Casualties in railway accidents

Four people died in railway accidents in 2023. The number is the same as the year before and very similar to that in the period 2018–2020. In 2017 and 2021, the number of fatalities was clearly higher than in other years, which was related to a higher number of fatalities in level crossing accidents compared to other years. Of the persons killed in railway accidents in 2023, three died in a level crossing accident and one was accidentally hit by a train. Two of the fatalities in level crossing accidents were drivers and one was a cyclist.

Three people were seriously injured in railway accidents in 2023. All these people were involved in a level crossing accident – two as drivers of vehicles and one as a cyclist. While the number of seriously injured persons is somewhat lower than in previous years, conclusions cannot yet be drawn on the development of safety based on the figures for an individual year.

The following table shows the safety occurrences related to trespassing on railway premises in 2017–2023 compiled by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. Almost invariably, a person trespassing on railway premises being run over by the train leads to the death of that person. Most of these are deliberate. The yearly number of persons being run over by a train has remained on a very similar level for several years, and there is no clear trend visible. In 2021, there were slightly fewer cases of a person being run over than before, but in 2022, the number returned to the previous level. In 2023, the number of incidents involving persons and rolling stock in motion was very similar to the previous year and in 2017–2018. There is no clear explanation for the lower number of cases of a person being run over in 2021 or the lower number of incidents in 2019‒2021. There were clearly fewer cases of trespassing on railway premises reported in 2022 and 2023 than in previous years. Discussions with operators have revealed that the changes in the reported number of cases of trespassing on railway premises reflect a change in the reporting frequency of such incidents rather than the frequency of the incidents themselves. Table also shows that fewer occurrences related to vandalism were reported in 2022 and 2023 than in previous years. However, this does not necessarily mean that vandalism on the rail network is decreasing. The challenges with regard to monitoring cases of vandalism include the frequency of reporting vandalism and the fact that some of the occurrence reports include several cases of vandalism (e.g. occurrences detected during one week).

The prevention of cases of persons being run over by a train and the related cases of trespassing on railway premises as well as unauthorised crossing of the tracks is regularly discussed among the operators in various cooperation groups. In 2019, a cooperation group aiming to prevent persons from being run over by a train started its operations, convened by Traficom; its goals include improving the exchange of information between the different actors and promoting the implementation of research and preventative measures related to the topic. In addition to rail sector operators, participants in this group include representatives of the police, research institutes and the social and healthcare sector. In 2023, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency participated in the implementation of the Voit vielä valita (‘You can still choose’) campaign, which warned of the dangers of climbing on top of rolling stock. In addition, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and VR Group Plc ran a social media campaign with the theme Jätä rata rauhaan (‘Leave the tracks alone’) during the school autumn holidays in 2023. The campaign included, for example, an animation that premiered in 2022 and a game that reminds young people of railway safety.