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Train Accident Statistics
Houston may be a largely car-dependent city, but there is no denying that it is still a hub for mass transit. Here is some information on train accident statistics in Texas. If you or a loved one has been injured in a train accident, please contact our experienced Houston train accident lawyer today to schedule a free consultation.
Train Accident Statistics
Every form of mass transit carries with it a risk of accident, and Houston’s many rail systems, while well maintained and well managed, are not invulnerable. METRORail trains have gained a bit of notoriety since their rollout for their involvement in collisions with other motor vehicles. Because the Metropolitan Transit Authority chose to build the METRORail system as an above-ground light rail, as opposed to as a subway, Metro conductors have to coordinate with passenger and commercial vehicle drivers, and that coordination is not automatic. Many collisions between cars and METRORail trains stem from the cars’ drivers making illegal turns rather than from the conductors’ own doing, but that detail does nothing to change the fact that the accident rate of Houston’s “Wham-Bam Tram” is several times the national average.
Train Accident Statistics
At the state level, Texas’s railroads do not fare much better. In the year 2016, Texas ranked first in the United States in the number of accidents occurring at highway–railroad grade crossings, which are intersections between train tracks and roadways. Of the more than 2000 collisions that occurred that year between trains and cars, trucks, or pedestrians, about 11 percent happened within Texas’s expansive borders. Because Texas is continuing to dramatically expand economically and in population, despite the safety measures that train companies incorporate, this startling statistic may increase in the years to come.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a train derailment or other accident in Texas, call our experienced Houston train accident lawyer Hector Longoria today to schedule a free consultation.
