Railroads and their regulators thwart safety fixes, costing lives

Source: Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, via the Associated Press

U.S. News
Railroads and their regulators thwart safety fixes, costing lives


1 of 2 | In this Sept. 27, 2021, file photo, workers stand near train tracks next to overturned cars from an Amtrak train that derailed near Joplin, Mont. (AP photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
{The photo came from the report, not the AP article.}

By CAT MURPHY, HALEY PARSLEY, JOSEPHINE JOHNSON, MOLECULE JONGWILAI / Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, University of Maryland and Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
Updated 12:00 AM EST, January 12, 2026

Human errors and track defects caused more than 3,000 rail accidents over the last decade, killing 23 people and injuring nearly 1,200. Yet federal railroad regulators failed to implement most of the safety recommendations that emerged from accident investigations.

That's according to an original analysis by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland.

Behind those numbers, the Howard Center found, is a powerful industry that uses its money and influence to stymie federal safety reforms. It's actively lobbying President Donald Trump's administration to further reduce track inspection and repair requirements and loosen rules aimed at preventing crew fatigue.

The center's analysis of data from the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates major accidents and recommends safety improvements, found it gave federal railroad regulators 81 recommendations from 2015 through 2024. The Federal Railroad Administration has only fully implemented five of them -- the lowest rate of any regulatory agency in the Department of Transportation. ... Three of the lingering safety recommendations came out of a 2021 derailment of Amtrak's Empire Builder passenger train in Joplin, Montana.

{snip}

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University of Maryland reporters Mary Burke, Taylor Nichols, Adriana Navarro and April Quevedo contributed reporting and data analysis for this story.

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This story was produced by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland, whose work is funded by a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation in honor of journalism pioneer Roy W. Howard.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/railroad-investigation-crash-analysis-safety-fixes-dbe773c97ba11e6d36fdc1c976423b51

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This does not have Josh Fund's byline. That's unusual, as he covers railroads for the Associated Press.

Hat tip, WTOP

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The report itself is an analysis. The release of the report is the news part.

https://cnsmaryland.org/2025/12/16/railroads-and-regulators-thwart-safety-fixes-for-years-costing-lives/

Off the rails
Railroads and regulators thwart safety fixes for years, costing lives