New FRA Data Shows 2025 Was Rail Industry’s Safest Year on Record
New Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) safety data — highlighted by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) — shows 2025 was the safest year on record for the rail industry, with improvements across almost every safety metric. That progress reflects sustained safety efforts across freight rail.
Rail remains the safest way to move freight over land – truck incident rates are 6.84 per 100 million gross ton miles, compared to only 0.45 for railroads.
Union Pacific’s Proven Safety Strategy Is Delivering Historic Results
In 2025, Union Pacific delivered its best-ever full-year personal injury and derailment incident rates, improving 24% and 19% year-over-year, respectively. The results are rooted in a safety-focused mindset organized around four pillars:
- Go Home Safe Culture: A focus on critical rules supported by training drives consistent, safe execution and a culture that empowers employees to speak up when they see unsafe behaviors.
- Technology-Enabled Risk Reduction: Proactively using technology to spot potential risk earlier strengthens prevention and reliability across the network.
- Field-Based Learning and Coaching: On-the-ground engagement reinforces understanding and rules compliance in real-world environments, supporting safer and more consistent operations.
- Continuous Improvement Through Safety Systems: An integrated safety management system connects rules, training, technology and field practices in a single framework to promote consistency, identify emerging risk, reinforce accountability and drive continuous improvement.
Committed to Communities, Employees and Customers
Protecting the Communities We Serve
We collaborate with government partners to improve rail crossing safety, reduce risky behavior and manage hazardous materials responsibly, while also promoting environmental stewardship and sharing critical rail safety guidance.
Empowering Employees to Go Home Safe
We’re ingraining an effective safety culture across all elements of our operations to protect our workforce and our communities.
Safeguarding Your Shipments
We’ve taken aggressive steps to safeguard cargo, including strengthening infrastructure and deploying technology to monitor our tracks and yards. Since January 2023, we have invested $40 million in security barriers and technology.
Report Rail-Related Emergencies
In an emergency - stalled vehicle on tracks, hazardous materials, criminal activity, or fire - call our emergency helpline immediately.
For non-emergency matters, contact us online.
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