Train crossings continued to kill Missourians in 2025
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Despite safety efforts nationwide, more than 2,000 incidents were reported at highway rail crossings nationwide in 2025, resulting in 268 deaths and 686 injuries, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Only about 2% of those incidents happened in Missouri, where 34 crossing collisions resulted in four deaths and nine injuries in 2025. Five of those incidents happened in Mid-Missouri.
In November, a woman was hurt when the truck she was in collided with a Union Pacific train in Jefferson City. Two months earlier, a Centralia woman was hurt when a mail truck was struck by a Canadian Pacific Kansas City train in Audrain County.
There were also incidents at a crossing in Saline County, one in Osage County, and another in Audrain County in 2025.
In 2022, an Amtrak train collided with a dump truck in Chariton County near Mendon, causing it to derail. The crash killed three passengers and the dump truck driver. Nearly 150 people were taken to multiple hospitals across the state.
Executive director of Missouri Operation Lifesaver Inc., Tim Hull, said that this might be the first instance in his 11 years working with the non-profit that Missouri is not one of the top 25 states with the most crossing incidents.
"We have a phenomenal amount of rail and rail traffic, and for our numbers to be that low is pretty good to be where we're at," said Hull. "I would say we're probably just a little bit outside the top 25."
Half of the collisions occurred at crossings with active warning devices such as lights and gates, while the other half occurred at passive crossings, which are equipped with just crossbucks and a stop sign.
The Coates Street rail crossing in Moberly, equipped with lights and cantilevers to warn drivers of potential trains crossing. This crossing was recommended for upgrades in a 2022 rail safety study.
A passive rail crossing on Bristol Avenue in Chariton County, equipped with a stop sign and crossbucks to warn drivers of potential incoming trains. This crossing was recommended for closure in a 2023 safety study.
Nearly half of all crossings in Missouri are passive, as many are in rural areas with less traffic.
"Of the fatalities that occurred, three of them occurred at a passive crossing, and one occurred at an active warning device crossing, which means that the person actually had to drive around the gates to get hit by the train," said Hull.
Nationwide in 2024, there were 2,263 incidents at train crossings resulting in 264 deaths and 771 injuries. In Missouri, there were 43 incidents at train crossings resulting in four deaths and seven injuries in 2024.
While Missouri is seeing a downward trend of incidents at train crossings, trespassing numbers continue to go up, with Missouri ranking 17th nationwide for trespassing deaths.
"Crossing incidents are not the No. 1 cause of deaths; they haven't been for probably the last 10 to 15 years. It's trespassing on railroad property that actually has gone up," said Hull.
Fourteen people have died, and 10 have been injured in 24 instances of trespassing on railroads in the state in 2025, according to USDOT data.
The top five states with the most crossing incidents for 2025 are Texas, California, Florida, Illinois and Indiana. In 2025, Texas had 239 incidents at railroad crossings, resulting in 24 deaths and 76 injuries.
"We don't have the issues as some of these other states have, where they have passenger trains or commuter trains that actually go through the middle of a college campus," said Hull. "It's not a situation like splitting a college campus like that or running along the edge of a beach, where people would get a lot of foot traffic, so those days they continue to have issues."
While Missouri may not lead the nation in incidents, the high number of passive crossings and recent death count highlight real risks. Those risks were identified in 2023, when then-Gov. Mike Parson alloted $50 million in his proposed budget to upgrade 47 passive rail crossings across the state.
Missouri has the 11th-most railroad miles in the United States, with about 5,300 miles of track and around 6,500 private and public highway-rail crossings. Kansas City and St. Louis are the second- and sixth-largest rail transportation centers in the nation, respectively, according to MoDOT.
Tune in to ABC 17 News at 6 p.m. Wednesday to hear how far along crossing improvements have come and what is causing the delays.
