&gt; Does this mean train infrastructure (in Europe) is so outdated?<p>No, European train infrastructure is generally among the most advanced on the planet, probably behind Japan and certain parts of China.<p>&gt; Or why does this seem to happen fairly often?<p>This is the first time I&#x27;ve heard of such a crash in a long time. To me, it doesn&#x27;t seem to happen fairly often.<p>Beyond that, there are approximately 750m people living in Europe: that&#x27;s 2.5x as many as in the USA, which I presume is what you&#x27;re comparing to, so you would expect 2.5x more crashes (assuming all other conditions kept equal). Furthermore, Europe relies on passenger rail as a means of transporting people to a far greater extent than the US, where city-to-city distances are much greater, so it is more advisable to fly. I assume that the density and total use of railway (for passenger transport) is much greater in Europe than in the US, so perhaps it makes sense that you hear more about European train crashes.<p>(Finally: as a European, have you considered that you mostly hear about European train crashes as a consequence of the media you&#x27;re exposed to? You tend to hear more about the place in which you live than about other places...)