Kentucky Train Derailments 2026
Quick answer: Kentucky had 2 train derailments in 2026 through August, the latest month in the FRA data, compared with 10 in January-August 2025 (-80%). 2025 ended with 12 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 Kentucky accidents today.
Kentucky train derailment map
Every derailment in Kentucky 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 Kentucky
Newest first, as filed by the railroads. Filters above also apply to this list.
| Date | Place | Railroad | Cars | Hazmat | Hurt | Cause (FRA) | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-04 | Louisville, Jefferson County | Norfolk Southern Railway Company | 1 | 9 in train | none | Interaction of lateral/vertical forces (includes harmonic rock off)Railroad's descriptionNS TRAIN 168TA03 SHOVING DERAILED NS 166127 DUE TO SUDDEN WHEEL LIFT OF NS 166127 TRAILING TRUCK BECAUSE OF SHORT/LONG CAR INTERACTIONS DURING CURVE NEGOTIATION. |
FRA |
| 2026-03-05 | Taylor Mill, Kenton County | CSX Transportation | 5 | none | none | Broken Rail - Transverse/compound fissureRailroad's descriptionL35005 DERAILED 5 CARS WHILE DEPARTING DECOURSEY YARD ACCOUNT OF BROKEN RAIL. |
FRA |
| 2025-12-30 | Trenton, Todd County | CSX Transportation | 31 | none | none | Truck bolster brokenRailroad's descriptionM50329 HAD TRUCK BOLSTER BREAK ON THE CGTX 13907 CAUSING THE REAR/NORTH/A-END TO DERAIL AND THE TRAILING 30 CARS TO DERAIL. |
FRA |
| 2025-10-27 | Louisville, Jefferson County | Norfolk Southern Railway Company | 3 | 11 in train | none | Buffing or slack action excessive, train handlingRailroad's descriptionNS TRAIN 168TA26 DERAILED 3 CARS PULLING THROUGH THE CROSSOVERS FROM NUMBER ONE MAIN TO THE SWITCHING LEAD. |
FRA |
| 2025-08-30 | Louisville, Jefferson County | CSX Transportation | 3 | 1 released | none | Lateral drawbar force on curve excessive, train handlingRailroad's descriptionY29130 DERAILED 3 CARS ON A SHOVE MOVE DUE TO IMPROPER TRAIN HANDLING. RCO OPERATOR WENT STRAIGHT TO 10 ON THE RCO BOX AND THE ENGINE WAS LOADING OVER 1,500 AMPS. LEAD TRUCK ON LEAD CAR CLIMBED UP ON THE SWITCH POINT. SMALL POOL OF LIQUID LEAKED FROM MANWAY COVER ON UTLX2106330. COMMODITY: ALCOHOLN.O.S. STCC: 490915... |
FRA |
| 2025-07-05 | Louisville, Jefferson County | Louisville & Indiana Railroad Company | 11 | none | none | Air hose uncoupled or burstRailroad's descriptionM574-04 STRING LINED WHILE TRAVELING NORTH ON THE LIRC MAIN IN LOUISVILLE DUE TO A AIR HOSE SEPARATION, RESULTING IN 11 CARS TO DERAIL. |
FRA |
| 2025-06-22 | Madisonville, Hopkins County | CSX Transportation | 3 | none | none | Lateral drawbar force on curve excessive, train handlingRailroad's descriptionPAL CREW Z49322 BUFFED 3 CARS OFF WHILE MAKING SHOVE OVER TO THEIR RAILROAD. PAL EQUIPMENT DAMAGES $180,000.00. |
FRA |
| 2025-05-06 | Wilmore, Jessamine County | Norfolk Southern Railway Company | 1 | 1 in train | none | Draft gear/mechanism broken or defective (including yoke)Railroad's descriptionT80T806 HAD AN EMERGENCY BRAKE APPLICATION AT MP 95.7. UPON INSPECTION FOUND ETTX 702999 DERAILED WITH COUPLER MISSING FROM B- END (SOUTH) DRAWBAR WAS UNDER CAR. ALSO FOUND BROKEN FROG IN THE CP CORMAN. |
FRA |
| 2025-04-09 | Flatwoods, Greenup County | CSX Transportation | 4 | none | none | Broken brake pipe or connectionsRailroad's descriptionY20309, WHILE FROM E17 AT CA 524 RUSSELL YARD, AIR HOSE BRACKET FROM WFRX 560669 FELL OFF THE CAR WEDGING ITSELF BETWEEN STICK RAIL CAUSING 4 CARS TO RIDE UP OVER THE BRACKET AND DERAILING. |
FRA |
| 2025-03-02 | Madisonville, Hopkins County | CSX Transportation | 22 | 1 damaged | none | Broken Rail - Detail fracture from shelling or head checkRailroad's descriptionM50101 WAS TRAVELING SOUTH ON THE CUT OFF MAIN AT MILEPOST 0HC268.3, 22 CAR DERAILMENT. , CAUSE WASDETERMINED TO BE BROKEN RAIL. |
FRA |
| 2025-03-01 | Corbin, Whitley County | CSX Transportation | 3 | none | none | Interference (other than vandalism) with railroad operations by nonrailroad employeeRailroad's descriptionE70028 DERAILED LINES 14-16, GALX14330-GALX 6671-GALX 14295. GALX 6671 HAD EXCESSIVE TREAD BUILD UP ON THE TREAD DUE TO A HAND BRAKE THAT WAS NOT RELEASED BY THE CUSTOMER DURING THE BRAKE TEST THATWAS PERFORMED BY THE CUSTOMER. THE CAR DERAILED DURING A SHOVE MOVEMENT INTO THE YARD TRACK IN ORDER TO SET THE CAR OUT. |
