hitting a semi truck. Thirteen people were killed. The truck driver was at fault, but there was also a track circuit malfunction.
  • February 16, 1996: In Silver Spring, Maryland, 11 people were killed after an Amtrak and MARC train collided. The MARC train had not stopped in time.
  • September 23, 1993: This crash in Mobile, Alabama is the worst crash for Amtrak. 47 people died after a train crossed a bridge at 70 mph and the bridge collapsed.
  • January 4, 1987: In Chase, Maryland, 16 people died after multiple trains collided from not stopping at signals.