Connecticut Train Derailments 2026
Quick answer: Connecticut had 9 train derailments in 2026 through August, the latest month in the FRA data, compared with 4 in January-August 2025. 2025 ended with 5 derailments. FRA figures run 2-3 months behind: for a derailment today, see accidents today.
Updated · FRA records through 31 August 2026 · Source: Federal Railroad Administration, Form 54 (public domain)
Looking for a derailment today? Official FRA data lags 2-3 months, so recent crashes are not on this map yet. See accidents today (every accident report from the last 24 hours) and the live accident map, which lists rail accidents from news reports every 15 minutes, or Connecticut accidents today.
Connecticut train derailment map
Every derailment in Connecticut reported to the FRA in 2025 and 2026, placed at the coordinates the railroad reported. Click a dot for the railroad, cars derailed, hazmat, injuries, cause and the official FRA report.
14 derailments shown
Latest train derailments in Connecticut
Newest first, as filed by the railroads. Filters above also apply to this list.
| Date | Place | Railroad | Cars | Hazmat | Hurt | Cause (FRA) | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-29 | New Haven, New Haven County | Metro North Commuter Railroad Company | 1 | none | none | Motor car or other on-track equipment rules (other than main track authority) - Failure to...Railroad's descriptionENGINE 104 DERAILED WHILE OPERATING EASTWARD ON TRACK 96 EAST IN NEW HAVEN YARD AFTER PASSING OVER ADERAIL THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN PLACED IN THE DERAILING POSITION. |
FRA |
| 2026-07-25 | New Haven, New Haven County | Metro North Commuter Railroad Company | 1 | none | none | Failure to comply with restricted speed or its equivalent not in connection with a block or...Railroad's descriptionNEW HAVEN SWITCHER (JOB 355) DERAILED THE LEAD AXLE OF CAR 9348 WHILE SHOVING EAST INTO TRACK 95 ATTHE 95/96 SWITCH IN NEW HAVEN YARD. |
FRA |
| 2026-07-16 | Stamford, Fairfield County | Metro North Commuter Railroad Company | 1 | none | none | Failure to comply with restricted speed or its equivalent not in connection with a block or...Railroad's descriptionSTAMFORD SWITCHER WAS MAKING A MOVE FROM TRACK 24 TO TRACK 30 OPERATING OVER THE L242 SWITCH IN STAMFORD YARD WHEN ONE TRUCK OF CAR 9302 DERAILED. |
FRA |
| 2026-07-14 | Danbury, Fairfield County | Providence & Worcester Railroad Company | 2 | none | none | Switch point worn or brokenRailroad's descriptionCT2 WAS DEPARTING DANBURY AFTER WORKING AT TILCON DANBURY. WHILE PULLING THROUGH THE TRACK 8 FACINGPOINT SWITCH AT 7 MPH, 1 LOCOMOTIVE, 18 CARS, AND ANOTHER LOCOMOTIVE MADE IT THROUGH, HOWEVER, THE LEADING TRUCK OF LOCOMOTIVE PW 3902 STRUCK THE FRONT OF THE SWITCH POINT, CLIMBED ONTO THE STOCK RAIL, AND DROPPED INTO... |
FRA |
| 2026-04-22 | New Haven, New Haven County | CSX Transportation | 3 | none | none | Switch improperly linedRailroad's descriptionP&W RAN THROUGH YARD LEAD/ 14 SHORELINE SWITCH CAUSING A 3 CAR DERAILMENT DUE TO NOT PROPERLY LININGTHE SWITCH. P&W DAMAGES $55,000. |
FRA |
| 2026-03-24 | Fairfield, Fairfield County passenger | Metro North Commuter Railroad Company | 2 | none | none | Switch point gapped (between switch point and stock rail)Railroad's descriptionEASTBOUND TRAIN 1504 DERAILED WHILE TRAVERSING THE 31A2 MOVEABLE POINT FROG AT CONTROL POINT 248 ONTHE NEW HAVEN LINE, OPERATING FROM TRACK 3 TO TRACK 1. |
FRA |
| 2026-03-13 | New Haven, New Haven County | Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) | 0 | none | none | Cause under active investigation by reporting railroad (Amended report will be forwarded when...Railroad's descriptionMBTA Train 851 departing track 7 South station derailed within Tower One Interlocking. Passengers were evacuated from the rear of the train back to the station. |