FRA |
| 2025-01-21 | Stearns, Mccreary County | Big South Fork Scenic Railway | 1 | none | none | Snow, ice, mud, gravel, coal, sand, etc. on trackRailroad's descriptionHANDBRAKE INSIDE LOCOMOTIVE CAB APPLIED AND CAB SECURED WITH LOCKS. DUE TO RECENT WEATHER AND TEMPERATURES, ICE BUILT UP ON RAILS CAUSING LOCOMOTIVE TO SLIDE. NOBODY WAS PRESENT TO WITNESS. |
FRA |
| 2025-01-16 | Paducah, Mccracken County | Paducah & Louisville Railway Company | 1 | none | none | Switch point worn or brokenRailroad's descriptionCREW DERAILED 1 LOCOMOTIVE AT THE NORTH END OF PADUCAH YARD THEY WERE SHOVING A DEAD LOCOMOTIVE TO THE PIG TRACK. WHILE SHOVING TOWARDS THE HIGH SIDE THE HEAD SET OF TRUCKS ON THE LEAD LOCOMOTIVE DERAILED CAUSING DAMAGE THE CITY LED TRACK AND PIG TRACK. |
FRA |
| 2025-01-09 | Sadieville, Scott County | Norfolk Southern Railway Company | 12 | 10 in train | none | Wide gage (due to defective or missing spikes or other rail fasteners)Railroad's descriptionTRAIN 171T808 PULLING SOUTH ON SINGLE-MAIN DERAILED 12 CARS AT MP 55.7 NEAR SADIEVILLE KENTUCKY. THERE WE NO INJURIES AND NO HAZMAT WAS INVOLVED IN DERAILMENT. |
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.
Kentucky 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 Kentucky
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) · 2 derailments
2025 · 12 derailments
| Sub-group (2025-2026) | Derailments |
|---|---|
| Train handling and make-up (slack action, braking, heavy cars placed wrong) | 3 |
| Broken rails, joint bars, ties and fasteners | 2 |
| Brake equipment | 2 |
| Unusual situations: objects on track, wheel-rail forces | 1 |
| Trucks (the wheel frames under a car) | 1 |
| Couplers and draft gear | 1 |
| Vandalism, outside interference, under investigation or unknown | 1 |
| Weather and debris: snow, ice, flood, tornado, high wind | 1 |
| Switches, frogs and other track appliances | 1 |
| Track geometry: wide gauge, misaligned or buckled track | 1 |
| Most common exact causes (FRA wording) | Derailments |
|---|---|
| Lateral drawbar force on curve excessive, train handling | 2 |
| Interaction of lateral/vertical forces (includes harmonic rock off) | 1 |
| Broken Rail - Transverse/compound fissure | 1 |
| Truck bolster broken | 1 |
| Buffing or slack action excessive, train handling | 1 |
| Air hose uncoupled or burst | 1 |
| Draft gear/mechanism broken or defective (including yoke) | 1 |
| Broken brake pipe or connections | 1 |
| Broken Rail - Detail fracture from shelling or head check | 1 |
| Interference (other than vandalism) with railroad operations by nonrailroad employee | 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 Kentucky
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CSX Transportation | 1 | 6 |
| Norfolk Southern Railway Company | 1 | 3 |
| Louisville & Indiana Railroad Company | - | 1 |
| Big South Fork Scenic Railway | - | 1 |
| Paducah & Louisville Railway Company | - | 1 |
"-" = not in that year's top list.
Kentucky derailments by county, 2025-2026
| County (as reported to FRA) | Derailments |
|---|---|
| Jefferson | 4 |
| Hopkins | 2 |
| Kenton | 1 |
| Todd | 1 |
| Jessamine | 1 |
| Greenup | 1 |
| Whitley | 1 |
| Mccreary | 1 |
| Mccracken | 1 |
| Scott | 1 |
Counties with big rail yards tend to top this list: 64% of the Kentucky derailments on the map happened at a train speed of 10 mph or less.
Collisions and other train accidents in Kentucky
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 | 2 | 12 |
| Side collision | 1 | 0 |
| Raking collision | 0 | 1 |
| Highway-rail crossing collision | 1 | 2 |
| Hit an obstruction | 1 | 5 |
| Other impact | 2 | 2 |
| Other (see narrative) | 0 | 1 |
| All rail equipment accidents | 7 | 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 Kentucky in 2026?
Was there a train derailment today?
What causes most train derailments?
Where can I see a map of train derailments in Kentucky?
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.