Train is 59 times safer than car
People who use public transport in Switzerland travel safely. The number of serious accidents and fatalities was again low in 2019. Measured in terms of transport performance, the railroad is still the safest of all means of transport, as the Federal Office of Transport emphasizes.
In 2019, 212 serious accidents in public transport were reported to the Federal Office of Transport (FOT). Twenty-five people had been killed, 161 seriously injured. Among the fatalities were no passengers of public transport. In a five-year comparison, the number of serious accidents and serious injuries in 2019 was relatively high, he said. In contrast, the number of fatalities is rather low.
Many accidents due to disregard of regulations in road traffic
According to the just published safety report 2019, most accidents occurred because other road users had disregarded the rules in road traffic. It was therefore mainly buses and streetcars that were involved in accidents. The second most frequent cause of accidents was passenger inattention. Carelessness and thoughtlessness also played an important role in causing accidents.
Compared to private transport, public transport in Switzerland continues to be very safe. This is shown by an evaluation of the period 2008 to 2017 by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). According to the statistics, the risk of a fatal accident on a train is 59 times lower per person-kilometer than in a car (see table below). In a European comparison, Switzerland ranks second in terms of safety on public transport.
In terms of safety at level crossings, the country has also achieved a top European ranking thanks to the corresponding renovation measures of recent years. According to the data, there are just under 4,400 level crossings in Switzerland; of these, around 4,200 met the highest safety requirements at the end of 2019.
Shortcomings in freight transport
In the freight sector, FOT experts again inspected around 400 trains with almost 7000 rail cars last year. They again discovered various deficiencies. As a result, the FOT has taken various measures, according to the media release. A key aspect of this is cooperation with foreign supervisory authorities. In addition to the already existing cooperation with the competent authorities in Germany, Italy and France, the exchange and joint controls with Belgium would be started.
Download the 2019 Safety Report
Source: BAV
According to an evaluation (period from 2008 to 2017) by the Federal Statistical Office, the risk of a fatal accident on the train is 59 times lower per person-kilometer than in a car. Compared to bicycling, train travel is 669 times safer, and compared to motorcycling, even 1484 times safer. The safety level in cable car and ship traffic is also very high, as the low accident figures from last year show.
