List of rail accidents (2000–2009)

This is a list of rail accidents from 2000 to 2009. For a list of terrorist incidents involving trains, see List of terrorist incidents involving railway systems.

2000 January 4 – Norway – Åsta accident, Åsta in Åmot Municipality: Two diesel passenger trains collided in Rørosbanen killing 19. The fire after the collision lasted nearly six hours. February 6 – Germany – Brühl train derailment: The D 203 "Schweiz-Express" train travelling from Amsterdam to Basel negotiated a low-speed turnout at three times the correct speed and derailed near Brühl station, killing 9 people. March 2 – Denmark – Kølkær. Two regional trains heading to Herning and Vejle collided in Kolkær station. The train to Herning had entered the station and was slowing down when it was hit head-on by the oncoming Vejle train at 116 km/h. One passenger in the Herning train and both train drivers were killed, 10 passengers were seriously injured. The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by the driver of the Vejle train, who had completely ignored stop signals. March 8 – Japan – Naka-Meguro derailment: The last car of a TRTA Hibiya Line train derailed and was hit by a Tobu Railway train traveling in the opposite direction, killing five people and injuring 63. March 28 – United States – A school bus failed to stop at a crossbuck in Tennga, Georgia and was struck by a CSX train, killing three people. April 18 – Indonesia – In Kosambi, three trains (a container train, an animal transport train and Argo Bromo express train) collided, killing three stowaways on the container train. June 6 – Switzerland – A passenger train and a freight train collided at Hüswil, killing one. July 6 – France – In Paris, a Eurostar Train derailed due to a fault on the train track, injuring six. July 13 – Canada – A Canadian National train heading westbound pulling grain hoppers hit a semi-trailer that had become stuck at a level crossing west of Wainwright, Alberta. The two locomotives and 28 cars derailed. The train crew suffered only minor injuries after jumping from the train prior to the collision http://cnlines.ca/CNcyclopedia/loco/sd40/#CN6012 SD40 – CNRHAhttp://cnlines.ca/CNcyclopedia/loco/sd70/#CN5666 SD70 – CNRHA August 26 – United States – A Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern train derailed in Brookings, South Dakota, killing the conductor and severely injuring the engineer. The crash was caused intentionally by a vandal who broke the lock off of a railroad switch using a hammer and covered the warning reflector with at least one trash bag as part of a 'prank.' October 17 – United Kingdom – Hatfield rail crash – In Hertfordshire, a faulty rail shattered into 300 pieces due to rolling contact fatigue while a GNER London to Leeds InterCity 225 express was passing at . Four people were killed and 102 injured. The crash forced the biggest and most expensive re-railing exercise in British history, with huge service disruption for many months. Infrastructure owner Railtrack was found guilty in one of the longest rail-related trials in UK legal history, but manslaughter charges against company managers were not sustained. November 11 – Austria – Kaprun disaster: The Gletscherbahn 2 funicular train caught fire in a tunnel after an unsafely installed heater overheated, killing 155 people and leaving only 12 survivors. December 2 – India – Sarai Banjara rail disaster, a crowded commuter train crashed into a derailed freight train in Punjab, killing more than 45 people.

2001 January 12 – Republic of the Congo – Nvoungouti: More than 30 people were killed after two trains collided because of a brake failure. February 7 – Canada – Toronto: Ontario Northland Railway's Northlander passenger train derailed in the Don Valley near the Bayview Extension and Pottery Road area, slightly injuring two passengers. February 28 – United Kingdom – Selby rail crash: A sleep-deprived driver on the M62 motorway fell asleep at the wheel, causing his Land Rover to swerve off the road and travel down an embankment onto the main line below. After failing to reverse off the track, the driver exited the vehicle and while contacted emergency services, during which the vehicle was hit by a GNER InterCity 225 passenger train which derailed and collided at high speed with a coal train traveling in the opposite direction. Ten people were killed (all due to the second collision) and over 80 were injured. The Land Rover driver was later jailed for 5 years for causing death by dangerous driving. March 27 – Belgium – Pécrot rail crash: Two passenger trains collided on the same track, killing eight people and injuring 12. Lack of common language was seen as a factor. April 12 – Canada – Stewiacke Via derailment: a teenager tampered with a track switch, derailing Via Rail Canada's Ocean, injuring as many as 22 people. May 15 – United States – CSX 8888 incident, Toledo, Ohio: A CSX freight train of 47 cars, including some with hazardous molten phenol acid, ran away in the yard at Toledo with no engineer aboard. The engineer had stepped out to reset a switch but had improperly applied the dynamic brake, causing the train to accelerate. It ran for to Kenton, Ohio, before being stopped by a railroad worker who jumped aboard and managed to stop it. CSX slowed the train down to by coupling an engine onto the end. This incident was dubbed the "Crazy Eights" incident in reference to the lead locomotive's number (#8888). The incident inspired the 2010 Tony Scott film Unstoppable, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. June 22 – India – Kadalundi train derailment: Six carriages of the Mangalore-Chennai Mail train derailed while crossing Bridge 924 after it shifted following heavy rain. Three carriages plunge into the swollen Kadalundi River, killing 59 people. July 18 – United States – Howard Street Tunnel fire, Baltimore, Maryland: A 60-car CSX train carrying chemicals and wood products derailed in a tunnel, causing water contamination and a fire that burned for six days. July 29 – United States – An Amtrak Texas Eagle en route from San Antonio to Chicago derailed in Sabula, Missouri, located away from St. Louis, possibly due to severe weather and flash flooding. Four passengers and the engineer were injured. August 19 – Sri Lanka – Kurunegala train crash: 15 people died after the Udarata Menike train derailed due to speeding and overcrowding. September 2 – Indonesia – In Cirebon, a passenger train and a locomotive collided, killing 40 people and seriously injuring 37. September 13 – United States – In Wendover, Utah, the westbound California Zephyr derailed after striking a coal train, causing several injuries. November 15 – United States – Canadian National train E243 running from Flat Rock, Michigan to Flint, Michigan collided with another CN train, L533 (bound for Detroit), at the Andersonville Siding on CN's Holly Subdivision in Michigan. The engineer and conductor on E243 were killed. December 7 — United States – A BNSF freight train collided head-on with another BNSF freight train that was parked in a siding in Arminto, Wyoming due to a misaligned switch killing an engineer. December 18 – Greece – In Orestiada, a train got stuck in a snow drift and derailed near the Bulgarian border, killing one person. December 25 - Indonesia - In Brebes, 45 people were killed after a Empu Jaya train collision with Gaya Baru Malam train in Ketanggungan station.