FRA |
| 2026-03-13 | New Haven, New Haven County | Connecticut Department Of Transportation | 1 | none | none | Wide gage (due to defective or missing crossties)Railroad's descriptionLocomotive 6704 derailed on track 24 East, At the CDOT shop NHV, CT, due to a wide gauge. Fireman side axel 1 Wheel fell to inner track. |
FRA |
| 2026-02-05 | Mansfield, Tolland County | New England Central Railroad | 10 | 6 damaged | none | Broken rimRailroad's descriptionCREW 608 WAS TRAVELING SOUTH ON THE PALMER SUBDIVISION MAINLINE WITH 2 LOCOMOTIVES FOLLOWED BY 27 LOADS AND 14 EMPTIES WHEN THE 31ST THROUGH THE 40TH HEAD CARS DERAILED DUE TO THE RIM OF A WHEEL ON CAR PROX 75939 BREAKING AND ALLOWING THE WHEEL TO DROP IN ON THE LOW SIDE OF THE CURVE. APPROXIMATELY1,500 GALLONS OF N... |
FRA |
| 2025-10-27 | Stamford, Fairfield County | Metro North Commuter Railroad Company | 1 | none | none | Shoving movement, man on or at leading end of movement, failure to controlRailroad's descriptionSTAMFORD SWITCHER DERAILED IN STAMFORD YARD OPERATING FROM TRACK 32 EAST TO LADDER 2 OVER L2/42 SWITCH. |
FRA |
| 2025-08-24 | Stamford, Fairfield County | Metro North Commuter Railroad Company | 1 | none | none | Switch improperly linedRailroad's descriptionWHILE TRAIN 6949 WAS ENTERING STAMFORD YARD EN ROUTE TO TRACK 32, CAR 6318 DERAILED OVER THE 30/32 SWITCH. |
FRA |
| 2025-06-29 | Litchfield, Litchfield County passenger | Naugatuck Railroad Company Incorporated | 2 | none | none | Investigation complete, cause could not be determinedRailroad's descriptionNAUG PASSENGER EXTRA NAUG 2019 , CONSISTING OF LOCOMOTIVE NAUG 2019 AND 4 CARS, EXPERIENCED A LOW SPEED DERAILMENT WHILE PASSING OVER THE EAST LITCHFIELD SWITCH. WHILE OPERATING SOUTHBOUND AT 12 MPH THE #3 AXLE OF THE LOCOMOTIVE CLIMBED OVER THE WEST POINT RAIL OF THE SWITCH. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY THE #4 AND #5 AXLES... |
FRA |
| 2025-02-20 | New Haven, New Haven County | Connecticut Department Of Transportation | 1 | none | none | Switch improperly linedRailroad's descriptionYard crew was making a shove move. After going over the 45/21 switch in the Metro North New Haven yard. The conductor heard a loud noise and instructed the engineer to bring the train to a safe stop.Lead truck on Cab car 1711 front truck was derailed. |
FRA |
| 2025-01-30 | New Haven, New Haven County passenger | Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) | 3 | none | none | Defective or missing crossties (use code T110 if results in wide gage)Railroad's descriptionENG132 Train 490 derailment within Parcel G - NHV Motor Storage Track 3 |
FRA |
"Cars" counts derailed cars and locomotives. "Hazmat" counts cars carrying hazardous materials: released = some product escaped. Showing up to 50 rows; the map has all 14.
Recent rail accident news
Headlines our live monitor matched as rail accidents. These are news reports, not FRA records: details may change and some will never meet the FRA reporting threshold.
Connecticut train derailments by year
2026 covers January-August only. Each derailment is counted once, even when more than one railroad filed a report.
* 2026 to date (January-August, preliminary). Source: FRA Form 54, distinct accidents with accident type "derailment".
Top causes of train derailments in Connecticut
The railroad codes a primary cause on every report from FRA's train accident cause code list. We group the codes into FRA's five main groups and their sub-groups, in plain English.
