With a view to advancing transportation safety, the TSB is publishing data from its Rail Occurrence Database System (RODS) on reportable accidents and incidents (which together are called occurrences) for use by industry and the public. The TSB gathers these data in the course of its investigations and uses them to analyze safety deficiencies and identify risks in the Canadian transportation system.
Accidents and incidents are reported in accordance with the Transportation Safety Board Regulations that were in effect at the time of the occurrence.
Accident and incident data prior to 1990 are provided on an as-is basis, as they were not collected by the TSB.
Content of the dataset
Some data collected by the TSB and recorded in RODS will be excluded from the public database to protect third party, personal, and privileged information, in accordance with the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act.
The data in text fields are provided in English and in French, while free-text fields contain data in the language in which they were entered. Some of the data in this dataset are from sources not subject to the Official Languages Act and are therefore available only in the language in which they were provided.
Data dictionary
The data are described in the data dictionary for this dataset, which is available in CSV [107 kb].
Release schedule
The RODS datasets are is released on or soon after the 15th of each month, and contains data from January 1983 to the last day of the month preceding its release.
Disclaimer
The dataset is for information purposes only. The user of the data assumes all responsibilities for the data’s use and for verifying their completeness and accuracy for both critical and non-critical uses and applications.
The data in RODS have been collected by the TSB from third-party sources believed to be reliable. As many occurrences are not formally investigated by the TSB (see the Occurrence Classification Policy), information pertaining to some occurrences may not have been validated. Consequently, the dataset is provided on an as-is basis, and the TSB does not warrant its quality, accuracy, reliability, or completeness.
In no event will the TSB be liable for any direct, special, indirect, consequential or other damages, however caused, arising out of or in connection with the use of any data contained in the dataset. If you find any errors, please report them to communications@bst-tsb.gc.ca.
The dataset
The dataset comprises 5 tables in CSV format:
Occurrence
This table contains the following types of data:
- Occurrence summary data, including a brief description of the occurrence.
- Notification data, including the date and time that the occurrence was reported.
- Track infrastructure data, including track type, owner of the track, and track inspection history.
- Rail data, including rail type, metallurgy, manufacturer, date installed, rail wear, and rail defects.
- Tie plates / turnout data, including tie plate type, track fastener type, tie size, number of ties, turnout/switch type, and turnout installation date.
- Track geometry data, including track curvature, gradient, ballast type, subgrade type, shoulder width, and track structure type.
- Environmental conditions data, including temperature, wind, precipitation, sky condition, visibility obstructions, and ground conditions.
- Area evacuation data, including number of people evacuated, who initiated the evacuation, agencies involved, isolation radius, and emergency response information.
- Crossing accident data, including crossing location, crossing type, impact type, daily train traffic, daily vehicle traffic, angle of crossing, sightline information, gradient of crossing, road speed, and other protection (e.g., whistling, flagman).
- Grade crossing warning system (GCWS) data, including status of GCWS, special features, design speed, and GCWS test date.
- Vehicle data, including number of vehicles, action of the vehicle driver, number of occupants in the vehicle, visibility at the crossing for the vehicle driver, and any dangerous goods carried in the vehicle.
Train
This table contains the following types of data:
- Train data, including train type, train operator, train speed, method of train control, number of cars, train length, and train weight.
- Train operation data, including authorized speed, signal indication, method of main track authorization, movement control type, event recorder indicators, and crew assignment origin/destination.
- Signals data, including signal number, signal type, signal application, and details on wayside devices.
Rolling stock
This table contains the following types of data
- Rolling stock data, including rolling stock type, position in the train, derailed indicator, car load status, dangerous goods indicator, and fuel lost from locomotive.
- Rolling stock details data, including sill type, brake beam type, handbrake type, draft gear type, axle size, wheel type, and car inspection details.
- Cargo data, including product name, quantity carried, products released, release location on car, release type, release quantity, and tank car test dates.
- Crashworthiness data, including construction material, location of damage, decrease in internal volume, position of the derailed rolling stock, and evacuation/egress from the rolling stock.
Injuries
This table contains the following types of data:
- Injuries (On-train) data, including injuries and/or fatalities for people who were on the train.
- Injuries (Off-train) data, including injuries and/or fatalities for people who were NOT on the train.
Track and Rolling stock components
This table contains data on various track components and rolling stock components, including manufacturer, model/part information, date of manufacturing, and date of last overhaul.