evidence: The number of significant railway accidents in the EU fell almost continuously between 2010 and 2020, with the only exceptions being a sharp increase in 2014 (+6.7 %) and a slight increase in 2017 (+2.1 %). In 2021, the number of significant accidents increased by (+4.3 %) and increased again by 221 in 2022 compared with 2021, to a total of 1 615 accidents (+15.9 %). Railway safety has generally improved in the EU, with 614 fewer accidents in 2022 compared with 2010, a reduction of 27.5 %. Following the sharp increase in 2014, the decrease compared with the previous year was particularly marked in 2015 (-12.8 %). The increase in accidents from 2021 to 2022 concerned all accident categories with the exception of two: the number of derailments fell by -6.4 % to 73 accidents in 2022, level crossing accidents by -2.6 % to 416. Other categories all increased: fires in rolling stock (+58.8 %), accidents to persons by rolling stock in motion (excluding suicides) increased by 25 %. The number of collisions increased by 43.3 % to 139 accidents in 2022 and 'other significant railway accidents' by 18.8 % to 114.