Railroad Crossings by State
FRA railroad crossing data broken down by U.S. state, from 438,851 crossings with 251,320 recorded accidents.
The number of railroad crossings in a state reflects the density of its rail network and the intersection of that network with public roads. States with extensive freight rail infrastructure, particularly Texas, Illinois, California, and the Midwest grain belt, have the most highway-rail grade crossings. Crossing accident rates are influenced by warning device quality, traffic volume, train speed, and local driver behavior. States with older crossing infrastructure and high freight train volumes tend to see more crossing-related incidents.
Railroad Crossings by State
States ranked by total number of highway-rail grade crossings.
| # | State | Crossings | Accidents | Fatalities | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEXAS | 27,608 | 25,065 | 2,340 | Browse |
| 2 | ILLINOIS | 26,277 | 14,882 | 2,125 | Browse |
| 3 | OHIO | 20,449 | 13,490 | 1,488 | Browse |
| 4 | CALIFORNIA | 18,526 | 12,178 | 1,995 | Browse |
| 5 | PENNSYLVANIA | 17,414 | 5,257 | 375 | Browse |
| 6 | INDIANA | 16,910 | 13,746 | 1,456 | Browse |
| 7 | KANSAS | 15,417 | 4,904 | 617 | Browse |
| 8 | IOWA | 15,279 | 5,916 | 426 | Browse |
| 9 | MINNESOTA | 14,363 | 5,930 | 570 | Browse |
| 10 | MICHIGAN | 13,495 | 8,646 | 766 | Browse |
| 11 | MISSOURI | 13,118 | 5,670 | 717 | Browse |
| 12 | WISCONSIN | 13,090 | 6,979 | 467 | Browse |
| 13 | NEW YORK | 12,866 | 2,929 | 441 | Browse |
| 14 | NORTH CAROLINA | 12,840 | 6,884 | 602 | Browse |
| 15 | GEORGIA | 12,704 | 9,013 | 692 | Browse |
| 16 | WASHINGTON | 11,047 | 4,051 | 362 | Browse |
| 17 | LOUISIANA | 10,705 | 10,131 | 806 | Browse |
| 18 | NEBRASKA | 10,670 | 3,858 | 538 | Browse |
| 19 | FLORIDA | 9,902 | 7,685 | 1,166 | Browse |
| 20 | KENTUCKY | 9,520 | 5,115 | 359 | Browse |
| 21 | VIRGINIA | 9,482 | 4,021 | 257 | Browse |
| 22 | ALABAMA | 9,439 | 8,024 | 681 | Browse |
| 23 | OKLAHOMA | 9,119 | 5,611 | 683 | Browse |
| 24 | TENNESSEE | 8,976 | 5,655 | 490 | Browse |
| 25 | NORTH DAKOTA | 8,828 | 1,509 | 190 | Browse |
| 26 | MISSISSIPPI | 7,916 | 5,971 | 641 | Browse |
| 27 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 7,768 | 4,967 | 472 | Browse |
| 28 | OREGON | 7,712 | 2,501 | 204 | Browse |
| 29 | WEST VIRGINIA | 7,111 | 2,507 | 142 | Browse |
| 30 | ARKANSAS | 6,960 | 5,647 | 714 | Browse |
| 31 | MONTANA | 5,865 | 1,354 | 174 | Browse |
| 32 | COLORADO | 5,416 | 2,848 | 308 | Browse |
| 33 | SOUTH DAKOTA | 5,241 | 1,125 | 48 | Browse |
| 34 | NEW JERSEY | 5,121 | 2,240 | 248 | Browse |
| 35 | IDAHO | 4,589 | 1,976 | 242 | Browse |
| 36 | MASSACHUSETTS | 3,619 | 1,028 | 88 | Browse |
| 37 | UTAH | 3,089 | 1,548 | 224 | Browse |
| 38 | MARYLAND | 2,917 | 1,281 | 73 | Browse |
| 39 | MAINE | 2,768 | 664 | 32 | Browse |
| 40 | ARIZONA | 2,397 | 1,657 | 193 | Browse |
| 41 | WYOMING | 2,328 | 478 | 46 | Browse |
| 42 | NEW MEXICO | 1,941 | 919 | 180 | Browse |
| 43 | CONNECTICUT | 1,826 | 509 | 56 | Browse |
| 44 | VERMONT | 1,703 | 300 | 28 | Browse |
| 45 | NEW HAMPSHIRE | 1,558 | 219 | 11 | Browse |
| 46 | NEVADA | 1,043 | 269 | 48 | Browse |
| 47 | DELAWARE | 739 | 408 | 34 | Browse |
| 48 | ALASKA | 481 | 351 | 19 | Browse |
| 49 | RHODE ISLAND | 446 | 42 | 2 | Browse |
| 50 | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 200 | 20 | 0 | Browse |
| 51 | HAWAII | 27 | 3 | 0 | Browse |
| 52 | PUERTO RICO | 26 | 0 | 0 | Browse |
Accident and fatality counts reflect totals reported for crossings in each state. Crossings with no recorded accidents are included in the crossing count but contribute zero to accident totals.
Railroad Crossing Safety by Region
Freight Rail Density and Crossings
Texas leads the nation in railroad crossings due to its size and the convergence of multiple major freight rail corridors, including Union Pacific's Sunset Route and BNSF Railway's southern transcontinental line. The Midwest states (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska) have dense agricultural rail networks built to move grain to export terminals. These states have thousands of rural grade crossings, many of which have minimal warning devices beyond passive signs. Rural crossings with passive warnings account for a disproportionate share of fatal accidents nationally.
Warning Devices and Safety
Highway-rail grade crossings vary widely in their warning equipment, from basic crossbuck signs to full gate-and-light systems with advance warning signals. The Federal Railroad Administration's National Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Inventory tracks the warning device type at every public crossing. Research consistently shows that crossings equipped with active warning devices (gates and flashing lights) have significantly lower accident rates than those with only passive signs. States with large numbers of unprotected rural crossings face ongoing safety challenges as freight train speeds and volumes increase.
Explore Railroad Safety Data
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