Analysis and comparison of train accidents in Japan and the United States

Japan and the United States have significant railroad systems with distinct characteristics. Examining how these differences are related to train accidents can guide the adaptation of safety improvements from one system to the other. This study conducts statistical and causal analyses of train accident data from both countries for 2001–2023. The results clarify how accident characteristics correspond to differences in infrastructure, equipment, and operational features. Similarities and differences in train accident characteristics between the railroad systems of the two countries were compared, and the adaptation of successful methods, technologies, and practices from one country to improve rail safety in the other was discussed. The findings of the study will benefit the railroad systems of both countries by encouraging cross-country research, industry collaboration, and technology transfer. The quantitative risk assessment framework developed in this study can be applied to other railway safety and risk benchmarking efforts.