Number of collisions involving trains reaches 10-year high due to 'anti-social behaviour'
Seán McCárthaigh
The number of collisions on the Irish rail network reached its highest level in a decade in 2024 with the increase driven by incidents of anti-social behaviour through objects being placed on railway lines.
New figures published by the Commission for Railway Regulation show a total of 158 collisions involving trains were recorded last year – an increase of 34 over the previous year which had also set a record with 124 incidents.
The figures show 91 collisions last year related to trains striking large animals – up from 89 in 2023 with deer accounting for the vast majority of cases.
However, the increase in collisions in 2024 was largely driven by trains striking other objects on railway tracks – with a total of 64 incidents compared to 34 the previous year.
The railway safety watchdog said such collisions were generally because of “anti-social behaviour.”
The CRR said it was aware of additional proposed risk mitigation measures being proposed by Iarnród Éireann to address the issue, while Iarnród Éireann staff also actively visit local schools in areas where increased anti-social behaviour on the railway is identified.
“These additional mitigation measures are under constant review by the CRR,” it added.
The CRR said the upward trend in collisions involving trains which saw numbers increase from a low of 22 in 2019 to a peak of 158 last year was primarily driven by incidents involving deer.
The CRR said Iarnród Éireann was examining other potential measures that could be developed in addition to existing initiatives designed to reduce the number of collisions involving trains and deer.
It added: “Boundary fencing which is used as a primary control for livestock is not as efficient against deer.”
The latest annual report of the CRR shows there were no incidents of collisions at level crossings last year, while there were 10 collisions involving Luas trams – the second lowest annual total in the past decade.
It also revealed that the number of incidents of trains passing a stop (red) signal without authority was unchanged at 11, while the number of similar incidents involving Luas trams decrease from 31 to 25.
However, the CRR said there had been a visible downward trend in such incidents over the past decade.
The number of derailments last year was also unchanged at three with all incidents involving trains in sidings which were moving at low speed.
The CRR said there was tragically a total of 12 fatalities recorded on the rail network last year with all cases involving “trespass or misadventure” – the same number as the previous highest annual total in 2017.
The watchdog’s report also shows 54 passengers were injured while attempting to either board or alight from a train in 2024 – a decrease of 11 on the previous year.
A further 51 passengers were injured during the course of their journey on a train, while 234 people suffered some type of injury while in a station.
Record numbers of people used both heavy and light rail in Ireland last year with almost 50.7 million passenger journeys on Iarnród Éireann services including the DART and another 54.2 million on Luas trams.
The CRR said the overall safety performance on the Irish rail network last year was “in the main quite positive.”
