Texas 2021
Texas comes in first at 247 collisions. Of these collisions, there were 17 deaths and 58 injuries. Texas has one of the largest land masses of all the states, making it a prime location for train travel across its counties and vast landscape. Many inter-state train tracks also lead into and out of Texas, which reflects the number of accidents shown here. Although it is the state with the largest number of train accidents, it has a relatively low death rate of 6.88%.
Due to Texas's sheer size, the cargo is often mixed. While many do think about human casualties when hearing of train collisions, Texas is home to many ranchers and large oil tycoons. This means that most train collisions do not contain much human cargo, and the deaths and injuries are often limited to the conductor or crew that is helping to transport and distribute resources inside and outside the Texan border.
California 2021
California is the largest state in terms of the human population, as its volume continues to soar year over year. While California does not have as many train collisions as Texas, it has one of the highest mortality rates with 169 collisions, 35 deaths, and 37 injuries, representing a death rate of 20.7%. This rate can be explained by the large and populous cities of California, which carry the state's largest number of passengers. This makes California a prime target for most rail-related accidents, as transportation throughout the counties, especially from interstate travel of migrants, can reach hundreds of thousands per day.
Georgia 2021
Georgia holds some of the country's largest agrarian goods on the market. Georgia was one of the original 13 colonies and benefits greatly from its history and tradition related to its extremely favorable climate for such delicacies as peaches, peanuts, and pecans. As such, it has the third highest number of collisions at 132, but only 8 deaths. This represents the reality of train travel in Georgia, as most cargo is likely raw or processed goods that are being exported or imported from the various farms located within the state.
Illinois 2021
Illinois has some of the highest death rates, with 21 deaths from 125 collisions, or around 17%. Although not at fatal as the Californian statistics, Illinois is home to some densely packed urban areas, the chief of which stems from the city of Chicago. Large urban settings often need to provide their citizens with means of public and private transportation that are widely available, as personal automobiles or vehicles can be considered a luxury in some neighborhoods. Furthermore, dense locations that are agglomerated by concrete, buildings, and people make owning a car in these situations a liability.
Much like California, Illinois trains contain a large amount of human cargo versus its exports. The economy is centered around a modern workforce, with many residents working for larger corporations in an office setting, or providing goods and services for local businesses.