2002 January 18 – United States – Minot train derailment: A Canadian Pacific train derailed near a residential area west of Minot, North Dakota. Seven tank cars ruptured, releasing more than of anhydrous ammonia which vaporized in the sub-zero air and formed a toxic cloud that drifted over much of Minot. One man died and numerous others were treated for chemical exposure. February 6 – South Africa – 2002 Charlotte's Dale train collision: Two commuter trains collided in Charlotte's Dale near Durban, killing 22 people, including 16 children. February 20 – Egypt – 2002 El Ayyat railway accident: A train packed to double capacity caught fire after a cooking gas cylinder exploded, killing 383 people. February 21 – Switzerland – A freight train and a locomotive collided at Chiasso, killing two people and injuring three. March 30 – Spain – In Catalonia, a Euromed Express Train collided with another Euromed Express Train crushing many cars, killing two people and injuring 100. April 18 – United States – Crescent City, Florida: 21 cars of an Amtrak Auto-Train derailed, killing four people and injuring 142. April 23 – United States – 2002 Placentia train collision, In Placentia, California: A BNSF Railway freight train, which ran a stop signal, collided head-on with a Metrolink train near Atwood Junction, at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Van Buren Street. Two people died and 22 were seriously injured. May 10 – United Kingdom – 2002 Potters Bar rail accident: A northbound WAGN Class 365 train derailed at high speed, killing seven people and seriously injuring 11. May 13 – India – 2002 Jaunpur train crash: 12 people died after a passenger train derailed and crashed in Uttar Pradesh in a suspected act of sabotage May 28 — United States — A BNSF coal train and intermodal train collided head-on near Clarendon, Texas, killing the engineer of the intermodal train and injuring the coal train's crew and the intermodal train's conductor. It was revealed that the coal train's crew was distracted by their cell phones, ultimately causing their train to collide with the other train. May 30 – United States – Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: a freight train struck a vehicle at an ungated crossing, killing two teenagers and injuring two others. June 13 – Sri Lanka – A train derailed while coming into Alawwa station, killing 14 people. June 24 – Tanzania – Igandu train collision: Nearly 300 people died after a passenger train rolled backwards into a goods train. July 20 – Italy – Rometta Marea derailment: The Palermo–Venice train derailed in Rometta Marea, Messina, killing eight people. July 29 – United States – Kensington, Maryland: The eastbound Amtrak Capitol Limited, train 30, while traversing a CSX route, struck a sun kink while traveling at . Several cars fell off an embankment and four Superliners overturned against trees. Sixteen people were seriously injured and 79 people suffered minor injuries. The misalignment was determined to be caused by an improperly tamped ballast and excessive speed in the sunny weather. "Slow orders" were imposed on passenger trains in the area on very hot days following this accident."Investigators probe whether heat caused Amtrak train derailment". USA Today. July 30, 2002."NTSB/RAB-04/05 Railroad Accident Brief – Accident Number: DCA-02-MR-005" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. July 29, 2002. September 9 – Germany – Bad Münder: Two freight trains collided head-on after a brake failure on one of the trains. A tank car loaded with 1-chloro-2,3-epoxypropane subsequently exploded, contaminating the station and exposing 96 firemen to carcinogenic fumes. September 9 – India – Rafiganj train wreck: More than 130 people died after a passenger train derailed and plunged into the Dhave River in Bihar due to sabotaged tracks. September 15 – United States – 2002 Farragut derailment: A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in Farragut, Tennessee, resulting in a hazardous materials release of fuming sulfuric acid and evacuation of more than 2,600 residents for nearly three days. September 27 – United States – Jamaica, New York: Three cars of a JFK Airtrain test train derailed near Federal Circle. The train's lone occupant, a train operator testing the automated equipment, was crushed to death by collapsing cement blocks inside the first car used to evenly distribute the weight inside the car to simulate the weight of customers in passenger service.