Today, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued Safety Advisory 25-1: Reducing Rail Trespassing and Suicide Events. Trespasser and suicide-related events are the leading source of transit-related fatalities and have been steadily increasing in the transit industry. Safety Advisory 25-1 is designed to help reduce these events on rail transit systems, which account for 50 percent of all fatalities reported to the National Transit Database in calendar year 2024.   

In its safety advisory, FTA recommends that State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOAs) direct Rail Transit Agencies (RTAs) within their jurisdiction to conduct the following: 

• Review and analyze safety performance data to identify hazards related to rail trespassing and suicide events, 
• Perform safety risk assessments, 
• Identify safety risk mitigations as necessary to reduce safety risks, and 
• Monitor implemented mitigations for effectiveness.  

Check out FTA’s website for more details about Safety Advisory 25-1, for an expanded data analysis and for a list of resources to support SSOA and RTA efforts to prevent and reduce the number of trespassing and suicide events.