2026 (to August) · 9 derailments
2025 · 5 derailments
| Sub-group (2025-2026) | Derailments |
|---|---|
| Switches lined wrong, not locked or run through | 3 |
| Excessive speed | 2 |
| Switches, frogs and other track appliances | 2 |
| Vandalism, outside interference, under investigation or unknown | 2 |
| Other human factors | 1 |
| Track geometry: wide gauge, misaligned or buckled track | 1 |
| Wheels (worn or broken) | 1 |
| Switching moves: shoving, coupling, derails left on | 1 |
| Broken rails, joint bars, ties and fasteners | 1 |
| Most common exact causes (FRA wording) | Derailments |
|---|---|
| Switch improperly lined | 3 |
| Failure to comply with restricted speed or its equivalent not in connection with a block or... | 2 |
| Motor car or other on-track equipment rules (other than main track authority) - Failure to... | 1 |
| Switch point worn or broken | 1 |
| Switch point gapped (between switch point and stock rail) | 1 |
| Cause under active investigation by reporting railroad (Amended report will be forwarded when... | 1 |
| Wide gage (due to defective or missing crossties) | 1 |
| Broken rim | 1 |
| Shoving movement, man on or at leading end of movement, failure to control | 1 |
| Investigation complete, cause could not be determined | 1 |
Counts for 2025 and 2026 to date. The sub-groups sum only the top rows. A cause "under investigation" is updated when the railroad amends its report.
Railroads with the most derailments in Connecticut
By the railroad that filed the main report. Large railroads run far more train-miles, so a higher count does not by itself mean a worse safety record.
| Railroad | 2026 (to Aug) | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Metro North Commuter Railroad Company | 4 | 2 |
| Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) | 1 | 1 |
| Connecticut Department Of Transportation | 1 | 1 |
| Providence & Worcester Railroad Company | 1 | - |
| CSX Transportation | 1 | - |
| New England Central Railroad | 1 | - |
| Naugatuck Railroad Company Incorporated | - | 1 |
"-" = not in that year's top list.
Connecticut derailments by county, 2025-2026
| County (as reported to FRA) | Derailments |
|---|---|
| New Haven | 7 |
| Fairfield | 5 |
| Tolland | 1 |
| Litchfield | 1 |
Counties with big rail yards tend to top this list: 79% of the Connecticut derailments on the map happened at a train speed of 10 mph or less.
Collisions and other train accidents in Connecticut
Derailments are the largest group of rail equipment accidents. The same FRA reports also cover collisions, fires and trains hitting obstructions.
| Accident type (FRA) | 2026 (to Aug) | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Derailment | 9 | 5 |
| Hit an obstruction | 1 | 2 |
| Fire or violent rupture | 0 | 3 |
| Other impact | 4 | 4 |
| Other (see narrative) | 1 | 9 |
| All rail equipment accidents | 15 | 23 |
Highway-rail crossing crashes appear here only when train or track damage passed the FRA threshold; most crossing crashes are reported on a separate form (FRA F 6180.57) and are not in this table.
Train derailments: FAQ
How many train derailments have there been in Connecticut in 2026?
Was there a train derailment today?
What causes most train derailments?
Where can I see a map of train derailments in Connecticut?
How many train derailments happen a year in the US?
Where does this data come from?
About this data
- Source: Federal Railroad Administration, Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Data (Form 54) on data.transportation.gov (readable view of the source dataset aqxq-n5hy). US government work, public domain. Cause groups: FRA train accident cause codes (Appendix C of the FRA reporting guide).
- What is counted: accidents with FRA accident type 01 (derailment) that caused damage above the FRA reporting threshold. Each accident is counted once by its FRA incident key, even when two or three railroads filed reports. Killed and injured are the accident totals; hazmat cars are added up across the railroads' reports.
- Lag: railroads report each month's accidents by the end of the following month and FRA publishes after that, so the data runs 2-3 months behind. The latest month can still rise as late reports arrive. This page re-checks FRA once a day.
- Map positions are the latitude and longitude the railroad entered on the report; a few may be approximate.
- Not included: accidents below the damage threshold, transit systems that do not report to FRA, and Canada. Canadian rail occurrence statistics are published by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.