People tend to think that train travel is safer than any other modes of travel. According to data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), via Journalists Resource, derailment rates declined 10 by percent in 2016 from 2015. Track-caused accident rates are also at all-time lows. By assessing the disasters that have happened in the past, the engineers and other concerned authorities have been able to come up with strategies that improved the safety of railway transport.

Rail accidents involve either mechanical problems, trains colliding on the same track, or trains derailing off the track.

A train accident takes a life of its own as it is wholly unstoppable and unmanageable. Here are the worst train accidents that have ever happened in U.S history.

1. Malbone Street Wreck

This accident occurred on November 1, 1918. A train traveling towards Prospect Park station derailed in the tunnel below the Malbone Street. The primary cause of the crash was over speeding as the train was doing over 30 Miles Per Hour on six miles per hour track. According to the Malbone rail authority, the accident claimed 102 lives and is considered the worst train accident in America’s history.

2. June 22, 2009: Washington, D.C.

This accident happened on June 22, 2009, and involved a Metrorail train. It claimed at least six lives and 70 other people were injured.

A computer-driven train slammed into the back of another train near Fort Totten station. The primary cause of the accident was as a result of electronic faults.

3. December 1, 2013: Bronx, New York

A Metro-North Railroad passenger train derailed on a sharp curve approaching the Spuyten-Duyvil station. According to NTSB investigation, the accident claimed four lives, and at least 61 others were injured.

The main cause of the crash was over-speeding.

4. February 3, 2015: Valhalla, New York

This accident involved an SUV and a Metro train. A northbound passenger train crashed into an SUV. The NTSB report revealed that the crashed caused fire that consumed the SUV and the first train car. All five people in the SUV died on the spot, and at least 12 train passengers were injured.

The report failed to point out the cause of the accident.

5. May 12, 2015: Philadelphia

An eastbound train derailed when traveling at speeds above 100 miles per hour on a 50 mile-per-hour speed limit track. According to Federals official, the accident claimed eight lives and injured more than 200 people. The cause of the crash was purely human error and speeding.
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